`Since they have started charging to check a bag, everyone seems to be dragging more and more on the plane and calling it 'carry on'. Mine is a regulation size small bag, and I carry a large 'purse'...Often, if you board after the first few, forget about putting anything in the 'overhead' bins...and I have seen people heave on the door, straining to close it. Must be hard on the wear and tear aspect of the airplane.

Egad...I hate air travel anymore. And even if you are travellig business, there is a lot of pushing and shoving, sometimes a 'critter under the seat meowing away, or barking, etc. Used to be fun.

We are booked for a long trip in October, and I am dreading the long stretches, to Singapore, and home from Austrailia...hope I can find my zantax then.

Yes, clara. I have been asked to put my suitcase in the "sizer" several times in the last year or so.

I bought a new suitcase last year, and I brought my tape measure to the store to make sure it fits within the requirements.

I read recently that there is a possible move to put the carry-on "sizers" on the conveyor belts at the security stations in airports. If you can't get it through there, it will have to be checked. Seems like a good idea ...

When we flew Frontier to Alaska two weeks ago, it was outrageous what people were cramming in the overheads! The flight attendant was really frustrated, She had all the overheads open and was moving bags all over the plane to get them to fit. One man was complaining because she put his bag in the rear bin, far away from his seat, and was told that was the only space left, since it was such a large bag.

I was muttering to Hubby that a lot of the "carry-ons" should've been checked suitcases!

Also, is there no limit to how much weight the plane can lift off with?

In the 20 years or so from 1988 - 2008 I can't recall ever having had my carry-on size checked.

In 2009 I've had it checked twice, both at the gate. Most recently was at SFO where 3 TSA agents stood with a metal sizing rack.

BA was measuring them at Heathrow T5 just a couple of weeks ago. They were eyeballing carryons while people were gathering up at the gate area and then having the people with bags that looked oversize put them in the sizer. They were good at knowing which ones were too big, even a tiny bit too big.

I tend to think it's often which agent you get. But within the last couple of years, we've had carry ons sized AND weighed (both were international flights). Other times, nothing.

I've seen other passengers' carry-ons sized at the gate when flying AA out of LAX. Haven't noticed other carriers sizing but I've been flying mostly AA this year. Prior to this year, I'd also not noticed any sizing.

Mine have been weighed more often than they have been measured.

Like J62, I have not had much experience with having bags "sized". I am pretty careful about staying within limits and have only had to gate check a bag on regional jets, which should be expected.
I do wish the airlines would be more strict with carry on restrictions.

I saw a bag being weight and measured at Tampa, back in Feb. Can't recall which airline. I was on United, but this was at security before you hop on the shuttle out to a terminal. Anyway, the bag was taken, as it was too big/too heavy. I agree with everyone who wishes the airlines would be more strict w/carryons.

On my trip to Romania last month I carried on all of my luggage on the flights over, no questions asked. On the return I was checking in at the Bucharest airport and when I told them I was not checking luggage they asked to see my carry ons. They saw the little suitcase so they wanted to weigh it. They said it was way too heavy and I had to check it. So to answer your question, sometimes they measure or weigh it and sometimes they don't. The standards are not the same everywhere.

Just for fun, I held my carry-on spinner up next to the rectangular drawing near a gate that illustrated valid dimensions. The body of the piece almost fit in the length dimension (28 inches, I think). It was very close. But the four wheels extended an inch and a half outside the box.

When I stowed the piece in the OHB on a 757, I put it in handle first, i.e. with the feet sticking out. It fit perfectly with no pushing on the bin door to close it.

This rollaboard bag, like many, has a narrower top than base, and the bins are tapered in the back, so the luggage fits the bin better feet-last.