American Airlines Carry-on allowance
 

Hi,
I will be travelling to Europe first to Paris and the the Olympics next month and want to travel with just a rolling backpack so that I won't have to check any luggage. I am flying with American Airlines and their site says that the maximum size for carry on luggage is 45 linear inches. I bought a 45 linear inch backpack online and received it yesterday, and I don't think I could even pack an apple in there it was soooo small.

Looking at other airline carry-on allowances, I noticed that alot of them allow up to 55 linear inches.

I want to buy another backpack that is just about 55 linear inches, but I want to know if it will fit into the American Airlines overhead compartment and if the American Airlines employees very strict about their carry-on policies.

If anyone has had any experience with American Airlines and their carry-ons, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks

Our own experiences with American (just last month) and other airlines re this subject have caused us to believe that:

<b>it totally depends on the gate agent</b> as to whether or not the &quot;rules&quot; are strictly enforced or otherwise. And I would never presume to tell you that such and such is <b>going to happen</b>...if others do and you want to believe them, that's up to you.

I think it also depends on the class of service..we've often been given more leeway when traveling in first than when we weren't.

Most 22&quot; rollaboards are about 45 linear inches and I can pack 2 weeks worth of winter clothes in one of those. I've never had a problem carrying it on with AA.

I hate to ask thiss but are you sure you measured it correctly?

I guess the problem with this particular bag is that it measures 19 x 14 x 12, so it measures 45 linear inches, but alot of the room inside is taken up by the retractable luggage handle. it is also not completely rectangular so I lose just a little bit of room in the top of the bag. I tried packing it last night and all I put in there were 2 sweaters, a toiletry bag and a folded up bag that will be used as a carry on for my trip back home with the backpack eventually being checked.

I was just looking online and noticed the High Sierra 26 inch AT200 rolling duffel that also converts into a backpack. it measures 26 x 13 x 12. This is 51 inches. not a huge difference, but enough if a gate agent wants to go exactly by the rules.

I think one of the problems when talking about what you can, and cannot, pack in a certain sized bag is the size of the items involved.

I wear a size 12 shoe and they take up a LOT of space alone and there is NO WAY I could possible get &quot;two weeks worth of Winter clothes&quot; into a rollaboard the way Jody can unles that &quot;two weeks worth' consisted of only one change of clothes!!!!!

You know, there are actually people here who seem to make their life's (travel) work getting things out of gate agents so you could try that strategy...e.g.,:

&quot;We got an upgarde to First Class because we (told the agent) we are on our honeymoon.&quot;

OR

&quot;We got an upgrade to First Class because my DH was 'under stress.'&quot;

&quot;You'd be amazed at what a few tears can do...&quot;

Think I'm joking? Search here long enough and you'll find these and more!!!

My solution: don't fly on American Airlines. I've put in a million miles on other carriers since the last time I used them in 1982.

In my experience, you can always find a better deal.

well ,I have already booked with American, so I guess I will have to either have to turn on the charm , or I will have to carry the bag as a backpack and hopefully try not to be to obvious with a bigger bag.

I just want to make sure that a 55 linear inch bag will be able to fit into the American Airlines overhead compartment. Has anyone else fit something bigger than 45 linear inches into the AA overhead compartment?

Don't fly Air France either.

Their cabin baggage allowance is also 45 linear inches, <b>BUT</b> it's also limited to 12kg/26lb; much less than on AA or other US carriers.

<b>Plus</b>, they have an agent at the front of the check-in line to inspect your luggage, and put tags on those you want to bring aboard. They will weigh it if that agent suspects it's heavy.

At least that's what Air France do at Houston IAH.

BTW, 26x13x12 will probably fit, but has to go in sideways and take up quite a bit of room. The good news is that on the 777, there are plenty of luggage room and the bins are huge. AA is unlikely to make a fuss at your luggage, though there's no guarantee.

Whether or not the bag, or ANY bag, for that matter, &quot;will fit&quot; into the overhead sometimes depends on the aircraft being used.

