With many airlines charging to check bags, some customers are opting to go with only carry-on luggage. But with the holiday season approaching and carry-on space at a premium, airlines are cracking down on the size of those carry-ons.
Government regulations state that the length plus width plus depth — known as the dimensional size — of a carry-on bag cannot total more than 45 inches. But in its displays, United Airlines says it wants bags to be smaller than that. Frontier Airlines also asks for smaller bags.
Continental Airlines and US Airways previously allowed 51 dimensional inches in their overhead bins but have replaced that size in favor of the Federal Aviation Administration’s 45 dimensional inches.
The airlines say they’re simply following FAA rules that got a little bent along the way when overhead space wasn’t so crucial.
Gabriel Dunkin-Roitman, who was at Denver International Airport after flying in from Africa, said his carry-on, a giant mask, doesn’t fit the regulation, but he would hate to check it.
“It’d be frustrating, and it’d also be nerve-racking because it’s so fragile, and it means a lot to me now that it’s traveled around the world, so handing it over would be a little scary,” said Dunkin-Roitman, clutching his mask.
Luke Mueller said he hasn’t dropped his bag in the example-bag cage set up near the ticketing counter for years.
“I just don’t see it as part of the travel experience,” Mueller said. “I guess to a certain extent I kind of empathize with their position, the situation they are in financially. They have to find cash now, but we shouldn’t have to pay for it with petty things like our baggage.”
Officials say if you do get your bag to the plane and it has to be checked, you probably won’t be charged for the bag because airlines don’t have the personnel to do it. Keep in mind, though, if too many people have oversized carry-on bags, there will be a delay in getting on the plane as the bags will have to be checked.
