European airline carry-on weight restrictions

Jarrod, I haven't had this issue yet, but all the carriers we are taking on our upcoming trip post the weight limit of 7kg/13lb. It worried me enough that we are taking small duffel bags that weigh next to nothing. At the same time, though, it's almost a blessing: we are the ones that have to carry those pounds all over Europe anyway! It'll be easier on us if they are lighter. We did look into buying a backpack-carry on from ebags.com, but in the end, we settled on two duffels we already have. They'll do the job, and we can spend that $50 while we are in Europe!

That 7/13 weight limit is just small. If they only want you to carry on a purse or briefcase then they ought to just limit it. Think of it this way. Laptops weigh 5-10 lbs. If you have a wheeled carry-on size suitcase and a laptop then you're already pushing the weight limit. YIKES!

Jarrod, they ARE limiting it. If you are going through Heathrow you are only allowed ONE item to carry on, and they are serious about it. Some carriers, as you have seen, are discouraging carry-ons by limiting the size or weight you can bring on. If you feel you must carry on more than the limit of a particular carrier, you just have to look for another carrier. Otherwise, the rules are the rules.

Hi Jarrod
I recently purchased a bag from www.ebag.com. I am planning to use it next year for travel in Italy. It is a light weigh within the carry-on size regulation and it has hidden straps that turns it into a back pack. It is similar to the one sold by RS but it was only about $50. The brand name is EBAG.

Hope this helps

Jennifer

Steve certainly has a very valid point. One of the reasons I'm really pushing to carry on for our next flight to Europe despite the 13 pound limit is that we have a very tight layover and I want to make sure our bags get to our initial destination. I'm sure I'll have to check on the way back, but once I'm home, I can wait for my bag without stressing (as much anyway). There still is that fear that it will disappear into never never land...

Nancy is right, and it's not just through the UK. We are flying Aer Lingus through Ireland to France, and Easy Jet from France to Spain, and both airlines limit both weight and the number of carry-ons. We are each allowed 13 pounds in ONE carry-on (no personal item allowed). It's tough, but we've finally got it down. And it doesn't include a laptop. If you want to carry-on, you may have to leave that home. Good luck!

I think this is an interesting topic for conversation. As someone who likes to carry-on my entire luggage whenever possible, it's really something that we in the US have taken to the point of abuse.
I think a main reason for this is distrust (in the airlines) in our luggage making it to our destination along with distrust in those who may help themselves to their contents.
But the idea behind carry-on is to bring those things on the plain which we may need during a 1,2,4,10,etc... hour flight.
We don't need three changes of clothes including unique shoes, belts, and matching hats for that period of time we're on the plane. Other than when we bring a laptop or medical equipment reasons, I don't see a reason why we should even be concerned about the carry-on weight limits.
Of course that assumes the airlines do their job of getting us our luggage as safe and complete as we expect. That all being said, I still carry on whenever I can do it nationally.

Additionally, I forgot to mention the huge bother when boarding a plane (not plain as I typo'd above) and the FA's have to find out whose bag "this is" because it needs to be gate checked. Also those who run into unexpected problems on the way to the airport, causing them to get their later than planned, and find all the overheads full, except at the far back when they're sitting up front.
If we brought what was necessary, this would never be an issue. Maybe they've got it right everywhere else (although Alitalia seems to be getting reamed lately for poor luggage handling)?

I'm starting to think this is a plot by airlines to raise more revenue. First, they begin by severely limiting the weight of carry-ons, which seems to go against all logic, since they have to pay more for each extra piece of luggage stored in the hold. I can understand size requirements...to make sure the luggage will fit into the bins or under the seat...but not such severe weight limits. So now that they're severely restricting what we can carry on board, all of a sudden, they start charging usfor checking our bags! Now they've got us coming AND going....so to speak. I can see this unfortunate trend, pioneered by Ryanair, spreading much further as airlines try to squeeze more revenue out of each passenger. It makes it much more important that we carefully check all these additional charges before falling for the "one cent" ticket deals.

When I travel I try to carry on everything. I do this for a few simple reasons: I am more flexible when I travel in case of a delayed or canceled flight, I don't have to trust an incompetent airline industry baggage handling system with my belongings, and it forces me to pack light. Everyone has their "thing" that they probably care too much about when traveling, and this is mine. I want to carry on absolutely everything for the reasons I mentioned (and ONLY the reasons I mentioned, by the way). Let's just say that I am not happy about this.

Luckily I don't have a laptop.

This topic is very serious to me because of several reasons. My knees are so bad that I need to have them replaced, but I can't afford to take the time off of work without having my sit-down job taken over by someone else. I cannot go to Europe without taking a wheeled bag, there is no way I could use a cane and carry a backpack also. And the airlines have lost my bags so many times that it is almost hard to believe. So I am going to carry on my bag with wheels that meets the U.S. size requirements and then "gate check" it when I get to Europe. Even when I fly in the U.S., I take at least one change of clothes and of course all medication on board with me. I would suggest "gate checking" things once you get to Europe.

We each carried on Rick's 21" Roll Aboard and each carried on a day back pack on KLM and all were stuffed full. I dont recall the weight limits in place. They did question our day back packs and we told them that they served as our purses.

As I mentioned, I'll carry on any time I can when traveling in the US. When my we flew to Heathrow in March of 2006, we had the cheapest seats at the back of the plane. We actually really liked the seats, however they did have very strict carry-on restrictions for our (lowest) class of fare. We were both bringing wheeled luggage that meets US carry-on requirements, however we didn't attempt to bring them on the plane with us. We both had backpacks with the essentials for a SEA-LHR flight.
Once we got on the plane, we found that we easily could have carried on our luggage and there was plenty of room in the overhead for it. But since we weren't connecting, we weren't going to try it.
I have a soft duffel for those times when I may be pushing the size of the overhead - it will compact much easier than any stiff-walled rollaway. But it's a pain to carry, especially when I travel with my laptop backpack.
If only we felt sure our luggage would arrive every time.