South African Airways international carry on baggage restriction questions

Has anyone flown recently on South African Airways from the US (or elsewhere off the African continent) to South Africa? I was hoping to pack light and carry on my small rollie suitcase and a small backpack. However, I see baggage restrictions that limit suitcases to 8kg (just under 18 pounds) and the small personal item can't be a backpack. I can understand restrictions in the small jets they use to fly inside Africa, but this just doesn't make sense on the A340 we'll be flying over there.

So - my questions are: do they weigh your suitcase? Do they really limit your 'small personal carryon' to a 'slim laptop case'?

Thanks!

http://www.flysaa.com/mw/en/flyingSAA/baggage/handBaggage.html

They will weigh bags and check them if you don't comply with their restrictions. I would follow their instructions unless you want to find your carry-ons stowed.

http://www.flysaa.com/mw/en/flyingSAA/baggage/handBaggage.html

They will weigh bags and check them if you don't comply with their restrictions. I would follow their instructions unless you want to find your carry-ons stowed.

Thanks - I have reviewed their restrictions. I'm simply asking for any experience that they do or do not enforce these restrictions out of JFK.

OK, our experience was, the restrictions were not enforced. I wish I had known that; I would've much rather have had 2 small rollies and 2 backpacks rather than the 2 duffels (within the 8kg), 1 small backpack, and 1 small laptop bag that we packed.

We did go to the counter to get boarding passes on a Cape Town-JNB leg, and there the bags were weighed. Both were over at that point (post-souvenir buying), but both were still given carryon tags. If you have your boarding pass, no one will (in our recent experience and observation) question or weigh your bags. We saw people with rollies and people with 3 (big) bags in coach class. They made a big deal about the restrictions in print and signage, but that was it. Nothing in practice if you avoided the check-in counter.

I am not recommending you try to circumvent the restrictions. Just passing on our experience.

I have flown them twice in the past two years on planes that flew within the country.

On one flight they fully enforced this at the check in counter and on the other one they didn't.

If it was me I would certainly not do the back pack if they specifically say no backpacks.

Remember on this that history doesn't mean a thing if it is your flight that the person that you encounter with is the kind that enforces all of this.

Keith

Remember on this that history doesn't mean a thing if it is your flight that the person that you encounter with is the kind that enforces all of this.

Which is why I said I wasn't recommending ignoring them, just passing on my experience. As you did yours.

I also note that while their website says 8KG, the signs said 7KG. And one of my bags was 8.8KG, which the checkin counter called 8KG.