Travellers say Air Canada is getting stricter about carry-on baggage
If you’re flying anywhere with Air Canada in the near future, you’re going to want to double-check the size of any carry-on bags before you head to the airport, as the airline has apparently been more stringent in enforcing its rules for cabin luggage lately.
Passengers have yet again been going online to warn others that customer service agents at Toronto Pearson International Airport and other travel hubs in Canada are being far more thorough in measuring and weighing carry-on bags and personal items at check-in than they have been in the past.
One traveller cited “people having complete meltdowns” at YYZ on Thursday because they were not being permitted to bring very obviously oversized duffels and suitcases aboard with them as they somehow expected they would be, and instead had to pay to check them.
Same thing was happening in Vancouver yesterday.
— Ken (@canajuneh) June 9, 2023
Replies to the news are quite evenly divided between those complaining of the high cost to check their belongings — along with how commonly carriers tend to lose them in transit — and those who are happy that the company is finally taking this step.
Many have chimed in with their own stories of trying to pack light only to find the overhead bin above their seat (and everywhere else on the plane) completely rammed with other people’s stuff.
“I travel really lightly and it’s such a pain, I usually end up having to gate check my bag because there’s no room in the overhead bins,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“My biggest pet peeve is when the overhead compartment above my seat is already filled because other people carry on way too much stuff. I side with AC on this,” another added.
And yet another: “On one hand, it is ridiculous that we’re now paying to even bring a carry-on bag on a flight. On the other, every flight I’ve ever taken has featured some man freaking out about a bag that hasn’t been carry-on size for 27 years.”
Good. The amount of carry ons is ridiculous imho. Check it in like everyone else
— Donna Walker (@_dlwalker) March 10, 2023
This isn’t the first time this year that a social media post on the topic has gone viral — in March, someone uploaded a TikTok video to advise fellow flyers to make sure their bag was small enough to qualify as a carry-on before they departed for Pearson.
Air Canada said that there have not been any recent changes to their baggage regulations — ground staff are simply “reminding” customers of size limits as we move into the busy summer travel season to “ensure an equitable distribution of available cabin storage space for fairness for all customers.”
Air Canada’s policies state that for an item to come in the cabin with you, it must be a maximum of 55 cm x 40 cm x 23 cm, including wheels and handles. You can also carry an additional personal item, such as a purse or backpack, so long as it is no more than 33 cm x 43 cm x 16 cm.
Personal items must fit under the seat in front of you, while carry-on bags must be light enough that you can store them in the overhead bins without any help.
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