Flying British Air from NC toi Gatewick and on to Naples. British Air says they limit carry ons to 13 pounds. Has anybody had experience with this? We just bought the required 45" carry on case which by itself, unpacked weighs 10 pounds. Do they really weigh the case?

Terry when I last went to London in 98 they made me check my carry on which was only 21 inches long but 3 pounds or so over the weight limit. Thankfullly I had packed a totebag inside it in which I hastily put some things that I wanted on the plane with me. <BR>You must have a typo, 45" can't be a carryon unless you mean cumulative outside dimensions.

BA can be very picky. We fly them from LA and they have scales at the checkin area so you can weigh your carryon. Sometimes they enforce it, sometimes they do not -- we always play by the rules tho, better to be safe then sorry. For carryons we use very lightweight nylon bags, they weight about 6 oz. by themselves I think so it's fairly easy to keep within the 13 lb limit. We do not use a rollon, they simply weigh too much (as you already found out). I'm not saying you won't see people with these things, but if you hit a day they decide to enforce the rules you are up the creek so to speak. If you do take it and they make you check it be sure to have a smaller bag packed inside it so that you can "unpack" and have some stuff for the flight. Usually coming from Heathrow to LAX we've noticed they are less strict, but you never know. This past April they were pretty good in LA and people had rollon's, duty free bags, etc. but the time before that they had a women at the check-in actually checking weight and sizes of bags. Frankly I wish everyone would bring 1 small bag and leave the 'cargo' for the baggage dept. but that will never happen I'm afraid. If I were you I'd check the roll-on and bring some small thing into the cabin, it's really easier all the way around. If you have to make a wild dash through the airport to make a connection the less you have to drag behind you makes it easier too (we've had that happen, we were able to move pretty quickly because we were not dragging any suitcases behind us). Check their website, the 45" is the sum total of the dimensions.

KLM did the same thing to us in 1997. They not only weighed it but had a special sticker, then later towards the gate someone lifts it to make sure weight has not dramatically changed. Check to see if it is 13 pounds or kilos. I remember we had fortunately gotten to the airport early and then spent (this was our return) two hours juggling things and rounding up a box from cargo air to check non breakables to get the weight down. Thank goodness they did not weight my purse (it held 3 half bottles of champagne!!!) The problem was you buy breakables that you cannot check. Good Luck

Flew BA last month. Carry ons were allowed in Boston, but had to have them checked in on return flight in Paris. They have scales and 13 pounds was the limit.

- <BR>Terry: <BR>During April '99, I flew BA from Rome to London - the 13 pound limit was strictly enforced. Think the plane was a 737 (one row down middle, 3 seats on either side) and noticed their overhead storage ("lockers") seemed to be smaller than other carriers with similar design (American Airlines, Southwest Airlines) - I don't know if my 22' carryon (45 inches total dimension) would have fit in the space, even if they had allowed me to drag it on.

AerLingus in Dublin weighed our 2 carry ons & insisted we check them through (we also had a larger suitcase which we checked through) <BR> We were upset by this as we had some things we wanted to keep with us but no time to do so. The clerk mumbled something about our being able to "check on our luggage" when we got to JFK at the baggage carousel. This turned out to be very lucky for us. Seems it was up to US (in JFK) to take our luggage off the baggage carrier, lug it to another place, & then have it shipped on through United. <BR> Since our large bag had gone straight through on our way over (United SFO to JFK, then JFK to Shannon on Aer Lingus), we'd assumed it would be handled straight through returning. <BR>With that assumption, we would have left all our luggage on the carousel! <BR> (At JFK we took our 2 carry ons on board United with no problem.) <BR>

BA often strictly enforces this rule, especially on intra-European flights. On the Charlotte-Gatwick flight particularly, you are much better off limiting your carry on to the bare minimum, regardless of whether you check it - that flight is always really full in coach and there's not much room for carry-ons. Better to check your carry on bag through and take on a tote bag with what you need on the flight. Also, bear in mind that if you are travelling intra-Europe on BA or other airlines, there is a 20 kilo (44 lbs)weight limit for checked baggage which can be strictly enforced. Unless you are travelling on a connection (in which case they'll transfer your luggage without an additional weighing), with no stop overs, US travellers often get stuck on this, because the transatlantic weight allowance is so much higher. Even on connecting flights, you can get stuck with the carry on issue, because even if it was allowed when you checked in on the first flight, it might not be on the second and you might be forced to check it in at that stage. In any event, I always pack light on the carry-on front, since you have to haul your bags around the airports.

Does anyone know WHY BA limits to 13 lbs?--other than the obvious 'where there is weight there is volume....'

Lufthansa also made us check our carry on. I called ahead of time, but wasn't told there was a weight limit until we checked in at the gate. I had packed a tote, but the plane was getting ready to leave, so we didn't even have time to remove some things.

Thank you all for responding to my msg. Based on what you say I guess it is best to check the suitcase which is 45" total and just use a lite carry on. It is too bad, seems we finally get into the swing of things, everybody we see takes these on the aircraft, and now they begin tightening up the rules. <BR>Thx again Terry

BA, in coach, has one of the tightest configurations in the sky, (seat wise). Therefore, it is a good idea to carry on only what you can keep in your lap, (a satchel, or briefcase, etc.) you can slip it under seat for take off, then access it at will during long flight. Then check a big bag (largest that you can handle, with rollers). That should handle enough luggage for anybody. We have been away from home for as much as 6 months with this arrangement. Could it work for you?

Terry, I thought the title of your posting refered to a British comedy movie from the 1960's starring Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor.

Susan: In case you're still puzzled, I assume that you had to clear customs at JFK. That would account for the difference between your luggage being checked straight through on the way over to Ireland, but not on the way back. It's normally the case (as far as I know, it's always the case, though I could be wrong) that when you're flying into the US from abroad you clear customs and immigration at your first destination within the US, which is where the international portion of your trip is considered to end. Your connecting flight is a domestic US flight, ergo no customs & immigration when it lands. <BR> <BR>The desk agents should tell you this when you check in, but that doesn't mean that they always do.