Major airlines typically allow one carry on and one personal item. The BMI website states the carry on allowance for economy is 1 piece, maximum weight of 10kg. Can anyone confirm whether that means I can also carry on a "personal item" like a purse? Thanks!

We had no problems on BMI recently with a standard carryon and a separate handbag/small pack/tote. I suppose they could get stroppy about it but I'd be surprised.

Thank you, Gardyloo, for the very quick response! You've made my day.

I took my violin on BMI, plus a purse. I was very careful to not go over the weight limit, though, because I didn't wan't to push it!

ps - I seem to be overly zealous about using apostrophes tonight. It usually bugs me when others misuse them (like in the case of plurals), so I'd like to quickly apologize, and call it a night! !! yawn..

Thanks, amp. Sweet dreams!
It will take some rearranging to make sure we comply with the weight limit, but I think we can do.

We flew BMI recently and there was nothing odd about the carry on policy. One big bag and a small one caused no trouble. The in-flight service was good.

Marilyn, they can be very strict about the weight-they were with me-but they implied that they had to be so strict because the flight was full. So, if your plane is not full, you might get away with a little extra but I wouldn't want to risk it. I got stuck having to check my carry on from Edinburgh all the way to LAX. I wasn't allowed to get it back at LHR. It was actually wonderful having only my purse and a book, except that my purse was crammed with my daughter's meds which I had to carry with me.

Thanks, Barbara. We are considering a United itinerary and the London-Paris portion is on BMI. Our problem is photo gear. I'm hoping we can distribute the weight between us. If Phil Flash has to check it, he won't fly!

I'm a frequent flyer on bmi and yes, the carry on allowance is in addition to your handbag.

Marilyn, BMI prides itself on being on time and so they are very strict about closing the door and not allowing anyone else to board..so that they don't miss their take-off slot at LHR. On one occasion, our UAL flight from San Francisco was late and even though United did a great job of getting all the transferring passengers to the BMI gate twenty minutes before the scheduled take-off time, BMI still wouldn't let us board and we all had to take the next flight. (No re-attaching the jetway here!!LOL)

Barbara, I won't be connecting from another flight, so I hope this trip will in NO way resemble The Amazing Race!

Just found this thread & I'd be grateful for any help. So far I've been told by Customer Service at the BMI toll free # that my purse would be weighed along with my carry-on, the total of both could not exceed 22 pounds, that my husband would have to put his laptop in his carry-on, which couldn't weigh over 22 pounds, & that anything "pointed" (to include scissors, nail clippers, tweasers, pocket knife) would only be allowed in checked on baggage if these items were packed in a wooden box, yet such items should be able to be "viewed easily"-???

We are leaving in 2 weeks for an economy Washington DC to Glasgow flight (via Manchester) & I really want to avoid any problems, but am definitely confused at this point.

I was also told to check in at the United counter in DC, not the BMI (although our carrier is still BMI, not United!!!)

Also is there any US BMI website--I can't seem to get any definitive answers on the UK website, & the 2 operators I spoke to had heavy non-anglo accents & were really unfriendly.

Thanks.