Lufthansa and luggage weight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I flew Lufthansa last month. The bag I carry on for all US carriers was not allowed. I had to check it at the gate, as did many other passengers.
On another note, my flight back to the US was almost completely empty, at least in my section of the plane. I guess Europeans aren't coming here.

+1 This has been my experience with European carriers - even if it fits the US carry-on standards. On a recent flight, I did what I thought was carry-on only - I was asked to gate check my bag when they saw me getting on the airplane. It was within the specs weight and size but I got the sense the minute they see a roller bag they just make you check it.

Hmm ok. Well guess I will see! I have flown international airlines before with the bag and it does meet the specs (smaller than the specs!), but I guess you never know.

And yes this is for carry on! I heard that they do weigh at the gate but maybe only out of Europe! We managed to pare down to 17lbs by moving some clothes to our personal items.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most likely time for them to weigh it is at check in when they ask if you are checking the bag. I’ve had them weigh whatever I said was carryon and yep had to check due to weight. When I avoided the counter altogether no one asked.

If we check in online for an international trip don't we still have to go to their counter to show passport and get boarding pass printed? Or we just use the board pass from online and avoid their counter altogether?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s always a risk if the plane is really crowded. If you are in business class, they’ll let you get away with it. If you are in economy, they will be looking for people to check bags if they look American sized or potentially heavy - so it’s always on the table.

On our recent trip to Europe, our carryons (4) were smaller than the specs and all our carryons were underweight and yet they made us check it in both ways. I'm not sure how they target people for checking luggage. So many people with larger carryons who came after us to the gate were let through (in our line).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I flew Lufthansa last month. The bag I carry on for all US carriers was not allowed. I had to check it at the gate, as did many other passengers.
On another note, my flight back to the US was almost completely empty, at least in my section of the plane. I guess Europeans aren't coming here.

+1 This has been my experience with European carriers - even if it fits the US carry-on standards. On a recent flight, I did what I thought was carry-on only - I was asked to gate check my bag when they saw me getting on the airplane. It was within the specs weight and size but I got the sense the minute they see a roller bag they just make you check it.

Hmm ok. Well guess I will see! I have flown international airlines before with the bag and it does meet the specs (smaller than the specs!), but I guess you never know.

And yes this is for carry on! I heard that they do weigh at the gate but maybe only out of Europe! We managed to pare down to 17lbs by moving some clothes to our personal items.

Lived in Europe for several years and while some of the budget carriers at times weigh at the gates I have never (in 100 + flights) seen Lufthansa do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s always a risk if the plane is really crowded. If you are in business class, they’ll let you get away with it. If you are in economy, they will be looking for people to check bags if they look American sized or potentially heavy - so it’s always on the table.

On our recent trip to Europe, our carryons (4) were smaller than the specs and all our carryons were underweight and yet they made us check it in both ways. I'm not sure how they target people for checking luggage. So many people with larger carryons who came after us to the gate were let through (in our line).

They tend to profile for “expediency” and target people who they think won’t push back (most typically women, families with children, minorities) but if you gently push back and demonstrate that your carryon meets the required parameters/ask why you are not being permitted to bring it on when others around you are they will typically back off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I flew Lufthansa last month. The bag I carry on for all US carriers was not allowed. I had to check it at the gate, as did many other passengers.
On another note, my flight back to the US was almost completely empty, at least in my section of the plane. I guess Europeans aren't coming here.

+1 This has been my experience with European carriers - even if it fits the US carry-on standards. On a recent flight, I did what I thought was carry-on only - I was asked to gate check my bag when they saw me getting on the airplane. It was within the specs weight and size but I got the sense the minute they see a roller bag they just make you check it.

Hmm ok. Well guess I will see! I have flown international airlines before with the bag and it does meet the specs (smaller than the specs!), but I guess you never know.

And yes this is for carry on! I heard that they do weigh at the gate but maybe only out of Europe! We managed to pare down to 17lbs by moving some clothes to our personal items.

Lived in Europe for several years and while some of the budget carriers at times weigh at the gates I have never (in 100 + flights) seen Lufthansa do so.