I've seen a lot of things stuffed into overheads and they were a LOT larger than 55 total inches. For this experience in spades just take any trip to South America.

Bottom line: it WILL fit and you WILL be able to carry it on and I bet I am right (violating my own rule stated earlier)...and no, Air France agents arejn't necessarily any pickier than the ones at American!

It's not just about inches, sometimes carry-on bags are checked for weight. Have you packed your backpack, weighed it (use a bathroom scale), and checked the rules.

I fly British Air and my suitcase is legal size but they only allow 13 lbs. and there's no way I can make that rule!!

You brought up one of my pet peeves about travel: carry-on luggage. I am fit to be tied on virtually every air trip I take lately because some jackass hogs the overhead bin OVER MY SEAT with his freakin' suitcase!!! Back in the good old days the airlines had the guts to force people with oversized bags to check them. Today there seems to be no rules.

Seriously, if your bag is only a couple inches over the supposed allowance, I wouldn't worry a bit. Just be sure to get to the front of the line at boarding time and to completely ignore the agents' procedure of boarding by rows. He who gets on first can stuff a body up in the overhead bin and everyone else will be SOL. Courtesy and procedure don't mean a lick anymore.

And how is it that louts can afford to fly?

&quot;All the wrong people have money nowadays.&quot; - My mother.

In our case, the gate agent wasn't the problem (American Airline Employee) but the government security screener at Lugardia. Wouldn't even let us through the screening process because they said our carry on suitcases were too big (my husband is a Plantinum AA traveler and carries this bag all the time). Made us try to put them through one of those metal forms. Wouldn't fit. Had to check them. I have since traveled and had not problem with the same bag - fits perfectly into the overhead wheels first. Cry?? Beg?? Sorry but it wouldn't have done any good with these screeners - battle axes. When we returned after checking the bags, different screeners were working and not checking anyone's bags!!! So you are really at the mercy of who is on duty. The guidelines are not enforced equally.

apatinage-

I just flew AA from JFK-LHR, then BRU-JFK. I had a rollaboard (for 10 days' worth of winter clothing) which measures 20 x 14 x 8.

The JFK-LHR leg was a 777. Every overhead bin fits rollaboards length-wise. The flight was completely full, but given the size of the bins, all the rollaboards fit on the plane.

The BRU-JFK leg was an old 763. The overhead bins above the middle section are tiny. They are too small to fit any rollaboards. The bins above the two side sections are slightly bigger, but can only accomodate rollaboards sideways. Fortunately, the flight was quite empty, so everyone found a spot for their luggage.

So, to answer your Q, whether your luggage can fit or not depends on the plane type, and how crowded the flight is!

Even on a full flight on a 767, you'll find enough overhead space. The 767 only sits 7 people across two aisles, with 4 sets of overhead storage. Yes, the bins are smaller, but it shouldn't be a problem.

I've flown on CO many times on fully-booked 767s, and CO has very liberal on-board baggage policies. Still, never a problem on their 767s. It'll be the same on AA. [Narrowbodied 737/757s are a completely different story.]

rk-

On the 767, each bin can only fit 2 rollaboards max. So, for a row of 7, the max # of rollaboards it can fit is 4; and that's not adding other carry-on luggage (aka personal items), heavy coats etc.

I was gald that I made Gold Elite and got to board in Group 1. Otherwise I would have ended up with an ulcer worrying if my rollaboard would fit.

Most airlines now want you to have roll-aboards that fit into the overhead bins with the luggage's wheels at the back; we were defintiely discouraged on United from putting the luggage in sideways.

Everybody should try to fit their carryon longwise, but most 21&quot; won't fit that way, and definitely not a 767. However, I would still say there should be enough room for a full plane, because not everybody takes a large rollerboard on-board, even if it seems that way.

RK, to me it looks like everybody has 2 carry-ons plus a laptop or a purse. And you need room for a heavy coat in winter.

