Swiss air

Every airline has their own rules, but that's Swiss Air's rule, yes. And they or may not actually weigh the bags, particularly if they look tightly packed and/or heavy. Seventeen pounds isn't much if it's your only bag. I always check a bag and have never had a problem with having one lost or delayed.

They are fairly strict. We used them last summer and had standard sized carryon bags (21"). When getting boarding passes the attendant asked me if we were checking any bags to which I said no. (I was unaware of their 8 kilo limit btw). She asked me to place my bag on the scale and it weighed 11 kilos. I ended up checking the bag. On our return trip there were two attendants going up and down the line of passengers in line to board the aircraft that had scales they were using to weigh carry-ons. Yes.... they weighed mine (this time it was 9 kilos) and they let me go with it.

Nancy and Peter, thanks for your replies. We were hoping to travel carry on only. We are a Girl Scout troop of 9 people. However, with the limited carry on weight with swiss air, I think we need to plan differently to be prepared. I'll have everyone make sure they are under the 8 kilo with their 1 carry on and we can hopefully have just a few checked bags with everyone's extra weight (shoes, liquids,etc.). A little bit of a bummer but better to get it figured out now instead of trying to scramble at the airport. We actually leave tulsa on united so we would not have even been aware of the swiss air weight requirement until at the swiss air gate in chicago.

I am also checking Swiss for my family and according to their website you're allowed another personal item. Here's a direct quote from their website - "Adults and children (2-11 years of age) can take one other personal item on board with them in addition to their hand baggage allowance. One lady's handbag or one laptop bag or one shoulder bag, maximum dimensions 40 x 30 x 10 cm." Be also aware of this: "From 1 April, it will no longer be possible to take the following items on board separately. 1 coat or blanket 1 umbrella or walking stick 1 small camera or 1 set of binoculars
reading for the journey These items must be carried in the hand baggage or other personal item."

The rules are much tighter on the foreign-flagged carriers than they are on the domestics with respect to hand baggage. My own personal experience on Swiss is that the rules weren't strictly enforced a bit over two years ago, but I assumed prior to my flight that they would be, so I would have been okay either way (and I was). I always pack super light when traveling for leisure – one small backpack with everything I need inside, including my daybag (empty & stuffed inside backpack). Nobody with the airline really checked anyone's hand baggage at ORD for my flight out...plane was only 1/3 full. And even on full flights from ZRH to MAD, MAD to ZRH, and ZRH back to ORD, I still didn't observe anyone measuring, weighing, or otherwise scrutinizing bags, and I noticed some that were clearly way over the limit. Still, I don't take any chances, because the airlines can and do enforce their own rules, if not only sporadically. I have been on many domestic flights, where they made everyone in line put their bag in the sizer box...if it didn't fit, it was checked. My advice is to stick to the hand baggage rules for anything you don't want to part with, and make sure it can actually fit under your seat in case there's no room in the overhead bin. As for getting around these new April 1 rules, you can wear your jacket after going through security (if you have one)...airplanes are cold anyway, but you can always take it off later. Most kids only have cameras in their phones...otherwise, it's small and can fit in the backpack. Forget the umbrella...buy a cheapo when you're there if needed...street vendors sell them in touristy areas of big cities...3-5 Euro...negotiate. A guidebook or two or paperback can fit in the backpack. I've traveled like this for years, and all this stuff fits in my one bag. It's not easy, but I basically have it down to a science now, including weighing my bag at home. Good luck!

SwissAIr is VERY strict. Even if your bag weighs under the acceptable amount, if it's not quite the right dimensons, they will still make you check it. I took my smallest wheeled bag (about the size of a typical young student's backpack for school (not to be confused with a touring backpack on a frame) and because it didn't quite fit in the sizing container, we had to pay extra to check it at the gate.

Thanks for all the help. I think we are planned the best we can and hoping all goes well. We are checking a few bags within the group to help everyone keep their carry on weight limit under the 8 kilo. I left a message with swiss air and someone actually called me back and said the expected 1 bag under 8 kilo but also said 1 personal item allowed as mentioned by the earlier poster in this thread. The swiss air employee that called me said he was reading directly from the website. So, we plan to have a small size bag under 8 kilos and a small personal item to stay within their guidelines and try not to draw too much attention to us.