I was going to say similar- it seems more common with Ryanair, Wizz, etc. I've never had it happen with the the bigger carriers- they may ask for passengers at the gate to voluntarily check their bags, or start checking them involuntarily once they get to a certain boarding group if the flight is full. But it's the budget ones that tend to nitpick/weigh/measure and then charge you for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I flew Lufthansa last month. The bag I carry on for all US carriers was not allowed. I had to check it at the gate, as did many other passengers.
On another note, my flight back to the US was almost completely empty, at least in my section of the plane. I guess Europeans aren't coming here.

+1 This has been my experience with European carriers - even if it fits the US carry-on standards. On a recent flight, I did what I thought was carry-on only - I was asked to gate check my bag when they saw me getting on the airplane. It was within the specs weight and size but I got the sense the minute they see a roller bag they just make you check it.

Hmm ok. Well guess I will see! I have flown international airlines before with the bag and it does meet the specs (smaller than the specs!), but I guess you never know.

And yes this is for carry on! I heard that they do weigh at the gate but maybe only out of Europe! We managed to pare down to 17lbs by moving some clothes to our personal items.

Lived in Europe for several years and while some of the budget carriers at times weigh at the gates I have never (in 100 + flights) seen Lufthansa do so.

I was going to say similar- it seems more common with Ryanair, Wizz, etc. I've never had it happen with the the bigger carriers- they may ask for passengers at the gate to voluntarily check their bags, or start checking them involuntarily once they get to a certain boarding group if the flight is full. But it's the budget ones that tend to nitpick/weigh/measure and then charge you for it.

Recent flights with different airlines:
Icelandair = My carry-on (within their size/weight limits) was weighted at check-in and required to check the bag. Their reasoning was the airplane type/size had changed and they needed to manage the weight.
KLM= my carry-on was identified at the gate as needing to be gate checked (it was well within the size/weight) and I pushed back - they still made me check it (they also said it was about weight management in the plane)
Lufthansa = I decided against my tiny carry-on wheeled bag and went with a backpack instead- it was likely above the weight limit and perhaps larger than their carry-on sizer - no one batted an eye about me carrying it on - not one agent asked me to weight or check the bag.

On Icelandair NO wheeled bags made it on the plane as a carry-one.
The KLM flight I saw plenty of folks with larger bags than mine get onboard
Lufthansa I also saw an assortment of bags making it on as a carry-on.

There does seem to be some type of profiling happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I flew Lufthansa last month. The bag I carry on for all US carriers was not allowed. I had to check it at the gate, as did many other passengers.
On another note, my flight back to the US was almost completely empty, at least in my section of the plane. I guess Europeans aren't coming here.

+1 This has been my experience with European carriers - even if it fits the US carry-on standards. On a recent flight, I did what I thought was carry-on only - I was asked to gate check my bag when they saw me getting on the airplane. It was within the specs weight and size but I got the sense the minute they see a roller bag they just make you check it.

Hmm ok. Well guess I will see! I have flown international airlines before with the bag and it does meet the specs (smaller than the specs!), but I guess you never know.

And yes this is for carry on! I heard that they do weigh at the gate but maybe only out of Europe! We managed to pare down to 17lbs by moving some clothes to our personal items.

Lived in Europe for several years and while some of the budget carriers at times weigh at the gates I have never (in 100 + flights) seen Lufthansa do so.

I was going to say similar- it seems more common with Ryanair, Wizz, etc. I've never had it happen with the the bigger carriers- they may ask for passengers at the gate to voluntarily check their bags, or start checking them involuntarily once they get to a certain boarding group if the flight is full. But it's the budget ones that tend to nitpick/weigh/measure and then charge you for it.

Recent flights with different airlines:
Icelandair = My carry-on (within their size/weight limits) was weighted at check-in and required to check the bag. Their reasoning was the airplane type/size had changed and they needed to manage the weight.
KLM= my carry-on was identified at the gate as needing to be gate checked (it was well within the size/weight) and I pushed back - they still made me check it (they also said it was about weight management in the plane)
Lufthansa = I decided against my tiny carry-on wheeled bag and went with a backpack instead- it was likely above the weight limit and perhaps larger than their carry-on sizer - no one batted an eye about me carrying it on - not one agent asked me to weight or check the bag.

