Hand luggage allowance

[LeonieM]

Just to check the latest, I found this on the website.

"In addition to the cabin baggage allowance, the following personal items may be carried on board:


A handbag, pocketbook or purse i.e. which is appropriate to normal travelling dress and is not being used as a container for the transportation of articles which could otherwise be regarded as baggage.
An overcoat or wrap.
An umbrella (pointed or/and sharp prohibited) or walking stick.
A small camera and/or pair of binoculars.
A reasonable amount of reading matter for the flight.
Infants food for consumption in flight.
A small amount of duty free goods."

I notice with great interest that it no longer says 'Heathrow Airport only' or 'Gatwick only' etc, as it did a few months ago! Does this now mean I can carry a small handbag on board as well as my cabin bag?

And that, incidentally has also been increased slightly, now being "Individual dimensions not to exceed 23 x 36 x 56cm, (approx 9 x 14 x 22 inches) and 13lb/6kg in weight."

I'm sure it was only 5kg before.

[sex kitten]

BAA's official site for Gatwick, say's the restrictions have been lifted as of the 31st March. Yipee :purplejum

However, it does say that individual airlines may still have restrictions in place, so check with them.
I put my handbag in someones hand luggage last year to go through security, then once thru took it out and carried it. So with my duty free, I carried three bags onto Virgin's plane and no-one said a word. ;)

[LeonieM]

31st March, eh? They kept that one quiet, didn't they! Probably want as many people as possible not to bring the extra bag through! ;)

As I got this information from Virgin Atlantic's own website, I should imagine it's pretty accurate! lol

[dmrevis]

yes the restrictions have been eased. Having said that there is not very much "give-or-take" like there used to be. Nowadays if your bag doesnt fit in the size checker thing you will have to check it. I've seen it many times at airports, bags even just over the size having to be checked. It does of course depend on the airline aswell. Budget airlines are a lot more strict.

[LeonieM]

Yes, I know what you mean there. I got my bag up this morning and measured it very carefully. It is a good 1/2" inside the maximum length - just as well as it's a rigid-framed case and the only surface which is squash-downable is the front. The handle retracts right down inside, and only the wheels stick out beyond the case itself.

I remember last year 5 of them watching us like eagles as we eased our bags into the box to check they'd go in fully. There was no problem with mine and hubby's (both having the same Kipling rucksack), but Emma had stuffed a soft toy in, and on the face of it it didn't look like it would fit. Luckily I was able to force it in. On going back to the desk, I explained about her toy and showed how flexible the bag was. They were satisfied.

[KeriandSophie]

This is brill news!

My poor (15KG plus 5KG) luggage allowance will stretch that little bit further if we can take a handbag too, can put all the magazines, ipod, sweets etc into the handbag and free up a little bit of space in the hand luggage for goodies, esp on the way home :)

[LeonieM]

Do check with your individual airline - if it's one of the budget ones they may still refuse to allow a handbag! Don't get caught on the day!

[KeriandSophie]

Couldn't find it on the Thomas Cook website earlier today (Don't know if i'm looking in the correct place, their website is terrible) but can always give them a ring before we go.

[LeonieM]

Do you know what airline it is? If you do, you can check the airline's own site.

[KeriandSophie]

Its Thomas Cook. *double checks* yep, definately Thomas Cook airlines lol.

[dmrevis]

Another thing to remember is that infants (if they have their own seat and aren't in a parents lap) get an allowance too. Our 3 year old gets the full 2x23kg bags allowance (Virgin Atlantic) which my girfriend and I will gladly use for taking all of our shopping back!:laughing:

[KeriandSophie]

Just found this on Thomas Cook website:
You are allowed one piece of hand baggage only which must not exceed 5 kg in weight or 43 cm x 28 cm x 23 cm in size. One piece of hand baggage includes handbags, laptops etc, anyone carrying any more than one piece of hand baggage will be referred back to check-in.

But the Gatwick website says:
'The government restriction limiting passengers to one item of cabin baggage is lifted with effect from Monday 31st March 2008. The size restriction shown below still applies. However, some airlines may still have their own restrictions and passengers are advised to check with their airline for their particular baggage policy.'


Hmm. I take it we have to go by what Thomas Cook says?

[KeriandSophie]

Anyone? :o

[dolphingirl]

Yes, each airline can set their own hand luggage limits as long as they do not exceed the limits set by the government and/or the airport operator. I work for a scheduled airline and we only allow one piece of hand luggage in economy even so the airport would allow people to take more through the security check. Our flights are pretty much always full and there is simply not space for more than one item per person on the aircraft.

dolphingirl