Who hasn’t been nervous about taking a plane with carry-on luggage? And having to measure, or even weigh, said luggage (with wheels included or not?) to be sure that it meets the standards of this or that company. And thus avoid having to put it in the cellar.
Because all travelers have noticed it: each company imposes a different size and, unless you have a whole range of suitcases, you are often left stuck, not sure of anything.
Worse still, sometimes the traveler is forced to pay for check-in at the hold when checking in at the airport, after careful screening by ground agents, even though he believed his luggage complied with the standards. A supplement paid at full price.
The National Federation of Transport User Associations (Fnaut) made this observation by analyzing the maximum dimensions of hand luggage of European companies.
“Confusion to the detriment of passengers”
“Today, each company defines its own rules that it applies to decide what luggage is authorized or not in the cabin, without harmonization, and at what possible additional cost. A traveler cannot be sure that his luggage, which has been transported in the cabin with a The first company could be with another,” denounces the federation.
“And what should we do when the authorized dimensions vary between two connecting flights, or between an outbound flight and its return flight?” asks Fnaut. “Even the name of this luggage is random, some carriers call it ‘carry-on luggage’, others ‘carry-on luggage’, others ‘accessories’, others ‘large carry-on luggage’ or finally ‘overhead compartment luggage’.”
Because it must be remembered that baggage check-in, as well as seat selection or even priority boarding, are part of all these options billed by the companies and that they are strategic to compensate for a very aggressive flight pricing policy. For some companies, these options can represent up to 50% of their turnover.
But for the traveler it is a nightmare. For this reason, Fnaut calls for a European standardization of the dimensions and weights of authorized hand luggage and regrets that there are no traveler rights in relation to hand luggage.
While waiting for the rules of the game to evolve, the Federation publishes a very practical infographic that summarizes the dimensions and weight of two unchecked bags from certain companies as of December 16, 2024.
Source: BFM TV