On Icelandair NO wheeled bags made it on the plane as a carry-one.
The KLM flight I saw plenty of folks with larger bags than mine get onboard
Lufthansa I also saw an assortment of bags making it on as a carry-on.

There does seem to be some type of profiling happening.

Just curious, did Icelandair or KLM charge you for it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I flew Lufthansa last month. The bag I carry on for all US carriers was not allowed. I had to check it at the gate, as did many other passengers.
On another note, my flight back to the US was almost completely empty, at least in my section of the plane. I guess Europeans aren't coming here.

+1 This has been my experience with European carriers - even if it fits the US carry-on standards. On a recent flight, I did what I thought was carry-on only - I was asked to gate check my bag when they saw me getting on the airplane. It was within the specs weight and size but I got the sense the minute they see a roller bag they just make you check it.

Hmm ok. Well guess I will see! I have flown international airlines before with the bag and it does meet the specs (smaller than the specs!), but I guess you never know.

And yes this is for carry on! I heard that they do weigh at the gate but maybe only out of Europe! We managed to pare down to 17lbs by moving some clothes to our personal items.

Lived in Europe for several years and while some of the budget carriers at times weigh at the gates I have never (in 100 + flights) seen Lufthansa do so.

I was going to say similar- it seems more common with Ryanair, Wizz, etc. I've never had it happen with the the bigger carriers- they may ask for passengers at the gate to voluntarily check their bags, or start checking them involuntarily once they get to a certain boarding group if the flight is full. But it's the budget ones that tend to nitpick/weigh/measure and then charge you for it.

Recent flights with different airlines:
Icelandair = My carry-on (within their size/weight limits) was weighted at check-in and required to check the bag. Their reasoning was the airplane type/size had changed and they needed to manage the weight.
KLM= my carry-on was identified at the gate as needing to be gate checked (it was well within the size/weight) and I pushed back - they still made me check it (they also said it was about weight management in the plane)
Lufthansa = I decided against my tiny carry-on wheeled bag and went with a backpack instead- it was likely above the weight limit and perhaps larger than their carry-on sizer - no one batted an eye about me carrying it on - not one agent asked me to weight or check the bag.

On Icelandair NO wheeled bags made it on the plane as a carry-one.
The KLM flight I saw plenty of folks with larger bags than mine get onboard
Lufthansa I also saw an assortment of bags making it on as a carry-on.

There does seem to be some type of profiling happening.

Just curious, did Icelandair or KLM charge you for it?

No, neither KLM nor Icelandair charged me. I don't think they could have, considering my bags did in fact meet their written weight and size limits for a carry-on. For me, it was less about the cost issue and more about the inconvenience of having to check bags. Since you can never really be sure, I always try to ensure my personal item has everything I need so I'm not scrambling to shift stuff between my bags.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most likely time for them to weigh it is at check in when they ask if you are checking the bag. I’ve had them weigh whatever I said was carryon and yep had to check due to weight. When I avoided the counter altogether no one asked.

If we check in online for an international trip don't we still have to go to their counter to show passport and get boarding pass printed? Or we just use the board pass from online and avoid their counter altogether?

I have always used my online boarding pass and show passport at gate when boarding (last time they had photo id before boarding the plane)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I flew Lufthansa last month. The bag I carry on for all US carriers was not allowed. I had to check it at the gate, as did many other passengers.
On another note, my flight back to the US was almost completely empty, at least in my section of the plane. I guess Europeans aren't coming here.

+1 This has been my experience with European carriers - even if it fits the US carry-on standards. On a recent flight, I did what I thought was carry-on only - I was asked to gate check my bag when they saw me getting on the airplane. It was within the specs weight and size but I got the sense the minute they see a roller bag they just make you check it.

Hmm ok. Well guess I will see! I have flown international airlines before with the bag and it does meet the specs (smaller than the specs!), but I guess you never know.

