Former Lancastrian

So today Air Canada started a project trial at Pearson International to ensure that carry on baggage is not too large or too heavy for the overhead bins on its flights.
The move comes ahead of the implementation on Nov. 2 of a $25 fee for checked bags on domestic flights. Air Canada announced the fee earlier this month, following WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Porter Airlines Inc.

Thank you AC and any other airline that enforces this and forces those passengers that clearly abuse this and makes them check in those bags that dont meet the requirements.
Now many will say this is a jobsworth type of attitude and a cash grab on their part but is it.
Checked in bags are weighed whereas carry ons are not and neither are passengers. The more weight = more fuel used and Im pretty sure there is a maximum safe weight for the aircraft to operate under. Several small aircraft have crashed because they were overweight and there is even speculation that one of Malaysias aircraft crashes might have been attributed to overloading.
How many times have we seen travellers trying to ram a bag into the overhead bins or when assisting someone the bag is clearly overweight.
The airline allows passengers to carry what it calls one standard article and one personal article on to its planes, such as carry-on luggage, knapsacks, camera bags and some garment bags.
Each of these articles has a weight limit of 10 kilograms. Standard articles have a maximum size of 23 by 40 by 55 centimetres, while personal articles are limited to items 16 by 33 by 43 centimetres.
So will you view the airline staff as jobsworths if they all enforce this or does this become a safety issue?
Let the mayhem commence

Shard

Nope, I think it's good policy. I don't think the overweight of the flight is a serious issue, more a case of a heavy bag falling out of an overhead.

not2old

I'm all for zero bags in the overhead compartment. Just a coat (nothing else) & whatever will fit under the seat ... that's it

Truly over-sized, crammed, stuffed, bent, twisted, wrinkled & broken. Will all the other airlines follow suit?

scrubbedexpat091

I don't have an issue with it. People way over pack when travelling and try to carry way too much on and this only seems to have gotten worse over the last 15 years.

I have never traveled with more then my standard sized carry on which meets all north american airlines size requirements, and I can't think of what people possibly need to take when some of the bags are bigger then a small child.

I have no idea if airlines are weighing checked bags now for safety, but when I did customer service the only reason the scale was used was to collect over weight bag fees, the weight wasn't recorded anywhere. A standard average weight was used for bags and passengers, and I think still are in the US (not sure about Canada and elsewhere.)

The only exact weights were fuel and cargo. Passengers and luggage used a standard weight set by the FAA.

When I had to figure out the weight of luggage it was simply number of bags * average weight = weight of bags regardless of what the actual weight was.

But it was all FAA approved, and nothing ever fell from the sky, but we didn't operate small aircraft either, smallest we operated was 124 seats.

Jericho79

I cant help but notice the irony of a CBSA border agent commenting about other "jobsworths".

FWIW, last time I flew out of Halifax airport, the Air Canada desk had constructed a make shift bench to check the measurements of your regular luggage. i.e. even if you are within weight, they were still trying to sting you if your case was over sized. Not sure what they expect you to do if they ever found a case which was too big, but if nothing else, it proves that Air Canada are a bunch of tw@ts.

Alan2005

Jobsworth .... Lol

bats

I'm just glad I got back on Thursday. It too me ages to ram my carryon luggage into the overhead locker and then stuff my handbag under the seat. It's a good job there were a couple of brats next to me to even the weight out.

Btw you couldn't move at Pearson for CBSA staff. Checking passports as you got off the plane, then checking the do not fold card, then another checking the do not fold card and passport, then finally someone to hand the do not fold card to.

Tirytory

So are you saying no one really checks how much the plane, passengers and luggage weigh before flying? Sure there must be enough of a margin that it's unnecessary... Did the planes really crash because of too many pies!!!!!!

Former Lancastrian

But is it irony? We all have jobs to do in life and rules or regulations to follow. Would you expect a cashier at a grocery store to knock off $20 off your grocery bill because they thought you deserved it, well your home insurance policy should be $800 a year but Im only gonna collect $700 and hope the boss doesn't notice or how about the CRA employee reviewing your tax return and reducing your total income by $10,000 to get you a lower tax bracket.
Are they all jobsworths as well?
Sure we can choose to look the other way for that extra bottle you did or didn't declare or you have $40 worth of dairy products and elect not to charge the prescribed higher duties.
Do you give people a break in your job? And if not WHY?

scrubbedexpat091

Happens all the time in the hotel world, sometimes the front desk agent will knock of a few bucks off the rate is asked nicely, or maybe they will upgrade the room for someone who was pleasant and there are rooms available and so on.

But hotels tend to be very flexible and give their staff a lot more decision making then a lot of places do.

The airline I was at was pretty flexible, we could waive fees, upgrade passengers, and other small customer service oriented things to keep people happy, or just to be nice for a special occasion like someone going on their honey moon.

If I had first class seats available at the gate, and you come up and asked me and were dressed decent, I'd upgrade you, and the airline didn't care, it was called a good will gesture by management.

BristolUK

Jobsworth. What someone who doesn't want to lose their own job calls someone else who also doesn't want to lose their job. A hypocrite.

Zoe Bell

You use standard weights ( I should know the exact figures ) I think it is 165 for a female 200 for s male.
Over a large aircraft it evens out. On a small one I actually have to ask people what they weigh.

Baggage is estimated or weighed. And yes crashes have been caused by overweight planes or planes loaded outside the centre of gravity limits

Former Lancastrian

Thats a good example. Some will argue thats not completely fair as then certain upgrades are based on appearance. So you have one 1st class seat empty do you give it to the guy/girl dresses in business attire or the guy/girl dressed in jeans and a t shirt. Perhaps the guy in the suit beats his wife and the guy in the jeans is a war veteran.
If you have paid for a hotel room and they upgrade you to a suite at no extra cost then why advertise the room at a higher price to begin with?
Sure its all customer service to a degree but some employees have no choice to do their job.

scrubbedexpat091

You'd have to talk to marketing department at hotels to see why they do the things they do.

One point of "upgrading" is to retain brand loyalty, guests who think they got something tend to remember the brand vs the brand who appeared to do nothing.

Few hotel chains actually own hotels anymore, they are nothing but brands, and the brand is all they have, so they do everything they can do retain brand loyalty.

As for the airline, nicely dressed = more likely to fly on a regular basis vs the guy in jeans, especially if the guy in jeans has no FF card, no FF card = no brand loyalty, so focus is on those who show loyalty to the brand.

When I worked lost luggage, we looked up passenger history to prioritize the bags were were gonna to track down first, the more the person flew with us = higher priority.

If it came down to 2 bags, one belonging to someone who flew with us 10 times that year and someone who flew 1 time that year, well the person who flew 10 times had a higher priority.

It really does at times pay to be loyal to certain brands in some industries and you will get further if you have some sort of status with the company.

Jericho79

No, it would be like the cashier at the supermarket demanding to rummage through your pockets, etc to see if you'd stolen anything. Then following you to your car to see if there was anything else in there that you shouldnt have.