Executive Travel : Crowded Airlines Clamp Down on Carry-Ons

With record travel forecast for this summer, aircraft will be crowded. And full airplanes are even more crowded when people carry luggage on with them.

This year, some airlines are trying to enforce their carry-on rules more strictly, many placing sizer boxes in conspicuous spots at baggage and passenger check-in points, so travelers come face-to-face with size requirements before they get on a plane.

Carry-on rules haven’t changed, but the attitude of airlines has, said Chris Chiames, spokesman for the Air Transport Assn., a Washington-based trade group representing airlines.

“Industrywide, the trend is to limit carry-ons and to enforce policies requiring people to gate-check items that don’t meet requirements,” Chiames said.

The success of low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines and Shuttle by United in cutting down turnaround times, in part by strictly limiting carry-ons, has caused other airlines to take a more aggressive look at enforcement policies.

It’s also good customer relations, Chiames said. “What carriers have found in doing market analysis and interviews is that the enforcement of this is a positive thing for frequent fliers and business travelers,” he said.

The carry-on squeeze is often most noticeable during summer and holidays. In the summer, many people try to bring vacation gear or souvenirs aboard. During the Christmas season, people try to avoid shipping their bulky packages, said Jill Gallagher, spokeswoman for the Assn. of Flight Attendants in Washington.

“Somebody tried to bring on a five-foot trophy they’d won once,” Gallagher said. “We’ve had people bring neon signs, a huge antique mirror, even a seven-foot keyboard and organ aboard.”

Every day the airline deals with travelers who simply do not want to check their baggage. So what are the rules?

There is no universal standard governing bag size, or even number of bags, although the de facto industry standard is a limit of two carry-ons that must fit either under the seat or in the overhead bin. (Many commuter airlines have one-bag limits.)

But is that two carry-ons plus a purse or briefcase? What about the bag holding your reading material, your coat and umbrella? Federal Aviation Administration regulations stipulate only that each airline must have a program to limit carry-on baggage.

On Southwest, for example, the size limit is 16 inches high by 10 inches wide by 24 inches long. Continental Airlines specifies that bags must not have more than 45 linear inches in combined height, length and width.

USAir specifies that overhead bags can be no more than 10 inches by 16 inches by 24 inches, while bags that go under the seat must be no more than 8 inches by 16 inches by 21 inches. Garment bags must be less than 45 inches long by 4 inches high by 23 1/2 inches wide. And purses are limited to no more than 18 inches by 12 inches by 4 inches.

The variation in airline policy is a constant headache for flight attendants, who hear passengers complain that they were able to take their bags on other flights or even on previous legs of the same flight.

Garment bags stuffed like sausages are a particular irritant. “The ones that look like body bags--they should have to check those,” Gallagher said. “What you bring on should fit nicely in the overhead bin; it shouldn’t take up the whole bin.” The bins are designed to hold carry-ons for two or three people. Each bin also has a weight limit, she said.

But people persist in trying to bring on too much.

“Sizer boxes are great,” Gallagher said, “if they get used.” They aren’t used frequently enough to suit flight attendants, who end up having to try to enforce the airline regulations once the passenger has already boarded.

“It’s really a sore point for flight attendants,” Gallagher said.

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Many passengers are annoyed as well. “I’m always amazed at what gets on the plane,” said frequent traveler Diane Klemme. “You see people taking guitars, fishing poles, things that don’t quite fit. And if you don’t get on the plane early enough, you won’t find space in the overhead bin. Sometimes you have to put your stuff five to 10 seats back, which makes it tough to get on and off quickly.”

Passengers sometimes think they can call an overstuffed duffel a “purse” and not count it as a carry-on, or not count the diaper bag as part of their quota, Gallagher said. Most airlines will let a regular-size purse go by, but will balk if it’s really doubling as baggage. Camera bags, briefcases and laptop computer bags also generally count as a carry-on, she said. Coats and umbrellas usually slide by.

Chiames’ advice for travelers who aren’t sure about an airline’s requirements: “Lock it just in case you end up having to check it at the gate.”

Many travelers try to take too much with them to avoid checking and possibly losing bags, but fear of lost bags is overblown, he said.

According to the Transportation Department, which receives monthly reports from each carrier on baggage handling, 99.5% of the 2 million bags checked each day reach their destinations along with the passengers who own them. And of the small number that don’t, about 80% are returned to their owners within 24 hours and 99% find their owners within five days. Only 1% of all bags that get lost or stolen are never found.