flanneruk

The DfT announced on December 28 the airports approved for carrying on more than one piece of handbaggage from January 7. (http://tinyurl.com/2vmr56).

Individual airlines may still impose their own rules, of course, and not all the airport sites have yet been updated.

The list includes a slew of places in the Highlands and Islands few users of this board use. And I wouldn't like to guarantee that Heathrow's alleged approval necessarily means every terminal is fully equipped for every traveller.

The list <b> includes:</b>
Heathrow
Gatwick
London City
Stansted
Southampton
Manchester
Birmingham
Prestwick
Cardiff

It <b> excludes </b>
Luton
Liverpool
Glasgow International
Edinburgh
Newcastle
Bristol

So it looks like the <b>very rough </b> rule of thumb now is:

- airports offering intercontinental flights, and transfers at the five main intercontinental hubs, will allow more than one carry on from Jan 7
- airports specialising in low-cost flights won't allow more than one carry-on.
- nor will Glasgow or Edinburgh

Zerlina

About time. The rule was idiotuic to start with.

Dukey

Flanner, thanks for posting this information.

Zerlina: get FLEXIBLE!

AAFrequentFlyer

<b>The rule was idiotic to start with</b>

I agree.....

avalon

On a similar note , from the NYX the other day

http://tinyurl.com/22p2jb

xyz123

Great interesting op ed piece in the NY Times and the interesting thing is there wasn't one negative comment from anybody how necessary all this &quot;security&quot; is that we all knwo is meaningless; especially the part about if only the idiotic pilots had stayed in the cockpits on 9/11, none of this would have happened. And of course even with today's dictatorial security arrangements, every one of them would have gotten on the flights they ultimately destroyed. The only thing is they would have had to leave a bit earlier.

Marighita

I think that this can cause another problem: the space to put all these baggages. Even today, with the limitation to one piece, sometime there is not enough room for all the baggages of all the people in a row.

rex

&lt;&lt; I think that this can cause another problem: the space to put all these baggages. Even today, with the limitation to one piece, sometime there is not enough room for all the baggages of all the people in a row. &gt;&gt;

I think that this is naysaying to the point of being pointless. In all probability, it was the &quot;personal item&quot; (purse, briefcase, laptopcase) that had to be crammed into the &quot;carry-on bag&quot; -- in other words, the larger of two items was already being taken anyway, making a greater need for the overhead compartments.

This means a return to a more sensible &quot;personal item&quot; (a purse rests comfortably on a traveler's lap; a briefcase fits easily under the seat in front of you) - - and those who choose to take a &quot;carry-on bag&quot; aboard can put a reasonable quantity of items that will be needed within the first 24 hours after arrival (in case a checked bag does not arrive) - - and not overstuff it.

It's a big &quot;yippie!&quot; for me and my family, as we are planning our transit to/from Sicily through London Heathrow (overnighting on the way over, normal connect times on the way back).

Best wishes,

Rex

danon

right!
we flew through LHR six times this year and I got tired of the charade
- stuffing one small bag into a larger bag just for the time to go through the security, and taking it out right after.

flanneruk

Oops!

THe DfT HAVEN'T authorised Gatwick for multiple carry-on.

Apologies to anyone confused. But watch the Gatwick website

annhig

Hi, flanneruk,

thanks for this.

as Bristol is the airport we use most, we will still be stuck with the old rule.

but we can dream.

regards, ann

lyb

&gt;right!
we flew through LHR six times this year and I got tired of the charade
- stuffing one small bag into a larger bag just for the time to go through the security, and taking it out right after.&lt;&lt;

Exactly! How stupid! that's exactly what I did this past fall...so that when I walked on the plane, I had my carry on and my purse.....it only meant that my checked in luggage was stuffed!

I'm glad someone finally realized it was stupid!

travelgourmet

&lt;&lt;I think that this is naysaying to the point of being pointless. In all probability, it was the &quot;personal item&quot; (purse, briefcase, laptopcase) that had to be crammed into the &quot;carry-on bag&quot; -- in other words, the larger of two items was already being taken anyway, making a greater need for the overhead compartments.&gt;&gt;

Actually, I disagree. As the European carriers more stringently enforce the size limits, one needed to leave some room in the larger piece to stuff the personal item into. Now, you will have one bag stuffed full, plus another. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if people put the larger bag above and kept the smaller one at their feet, but people don't. I actually am a little concerned that such changes will lead to the boarding process becoming as long and unwieldy as it is in the US - currently, I would estimate that boarding takes roughly half the time in Europe that it does in the US, primarily due to less carry-on baggage.

And don't forget that this change really should be called the &quot;BA Checked Luggage Fiasco Alleviation Act.&quot; Most other European carriers have quite low carry-on limits of less than 10kg. In my personal experience, the following airlines do check weights and the number of bags with some frequency (particularly for roll-aboards): KLM, SAS, Lufthansa, and Swiss. I have heard stories that Virgin Atlantic, Air France, and most of the budget airlines can be sticklers as well. BA, of course, abandoned their weight limit as a concession when they realized they couldn't handle the checked luggage.

So, I think this will help make BA more competitive, particularly for trans-Atlantic connections, but I don't think this will be much of a boon for many of us here.

RM67

I think this is a shame, as it's not that hard to stick to one carry-on - frankly, the amount of baggage people take for even relatively short trips is ridiculous.

In the cabin it can be a hazard to have bags spilling out everywhere, and even if neatly stowed (some chance!) still adds considerably to the weight of the plane, and therefore, fuel consumption.

I don't understand why people get so bolshy about something so trivial, as though their life depends on being able to take 40 changes of clothing and every electrical appliance they own with them right round the world.