Continental Shrinks Carry-On Max To Industry Minimum

Continental Airlines this month reduced the size of allowable carry-on items from 51 linear inches (length plus height plus width) to 45 linear inches or 115 centimeters, matching its key competitors and partners but nevertheless drawing criticism.

Lazard Frères & Co. corporate travel manager Bonnie Darkey at a recent New York City Business Travel Association meeting suggested Continental would "lose business travelers" as a result of the revised carry-on policy. "It is not about the $15 to a business traveler," she said, referring to the cost of checking a bag rather than carrying it onboard. "It is about being able to get off that plane and get to where they need to go. They don't want to stand around for 30 or 40 minutes waiting for their bag."

Some might see Continental's decision to limit flexibility for carry-on items as part two of a double whammy that began with new charges levied for checking bags.

"With the airlines starting to charge for checked bags, more passengers are trying to beat these charges by carrying more items on planes--larger and heavier bags," according to The Travel Insider. "The airlines, in turn, now have a financial incentive to enforce their carry-on bag limits, and we anticipate increasing attention and enforcement of carry-on weight limits in the future."

Continental's action to lower the maximum allowable size represents an apparent reversal of its stance on carry-on baggage from a decade ago. Between 1998 and 2000, the airline successfully battled against Delta Air Lines and United Airlines' installation of baggage-sizing templates on X-ray machines at shared checkpoints in certain airports. At the time, Continental was hyping its large, overhead bins and argued that the sizers hindered its promotional efforts to draw customers.

When asked why the airline no longer prioritizes that perspective, a spokeswoman pointed to the need to provide a common experience for passengers who are connecting to or from flights operated by a Continental partner.

Continental's size requirements for carry-on baggage now matches those of American Airlines, United and current codeshare partners Delta and Northwest Airlines (see chart below). An apparent future Continental partner in Star Alliance, US Airways' maximum is 51 inches, as is Alaska Airlines', which currently shares codes with Continental. Frontier Airlines' is 49 inches, Southwest Airlines' is 50 inches and AirTran Airways' is 55 inches. JetBlue Airways has the most generous carry-on maximum: 56 inches for passengers flying on its Airbus A320 aircraft. JetBlue's maximum size for its Embraer 190 aircraft is 50 inches.

Moreover, some airlines specify on their Web sites the maximum allowable weight for carry-on bags (often between 35 pounds and 40 pounds), but most do not.

Most seasoned travelers also know that carry-on items that fit in overhead bins on most regular-size jets won't be allowed in the passenger cabins of regional jets and turboprop aircraft, and instead must be checked (and returned) planeside.

Airlines may provide additional carry-on baggage guidelines in their contracts of carriage. Southwest's, for example, notes that a bag that would meet size requirements "if the wheels were removed will be accepted. Additionally, oversized articles of reasonable carry-on size that protrude from only one side of the sizing box [available at check-in counters] and, because of their fragile nature, would be at greater than normal risk of damage if carried in the cargo hold (e.g., musical instruments, blueprints, map tubes, fishing poles, artworks, media cameras/video equipment) are considered personal-type items and may be carried in the passenger cabin if remaining onboard space permits and they fit in an overhead bin without unfairly depriving other passengers."

Many manufacturers make "rollaboards"--a business traveler favorite--and similar pieces of luggage with advertised external dimensions that meet most airline requirements. But according to The Travel Insider, "Not only do luggage stores and manufacturers seldom tell you if their bag is legally sized or not, but they also frequently mismeasure their bag. If you should be very unlucky and find yourself forced to try and squeeze your carry-on into an unforgiving luggage template by the gate, even one extra inch--if your bag is already at the maximum--will be enough to mean it doesn't fit and you have to check the bag."

In its reviews, The Travel Insideridentified several manufacturers that sell rollaboards with a combined dimension that exceeds the advertised information and therefore airline requirements, including Briggs & Riley, Costco Kirkland, High Sierra, Porter, SkyRoll, Swany, Travelpro and Walmart American Tourister.

In addition to one piece of carry-on luggage, airlines generally allow passengers to also bring onto airplanes a personal item. Permissible items often are identified as briefcases, laptops, purses, handbags, small backpacks, umbrellas, diaper bags, camera cases and overcoats. [Additional allowances generally are made for medical assistance items.]

Complicating matters are size limits on these personal items. While most airlines do not explicitly communicate such limits, some do, including American (a 36-inch maximum combined size of length plus height plus width), JetBlue (41 inches) and Northwest (32 inches).

"It seems that the space under the seat in front of you is getting smaller and smaller, particularly with some airlines (most notably on international flights) adding bulky electronic boxes under each seat to control the at-seat video entertainment systems, and with more closely spaced seats that are, themselves, thinner than before," according to The Travel Insider. "Even if there isn't a blocking box of electronics, due to the design of the seat frame and supports, you'll find there might be the least amount of space under the aisle seat, a bit more space under the wing seat, and most space underneath the center seat."