Air France Baggage restrictions

Nope, they mean that is the total you get between the two bags. They are really strict.

The Air France site specifically states it:
“In the Economy or Premium cabins, your hand baggage and personal items can weigh up to 12 kg (26.4 lb) in total.”

You will be happy when you are pulling or pushing your luggage around Italy that is weighs less than 26 lbs. I think you will be surprised by how much you can pack into a carry on bag and remain under the weight limit. We did three weeks in Italy with one carry on and one back pack each. It is liberating to travel light.

We flew Air France in November, Boston to Paris for 6 nights, carry on only. We were very careful to be under the combined weight limit and size limits. In Boston, no one was checking weights/sizes. Returning from Paris, every Air France passenger was stopped in the main part of the terminal, before heading to the tram. If you were carrying anything you had to put it on the scale. There were 2 lines at the time, one had a flat bed style scale, and both pieces went on together. The other line had a combined scale/sizer bin, to check the dimensions. Someone directed us to either line. My line (flat bed) went much faster than my husband's and the attendant let my husband jump over to my line so I didn't have to wait for him. As I said we were well within the limits, but everyone was being checked.
This month we're flying TAP Air Portugal to Venice via Lisbon, they are also very strict - not so much in Boston but definitely in Lisbon, on our last flight with them, they had people walking around the gate waiting area, scanning suitcase sizes with their eyes and asking people to go to the bag size checker bin. We noticed it seemed they were much more likely to skip over a larger backpack than a questionable sized suitcase.... For this trip (2.5 weeks) one of us will carry on a small suitcase and the other will check a suitcase, with changes of clothes for both of us in the carry on, just in case the checked bag gets lost...

Last September, we flew Air France SFO to Paris, then a smaller plane to Toulouse. We fly Air France a lot. Up until last year they only did a cursory look at our soft sided carry ons. But in September we not only had them weighed, we had to put them in the measuring bins. I was glad my carry on was squishy. Please consider that 26 lbs is pretty adequate for outfits for a two week trip! Like folks have said, it's so nice not to be bogged down with a heavy suitcase.

You can find many, many great tips on packing light in the Packing Forum on this website:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing

It basically comes down to not packing a separate outfit for every day of the trip. You need mix-and-match separates, and you need to plan to do some laundry. If you make those adjustments, I think you'll find it not all that difficult unless you have unusual needs, like heavy medical equipment.

Oh yes, this is doable to get under 26# for a combined weight for both your suitcase and personal item.

I recommend you start by weighing your carry on bag and personal item. This can be a huge limiting factor in being able to pack light. Some of the bags advertised as "international carry on" weigh 8 or 9# so that puts you at a distinct disadvantage to start. Personal items can weigh a lot too, especially if it is leather! On the personal item you may have to choose between weight and organization.

Next is weighing every item that goes in to your suitcase. When I was flying an AirFrance leg from Paris to Milan I used a digital kitchen scale to weigh everything including my packing cubes and various pouches I use to corral things. When I walked out the door my newly acquired Osprey Ozone bag (4.5# empty) weighed 16.1 # and my personal item weighed 4#. My only packing error was taking a pr of ballet flats because they were lighter weight than another pr of athletic shoes. They were not functional for me on cobblestones.

A capsule wardrobe with clothing that matches everything is your key to success. 4 shirts x 3 pr of bottom pieces = 12 outfits. Add 2 scarves that match every color and that gives you 36 outfits.

Let us know if you want more on capsule wardrobes or to look at your packing list.

You’d be VERY surprised at how much one can pack in 12 kg of baggage. It gives one a chance to travel lighter too. Also make sure you have the international carry on baggage and not the American one. The international ones MUST be 21” tall, maximum. So, basically, American carryons are much larger than what’s permitted internationally

We routinely fly Delta and when traveling to places requiring a change of flights we are usually on KLM or Air France. We were never confronting with the 26.4 lbs limit, but had the 50 lbs or 22KG.

I realize if you fly within Europe, perhaps not originating from the USA that other rules many apply.

Thank you everyone for your responses, that rest helps. It was feeling confusing, so I’m glad to have this space to get feedback

Were you planning on doing laundry? That was not clear. It is tight to be sure, but it will make it easier overall. But I don't think checking a bag is a non starter (I try, but I do give in when I have to).

Don't feel you absolutely have to take carryon only.
Just check your bag.