And yes this is for carry on! I heard that they do weigh at the gate but maybe only out of Europe! We managed to pare down to 17lbs by moving some clothes to our personal items.

Lived in Europe for several years and while some of the budget carriers at times weigh at the gates I have never (in 100 + flights) seen Lufthansa do so.

I was going to say similar- it seems more common with Ryanair, Wizz, etc. I've never had it happen with the the bigger carriers- they may ask for passengers at the gate to voluntarily check their bags, or start checking them involuntarily once they get to a certain boarding group if the flight is full. But it's the budget ones that tend to nitpick/weigh/measure and then charge you for it.

Recent flights with different airlines:
Icelandair = My carry-on (within their size/weight limits) was weighted at check-in and required to check the bag. Their reasoning was the airplane type/size had changed and they needed to manage the weight.
KLM= my carry-on was identified at the gate as needing to be gate checked (it was well within the size/weight) and I pushed back - they still made me check it (they also said it was about weight management in the plane)
Lufthansa = I decided against my tiny carry-on wheeled bag and went with a backpack instead- it was likely above the weight limit and perhaps larger than their carry-on sizer - no one batted an eye about me carrying it on - not one agent asked me to weight or check the bag.

On Icelandair NO wheeled bags made it on the plane as a carry-one.
The KLM flight I saw plenty of folks with larger bags than mine get onboard
Lufthansa I also saw an assortment of bags making it on as a carry-on.

There does seem to be some type of profiling happening.

Just curious, did Icelandair or KLM charge you for it?

No, neither KLM nor Icelandair charged me. I don't think they could have, considering my bags did in fact meet their written weight and size limits for a carry-on. For me, it was less about the cost issue and more about the inconvenience of having to check bags. Since you can never really be sure, I always try to ensure my personal item has everything I need so I'm not scrambling to shift stuff between my bags.

In terms of capacity, both the Icelandair and the Lufthansa flights were fully booked, the KLM flight was not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s always a risk if the plane is really crowded. If you are in business class, they’ll let you get away with it. If you are in economy, they will be looking for people to check bags if they look American sized or potentially heavy - so it’s always on the table.

On our recent trip to Europe, our carryons (4) were smaller than the specs and all our carryons were underweight and yet they made us check it in both ways. I'm not sure how they target people for checking luggage. So many people with larger carryons who came after us to the gate were let through (in our line).

They tend to profile for “expediency” and target people who they think won’t push back (most typically women, families with children, minorities) but if you gently push back and demonstrate that your carryon meets the required parameters/ask why you are not being permitted to bring it on when others around you are they will typically back off.

Yes we were a minority - and a family with kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most likely time for them to weigh it is at check in when they ask if you are checking the bag. I’ve had them weigh whatever I said was carryon and yep had to check due to weight. When I avoided the counter altogether no one asked.

If we check in online for an international trip don't we still have to go to their counter to show passport and get boarding pass printed? Or we just use the board pass from online and avoid their counter altogether?

I have always used my online boarding pass and show passport at gate when boarding (last time they had photo id before boarding the plane)

So by law no passport check needed by airlines other than at the gate if you already have a boarding pass?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most likely time for them to weigh it is at check in when they ask if you are checking the bag. I’ve had them weigh whatever I said was carryon and yep had to check due to weight. When I avoided the counter altogether no one asked.

If we check in online for an international trip don't we still have to go to their counter to show passport and get boarding pass printed? Or we just use the board pass from online and avoid their counter altogether?

I have always used my online boarding pass and show passport at gate when boarding (last time they had photo id before boarding the plane)

So by law no passport check needed by airlines other than at the gate if you already have a boarding pass?

Not sure it's by law, but I have found that if I can check in online, get a digital boarding pass, the only time I've been asked to show my passport is when I get to the gate. Sometimes they will call me up for the passport check, sometimes it's at the point of the facial scan when you begin to board. In some European airports I have never shown my passport - just used the facial scan.

[Anonymous]

soft bags will squish more in a car or can be out under feet in the backseat.