OK AIR PEOPLE....Question please

[Lois R]

Well,  I booked my flight on TAP and hopefully I will find the counter I will be away for close to 30 days and will

bringing 1 checked bag and my carry on...guess I have learned how to pack over the years but even sailing overseas, I have never exceeded the weight limit. Actually, I am usually quite a bit under.

Normally the checked bag weighs between 39-45 pounds......23kg would be the 50 lb mark..

(I think)…….if I need to get a smaller carry on, I can do that but the 21 inch bag I have used

always works……(and I have been to Europe with it several times).

[Alaskanb]

I think you will find your 21 " carryon maybe too large given the TAP dimensions. https://www.flytap.com/en-us/baggage/hand-baggage

 

[Lois R]

OK.....I will just have to find a new smaller size carry on bag and put my packing skills in order.

[iancal]

We have taken three or four TAP flights.  Our carry on was never weighed or sized on any of the flights  We were both OK for weight. I had an international size carry on, DW had on of those slightly larger Rick Steves US style carry on.  Nothing said.  But....it was far from bulging out.

 

That, of course, does not mean that this is still the case.

[FionaMG]

45 minutes ago, Alaskanb said:

I think you will find your 21 " carryon maybe too large given the TAP dimensions. https://www.flytap.com/en-us/baggage/hand-baggage

 

Why? It says 22". Am I misreading something? 

[Alaskanb]

It says 22x16x8 . Typically that includes wheels and handles so make sure to measure all dimensions (including width and depth) and weigh carefully. We have three 21" carry-ons all with different width and depths! 

[Alaskanb]

33 minutes ago, iancal said:

We have taken three or four TAP flights.  Our carry on was never weighed or sized on any of the flights  We were both OK for weight. I had an international size carry on, DW had on of those slightly larger Rick Steves US style carry on.  Nothing said.  But....it was far from bulging out.

 

That, of course, does not mean that this is still the case.

We also have an International sized carry-on in our collection and really watch for keeping it un-bulged. 

[FionaMG]

38 minutes ago, Alaskanb said:

It says 22x16x8 . Typically that includes wheels and handles so make sure to measure all dimensions (including width and depth) and weigh carefully. We have three 21" carry-ons all with different width and depths! 

Ah, ok, gotcha.

[iancal]

We are getting rid of the the Rick Steves carry on for two reasons.  The first is that it is slightly larger than the international size.

 

The second reason, which is the main reason, it that even when it is not full the outside pockets tend to bulge out and give the impression of being stuffed.  We have used a luggage bands in the past.  Our feeling is that many airline agents make a decision to verify size or weight based on the 'eye ball' test.  Mine never gets checked.  DW's gets checked from time to time.

 

We also find that some of  the LCC primarily test for weight unless of course the bag is very obviously oversize.    We did five flights on Jetstar Australia last winter.  Jetstar is good inasmuch as customers can pay a premium to increase their carry on weight allowance from 8KG to 10KG.   They checked the carry on weights each time...and once they re-weighed at the boarding gate!  It must be a huge revenue booster for these LCL's

[Lois R]

Hi again, I have a comment... (not about luggage LOL)….when I booked my flight with TAP, it only gave 2 choices---

MR or MRS.  I am a Miss....there was no option for that. I was trying to contact them by phone but haven't been

able to get through.  Hopefully I will not have any issues with it when I check in with them in Barcelona.

[FionaMG]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi again, I have a comment... (not about luggage LOL)….when I booked my flight with TAP, it only gave 2 choices---

MR or MRS.  I am a Miss....there was no option for that. I was trying to contact them by phone but haven't been

able to get through.  Hopefully I will not have any issues with it when I check in with them in Barcelona.

Don't worry. You don't need to speak to them because that definitely isn't an issue. Essentially it's because they don't distinguish between Mrs and Miss in Portuguese, so effectively Mrs = Ms.

[waterbug123]

On 11/2/2019 at 10:44 AM, iancal said:

We travel with carry on only. We switched to international size carry on because the US size is too large.

 

4 hours ago, Alaskanb said:

We also have an International sized carry-on

 

There's really no single standard for US-based carriers, just like there is no single standard for foreign-based airlines.  The distinction in allowable sizes tends to depend more on whether an airline is a low cost carrier.  Examples:

Delta:  Allows a carry on bag 22' x 14" x 9" (56cm x 35cm x 23cm) plus a personal item

Air France:  Allows carry on bag 21.7" x 13.8" x 9.9" (55cm x 35cm x 25cm) plus a personal item

 

Meanwhile, low cost carriers may just allow a personal item, significantly smaller than the examples sizes above, and that's it::

Spirit Air:  allows a personal item 18 x 14 x 8

Ryan Air:  allows a personal item  40cm x 25cm x 20cm

[iancal]

We have never flown on Ryanair.  We have flown on numerous LCC’s in SE Asia, Oz, and Europe.  So far we have been fortunate inasmuch as we have always been able to take our carry on without checking and or paying.   We would happily pay more to carry on our bag than check it if required.

