Mission Accomplished: Complete Dive Kit In Single Carry On Bag

[scubadada]

My wife and I travel quite a bit, together and separately. My impression is that many airlines have already, or are increasing enforcement of carry on policies. US travelers and US domestic flights appear to be the last coming around.

About a year ago my wife and I were traveling from Basel to Cairo via London on British Airways and were required to check generally compliant carry on bags at the gate because the wheels stuck out of the sizer by about a half inch. There was no compromising on the matter.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I never made that claim, I can only speak to my own experience.

I'm sorry you can't "see" how this would pass as an acceptable carry on but for all four flights of my last trip it worked well, again I can only speak to my own experience.

Not sure how much air travel you do but as most travelers know the carry on limits are often stretched by most passengers. I often see folks with 3 bags (parents etc) or bags that are far larger than the posted restrictions. It is certainly not advisable to assume the airlines will allow you to skirt the rules just because others are doing it but at the same time airlines have always been a bit more lax on the rules than what is posted in the fine print.

I understand you are only relating your own experience. What I meant by I "can't see" is that a literal interpretation of the rules doesn't seem to fit strapping extra items onto the outside of a carry-on bag. I am drawing an inference that your experience should not be interpreted as what the rest of us can expect from an airline should they choose to strictly enforce their existing rules. As uncfnp pointed out, Delta is usually pretty reasonable with carry-on items; I see people carrying all kinds of stuff. People do try to stretch the rules all the time, and the gate agents try to turn a blind eye. Especially with all the negative customer service press the airlines are getting these days, I suspect no airline employee wants to end up in the news for having been too by-the-book on a customer. Others are welcome to take their chances trying to push the limits of the rules. I am not going to take the chance with strapping fins to my bag and asking airlines to consider it all part of that bag. It's great for all those dive trips up until the one on which some gate agent asks you to remove the fins and check them.

 

[ScubaDoo83]

It's great for all those dive trips up until the one on which some gate agent asks you to remove the fins and check them.

Would that really be that big of a deal though? So you get your bag checked at the gate, then you get your bag as you deplane. You are still not getting charged for a checked bag and you get to keep your scuba gear with you. I don't see the problem.

I am drawing an inference that your experience should not be interpreted as what the rest of us can expect from an airline should they choose to strictly enforce their existing rules.

Nor should you. You could follow the carry on rules to a tee and still be forced to check your bag at the gate. It is solely up to the airlines and no single situation will ever be guaranteed when traveling.

 

[uncfnp]

I understand you are only relating your own experience. What I meant by I "can't see" is that a literal interpretation of the rules doesn't seem to fit strapping extra items onto the outside of a carry-on bag. I am drawing an inference that your experience should not be interpreted as what the rest of us can expect from an airline should they choose to strictly enforce their existing rules. As uncfnp pointed out, Delta is usually pretty reasonable with carry-on items; I see people carrying all kinds of stuff. People do try to stretch the rules all the time, and the gate agents try to turn a blind eye. Especially with all the negative customer service press the airlines are getting these days, I suspect no airline employee wants to end up in the news for having been too by-the-book on a customer. Others are welcome to take their chances trying to push the limits of the rules. I am not going to take the chance with strapping fins to my bag and asking airlines to consider it all part of that bag. It's great for all those dive trips up until the one on which some gate agent asks you to remove the fins and check them.

I started pushing the limit after witnessing others basically ignoring them. But in my defense I will say that our back packs easily fit in the overhead, much easier than any of the roller bags. In fact it is the rigid stays that put the bags at the edge so both Eric and I plan to just remove them if it ever becomes an issue.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Would that really be that big of a deal though? So you get your bag checked at the gate, then you get your bag as you deplane. You are still not getting charged for a checked bag and you get to keep your scuba gear with you. I don't see the problem.

You're right in the sense that if they check your bag at the gate because you didn't follow the rules or they didn't have room for it or whatever, they (well, at least US-based airlines) don't charge you to gate-check the bag. I have heard of people intentionally gaming the system that way to get a "free" checked bag.

 

[Stoo]

You mean I can bungee whatever I want to my carry-on bag, and the airline will count it as part of that bag?

No you can't. The OP was allowed to board with this only because the folks that checked him in let it slide. As he pointed out, there are so many ridiculously oversized carry on bags these days, that "close" like this one, looks great.

Because Mrs. Stoo is in the Edumacating business, we are obliged to travel at school breaks. Flying out of Toronto or Buffalo at Spring Break time is amusing since every small kid on their way to Disney has a "legal" roller bag, with three giant teddy bears, a water bottle, flip flops and Dad's tennis racket strapped to it, so a tidy case with some lowly fins barely gets a second look... But it might.

I use a Pelican 1510 legit carry-on for my camera stuff, and it looks tiny compared to most carry-on bags.

 

[scubadada]

Would that really be that big of a deal though? So you get your bag checked at the gate, then you get your bag as you deplane. You are still not getting charged for a checked bag and you get to keep your scuba gear with you. I don't see the problem...

It actually does not always work that way, perhaps most of the time in the US, not so much other places. I've had a bag checked at the gate 3 times outside of the US and, each time, the bag was available at baggage claim and not in the jetway when exiting the plane. Especially on our trip to Egypt from Switzerland, I was a little nervous that our bags might not be in the claim area in Cairo, fortunately, they were.

In the last 20 years, I have flown with scuba gear for me and my family on many, many occasions. I don't like to check luggage either, but, we generally check the majority of our gear in nondescript hard sided, soft luggage. We take our expensive, smaller stuff like regulators, computers, and cameras in our carry on luggage. Only once, was our scuba gear not delivered on our plane, and that a flight from Philadelphia to Cozumel on US Airways before the AA merger. Aldora loaned us rental gear for free until our equipment arrived the next day.

Good luck to us all

 

[Thomthumb]

My fins and my whole dive kit fit into a dive caddy backpack. I dive with an old reef rider or a scubapro BCD. I am selling the extra backpacks that I am not using here.

 

[flyboy08]

A weeks worth of clothe in a backpack....oh the thought of my creased Brooks Brothers linen pants!

 

[ScubaDoo83]

My fins and my whole dive kit fit into a dive caddy backpack. I dive with an old reef rider or a scubapro BCD. I am selling the extra backpacks that I am not using here.

From what I've seen the Dive Caddy "stretches" the rules every bit as much as my solution here. I'd much rather be forced to check my hardshell rather than that Dive Caddy any day.

A weeks worth of clothe in a backpack....oh the thought of my creased Brooks Brothers linen pants!

C'mon man, learn to iron!