I've seen people looking for any space anywhere along the rows, and then having to check in their carry-ons. I wonder if they put those on the same plane or not.

Here's my experience:

Last May, I came back from Bristol, UK; I hurried at EWR, and got on an earlier flight back to IAH on standby. Flight is 100% full, and I had a middle seat. Wasn't the first to get on either. No problem finding room for my 20&quot; rollaboard.

2 weeks ago, my parents and I flew back from Milan on CO's 762. It's overbooked, but we left with 2 open seats in coach. Granted, my parents got on 1st because they're Elite, but I don't have problem finding room for my 20&quot; rollaboard either. My mom's 21&quot; was going in sideways, taking up a lot of room, but we still had room for my dad's 19&quot;, my mom's other bag, and all our winter coats. Yes, the last person who got onboard had a little problem finding room, but there were TONNES of emtpy room up in BusinessFirst, so FA easily found room for his bag. Despite full load, the plane closed its doors ahead of schedule.

Next flight, EWR-IAH, also 762. 100% full, and not a single empty seat. The EWR crew were horrible, and we didn't board until 2:50 for a 3:10 flight. Still, all carry-ons fit and door was closed at 3:22, after waiting several minutes for connecting customers.

My recent experience, that's all.

I flew AA a few months ago and checked in CDG and asked the ticket agent if there was a problem with caring on my bag she looked down and had a smile and said no problem and even weight it and I went on to security and got on the plane where I meet the flight attendant in the aisle and she said in a rough voice why do they let everyone haul these bags on. My bag is an eagle creek solf top and measures 20 inches. As I got ready to put it up in the over head I looked up and a young boy had put is guitar in the over head taking up the whole bin but she wasn't concerned with him. Go figure. It is just a wheel of chance. I did recently see a ticket agent want to charge a student $25.00 going home to Cairo for being 2 pounds over the weight limit. He ended up taking a couple things out and having it re-weigh. This is getting crazy. Good luck

yk - Do you remember if the 763 you were on have the new-style Boeing interior (roundish ceiling, storage bins that drops down); or the really ancient ones that are like a little squarish drawers?

I am looking at some photos and database, and I realize that some of AA's 767-300ER are pretty ancient, but they're still used heavily on international routes. AA took delivery of 763ER from 1988 to 2003.

Pretty big difference in the capacity of the overhead bins.

rk-

The 763 I was on was ANCIENT! As I said, the bins in the center of the aircraft cannot fit any rollaboards at all. There isn't enough clearance for the suitcases to slide in.

yk - I see what you mean.

Here's a pic of an ancient AA 763's interior. It's the business cabin, but the overhead storage is same:

www.airliners.net/open.file/718168/L/

Here's a NEW AA 763 interior. Note the size of overhead bin opened on left!

Whoops. Clicked too fast. Here's a pic of the new AA cabin:

www.airliners.net/open.file/411638/L/

Better look at those humungous 777-type overhead bins on the newer 763s; this one on a Hainan Airlines plane:

www.airliners.net/open.file/733801/L/

All CO's 767s are new, that's why I was spoiled!

one thing apatinage, that always comes to mind when I think of flying OUT of Paris..
when my son and I were flying AirFrance SFO to CDG, in Jan 03, he had the misconceived notion that he would, as a college student, pack some textbooks he would study in his down time (!) in Paris..this was not a problem USA to France, but when we were at CDG heading home, we had to do
what I had in the past witnessed, but never understood until it was MY turn,
the check-in-desk-open-all-of-your-bags-and-redistribute-all-contents-scenario, because, as I learned, at CDG they take the weight requirement VERY seriously! So the bottles of wine, plus son's books, made for an immediate problem!! All was okay, but I learned a lesson, I always weigh my bags now!!!

rk-

Exactly! The AA 763 I was on had the bins from your first photo. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first got on the plane, thinking, &quot;How on earth are we gonna fit all the carryons in those tiny bins???&quot;