british airways

In the UK it is one carry-on PERIOD. They ask you to stuff, for example, a laptop bag inside your larger carry-on. If it can't fit, it must be checked. Elsewhere in Europe, they are a bit more lax about this, but in the UK they are not.

The one-bag rule applies to all carriers flying out of the UK

This topic was bought up on another site and everyone said the allowance is one bag only. You can put as much as you like - I would assume within reason - in it but it must only be one piece. General comments on this was that they were very strict - no exceptions.

I had read that this was to be relaxed but flew out several days ago and rule was still strictly enforced.

It's strictly enforced when you go through security screening at Heathrow - and you usually will as you transfer international flights. It's pretty comical - if you can stuff one bag into another then the two only count as one. But they enforce the rule.

After security, no one cares. So if you buy something at duty free, it's not a problem.

Our travel nightmare has to do with the one bag carryon rule at Heathrow.
We had small luggage bags that fit the US requirements just fine. Also US rules allow a small luggage and a briefcase/laptop carryone -essentially two pieces.

When we transferred at Heathrow to catch a plane to Rome, we had to go through security screening again and we were allowed only ONE bag- no exceptions. We stuffed the daypack into the suitcase but it did not fit the requried space by 1/2 inch.
They made us go through passport control, enter the country and fill out the immigration paperwork, then go to the British Airways counter - a long line -- and check our bags onto the rome flight. and then go through security screening again -- another long line -- to get to the Rome departure gate. We had a two hour layover between connecting flights. We barely made it. We were RUNNING like a scene out of Amazing Race to make our flight to Rome. We made it just as the last passenger at the gate had boarded.