March 30, 2008 Battle of the Bin
The New York Times has an interesting story on the regular disregard of carry-on luggage rules - and the fact that it’s getting worse thanks to 3-1-1. Delta Airlines is taking steps to crack down:
The carry-on wars have gotten so out of hand that at least one airline has begun to crack down on rule-breakers. This month Delta Air Lines began requiring that all carry-on items be tagged with a special approval tag before passengers board any international flight.
“We did see a need to better enforce the carry-on allotment for international flights,” said Betsy Talton, a spokeswoman for Delta. “We are looking to make sure there is enough overhead space on international flights.”
Who is to blame for the overhead crunch? The Transportation Security Administration, which performs security screenings of passengers and bags, says it is up to the airlines to enforce the carry-on rules. Airlines, for their part, say their gate agents and flight attendants are responsible for ensuring that passengers don’t abuse the rules. But the rules, as any traveler can attest, are rarely enforced consistently. - NYT
I’ve never gotten on flight where many of the carryons (often rollers that appear to weigh 30 pounds or more) weren’t obviously beyond the stated limits. And inexperienced travelers often aren’t to blame: lots of carryons are disingenuously marketed as being “legal” when in fact they are not.
Reader Comments (2)
I flew Delta to/from Munich 2 weeks ago, and saw no special tagging. It was a regular scene of large carryon bags. We're doing Italy into Venice, out of Rome in June, and hope there isn't an issue-- since we finally broke down and bought maximum sized borderline legal carryons like we have seen others use. Hopefully it won't be a problem.
BTW, does anyone know if Delta applies different policies to its international flights (vs domestic)? Or if the policies are different first class vs coach?
It seems this policy applies only to international at the moment. It's a new policy so its implementation will probably be spotty. There's no mention of different standards by class but I'll bet they'll be much more lenient with those paying who are paying big money. The Delta website doesn't seem to reflect the changes.