To think it cannot be mandatory to be asked to check in hand luggage at the gate

[NameChanger401]

I was about to board a flight today and, as often happens, an announcement was made asking passengers to come forward to check in hand luggage as flight is full and not enough space. The announcement said ‘we reiterate this is a mandatory requirement, without priority boarding group must check in hand luggage if requested’.

i usually wouldn’t mind, but today I realised I (stupidly) didn’t have a separate bag to my small suitcase. It contained items I really wouldn’t want to check in - laptop, power bank (don’t think this is allowed), valuables and medication. I therefore basically ‘hid’ away from the gate and came forward at the last minute when I thought enough people had had their bag confiscated (there was plenty of overhead space on board thankfully). However, it got me thinking if I could politely refuse (but didn’t want confrontation which is never a good idea at a boarding gate).

You can. I have it with easyJet, underseat and guranteed small on board bag for overhead. They give you speedy boarding and up front seats too.

I’ve taken issue with it as it’s not a budget airline like Ryan Air where you expect to pay for everything including toilet use and air to breathe in the cabin 😂.

As a regular flyer (granted normally with BA) I’ve never encountered buying a cabin bag fare on a traditional type airline/national carrier (the flight itself wasn’t cheap!) then on checkin being forced to pay to take your cabin bag onto the flight. Sure I understand the need sometimes to check in larger hand luggage items on full flights at the gate but not on check in, 24 hours before when you’ve bought a cabin bag fare. This BA code share partner must have changed policy in the last 12 months as I did this flight in last year (booked through the BA partner, not BA) and took my cabin bag onto the plane without paying or selecting to pay on check in.

I had a large suitcase so not applicable to me, though the same announcement was made by BA last time I flew with them.

The issue would probably go away if there was not the extra charge for hold baggage, enough people would accept their bag in the hold then.

I think to be fair that's overstating things slightly.

If you look at the detailed regs (usually on the airlines Website or places like IATA dangerous goods info) you'll see the main problem is high capacity batteries, especially if not installed on a device (e.g. power packs).

Depending on battery capacity many airlines allow electrical items with low capacity batteries such as laptops in checked bags, with caveats.

Travel in business, never a problem 😃

This has only become an issue since airlines charge extra for hold luggage so people are flying hand luggage only and clogging up all the overhead lockers with small wheelie suitcases.

The policy will be buried in the T&C’s somewhere when purchasing a ticket. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen somewhere on the BA site re hand luggage allowance which says if they need to they will check in cabin bags at the gate.

True! 😆

They do this really really often on BA, I fly twice a week for work and it’s basically 90pc of the time on my flights but thankfully they don’t take anything off you if you’re group 1-3.

Just pay for hold luggage and have a small bag under the seat in front of you. So much easier that wrestling with cases in the overhead lockers.

Which airline is that? I used to internationally travel a lot for my work and have never come across that option..

On BA short haul recently I paid £300 for a ticket that allowed me to bring on a small bag and an overhead cabin bag. At the gate, were making appeals that if you’d surrender the cabin bag, they’d allow early seating access. No-one agreed so by the time I went up (“group 5”) they took mine anyway and refused any further discussion. Thankfully I had a small bag to use for my essentials. This is the second time a variant of this happened to me on British Airways.

BA are the worst airline for this and becoming a serious joke.

I flew next time with EasyJet who ensure you keep your cabin bag onboard and that you get to sit near the front, exactly as promised at booking, and paid £100 less for the pleasure.

Not to allow you a book is just shit customer service. That said, I'd far rather check my bag when I come into the airport and just have a small bag on the plane.

I wish I thought you are correct.

How much of the problem is genuine capacity, and how much is people ignoring guidance and staff letting them do it?

I am so tired of watching people board with a wheelie bag plus a huge backpack plus, often, a tote or shopping bag and stuffing all of this into the overhead locker. Of course it fills up before half the plane has boarded.

BA state quite clearly that the large cabin bag will be checked into hold if no room. We flew BA last week and packed expecting this and that's what happened. How are 200ish medium suitcases (which is what the large cabin bag effectively is) going to fit in the cabin? Planes weren't built to hold all the passengers and luggage in one place. I think the policy is a bit arse about face personally - they should just go back to one cabin bag and one small hold bag as part of the ticket price.

ETA this was in reply to this.
The policy will be buried in the T&C’s somewhere when purchasing a ticket. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen somewhere on the BA site re hand luggage allowance which says if they need to they will check in cabin bags at the gate.

Yes. BA do that. Others just let the bags on that are clearly oversized and take the correct size off the last people trying to board. Hence the run for the gates. They know how much hold checked luggage they have and sometimes ask for cabin luggage to be checked in at the gate. If they don’t get enough, they take the bags away if they are ok for the hold. We’ve just had the same experience in the USA. Although we had small bags and everything was in the hold bar the camera bag and a small day bag.

I don’t think it’s ticketing, it’s people not wanting to wait for bag offload and potential lost luggage. I’m aware of people going for 3 weeks with just a carry on bag. People seem to like washing clothes!

I don't understand why when passengers have checked luggage for the hold that the airlines don't ask if you want your little cabin suitcase to go in the hold too. You're having to wait for luggage at the belt anyway and it's much less hassle at the airport or boarding the plane.

We always ask if we can do this, particularly with jet2.

It would free up space in the cabin for those that don't have checked luggage.

BA often do that, certainly at the outstations where it is a manual bag drop..problem is a lot of people are HBO and don't go near check-in

They do often send a text out night before if a flight is busy asking folks to consider checking in their larger items of handbaggage.

It’s not check in either. It’s bag drop. Check in is on line.

It's all a bit "it depends", some airlines (including BA) that have on-line check in also still have the option of an airport check-in, either at a kiosk or at an actual physically manned by a human being check-in desk.

But what about laptop? Will they give a bag for laptop or you are supposed to shove it under your seat or in the cabin without any protection ?

Yes, they made me put it under the seat without protection. They also made me carry my passport, purse, medication in my hands.

Not on legacy airlines especially long haul. Maybe on loco airlines.

Airline staff here. You should never check essential medication. If your bag goes missing it may not be easy to replace depending on where you're going.

@notimagain only to mop up the non tech people though. Hardly ever used in T5 from what I see.