[Alaskanb]

21 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

 

 

There's really no single standard for US-based carriers, just like there is no single standard for foreign-based airlines.  The distinction in allowable sizes tends to depend more on whether an airline is a low cost carrier.  Examples:

Delta:  Allows a carry on bag 22' x 14" x 9" (56cm x 35cm x 23cm) plus a personal item

Air France:  Allows carry on bag 21.7" x 13.8" x 9.9" (55cm x 35cm x 25cm) plus a personal item

 

Meanwhile, low cost carriers may just allow a personal item, significantly smaller than the examples sizes above, and that's it::

Spirit Air:  allows a personal item 18 x 14 x 8

Ryan Air:  allows a personal item  40cm x 25cm x 20cm

The bottom line is to pay attention to dimensions and weight. I check each airline we will be flying on and use the smallest dimensions and weight. 

[Lois R]

48 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Don't worry. You don't need to speak to them because that definitely isn't an issue. Essentially it's because they don't distinguish between Mrs and Miss in Portuguese, so effectively Mrs = Ms.

Ahh,,,ok, thank you!

[Lois R]

33 minutes ago, iancal said:

We have never flown on Ryanair.  We have flown on numerous LCC’s in SE Asia, Oz, and Europe.  So far we have been fortunate inasmuch as we have always been able to take our carry on without checking and or paying.   We would happily pay more to carry on our bag than check it if required.

Hi, I sort of feel the same way.  I would like to use what I have and if it is extra? I would normally just throw it in to the cost of the trip. But if I can find a smaller bag that I really like and will be better? I may go looking...…..

[bennybear]

We have been using the same smaller carryon for years, no problems on Ryan air, easy jet.  However, in Japan ANA decided it was too big and wanted it checked.   They measured and remeasured.   Finally I removed my iPad and they let it on.   So you never know! 

[waterbug123]

13 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi, I sort of feel the same way.  I would like to use what I have and if it is extra? I would normally just throw it in to the cost of the trip. But if I can find a smaller bag that I really like and will be better? I may go looking...…..

 

Just be very careful with Ryan Air.   The weight limit is less than many other airlines, they are strict about enforcing it, and charge per kilo that you are over.

[Lois R]

32 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Just be very careful with Ryan Air.   The weight limit is less than many other airlines, they are strict about enforcing it, and charge per kilo that you are over.

Hi Meg, thanks for the info! I am flying with TAP. Unless you were meaning that as a PSA

[waterbug123]

On 11/4/2019 at 6:58 AM, Lois R said:

Hi Meg, thanks for the info! I am flying with TAP. Unless you were meaning that as a PSA

 LOL, no I just misread.  I saw Ryan Air mentioned in a post you responded to.  Though it's probably still a good PSA!

[brian1]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 11:27 AM, waterbug123 said:

 

Just be very careful with Ryan Air.   The weight limit is less than many other airlines, they are strict about enforcing it, and charge per kilo that you are over.

The cabin bag weight is 10kg.We find they only check if the bag is bulging and looks overweight.Even then they just make you put it in the "sizer".Quite funny watching people struggle to shove bags in these,including us once.Only hope there is nothing too fragile in those bags,lol.

[waterbug123]

3 hours ago, brian1 said:

The cabin bag weight is 10kg.We find they only check if the bag is bulging and looks overweight.Even then they just make you put it in the "sizer".Quite funny watching people struggle to shove bags in these,including us once.Only hope there is nothing too fragile in those bags,lol.

 

And in our experience they weighed everything regardless.

[brian1]

40 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

 

And in our experience they weighed everything regardless.

YMMV.

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, brian1 said:

YMMV.

 

In the airline world, there are few words that are more appropriate.

[iancal]

It can really vary by airline and by embarkation point.  In some winter months we have multiple flights on AirAsia, a LCC carrier.    Our bags have only been weighted once in about 20 flights, never sized.  The only time was a Kuala Lumpur airport where they had an agent randomly checking bags after checkin but prior to going through security in the AIrAsia wing of the terminal. 

 

Another time, in the Philippines, there were staff walking through lines telling everyone that their carry ons bags were too big or too heavy.  Ours were not but that did not seem to matter.  Our bags were not sized or weighted when we reached the desk agent to get our boarding passes.  We have had the same experience as many or perhaps more Air Transat flights.

 

On every flight we simply assume that our carry on will be sized and weighed.  Plus we do not assume anything....we read the carrier's rules even if we have flown with them before.  Rules change from time to time...and are sometimes variable based on the type of aircraft on the route.

Edited November 6, 2019 by iancal