United's new reduced baggage weigth/size & fees

[coolplex]

Checked baggage service charges

UNITED’S revised some of our checked baggage policies for travel worldwide. For the latest checked baggage updates, please review all relevant baggage pages before you travel.

Updated: May 8, 2014

 

 

Carry-on baggage allowed overages on size & weight can be collected any point in the itinerary, including and not limited to a connecting flight.

United accepts the following items, per customer to be carried on the aircraft at no charge:

One carry-on bag no more than 45 linear inches or 114 linear centimeters (L + W + H) or 14 inches x 9 inches x 22 inches (23 x 35 x 56 cm)

One personal item (such as a shoulder or laptop bag), see below.

UNITED’S NEW POLICY AS OF MAY 8, 2014 One carry-on bag no more than 45 linear inches. This is a 2.5 linear inches reduction is size!

Carry-on baggage

Each traveler can bring on board one carry-on bag plus one personal item free of charge. To ensure a smooth boarding experience, it’s important to make sure that these items will fit into the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you.

Carry-on bag

The maximum dimensions for a carry-on bag are 9 inches x 14 inches x 22 inches (22 cm x 35 cm x 56 cm), including handles and wheels.

 

 

Personal item

The maximum dimensions for your personal item, such as a shoulder bag, backpack, laptop bag or other small item, are 9 inches x 10 inches x 17 inches (22 cm x 25 cm x 43 cm).

 

To determine if a bag will fit onboard, bag sizers will be available in the airport lobby. Once at the gate, any item in excess of the will be charged the following fees below.

 

Oversized baggage

Checked bags in excess of 62 linear inches* (158 linear cm) to 115 linear inches (292 linear cm)

Maximum size allowed may vary depending on cabin, status level, military status, itinerary and date of purchase.

*linear measurement = length + width + height

$200 per bag

 

Oversized baggage

Customers who travel with checked baggage exceeding 62 linear inches (158 cm) (total length + width + height) will be required to pay a service charge per bag or item, based on the itinerary. To determine service charges for oversized baggage for your trip, use our baggage calculator, and after your results are displayed, check the box for “Additional and other bag charges.”

These charges are in addition to any charge assessed for additional or overweight baggage.

Baggage measuring more than 115 inches (292 cm) (total outside dimensions; length + width + height) will not be accepted as checked baggage.

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Edited May 14, 2014 by coolplex

[purduemom1]

United is making it very difficult for those of us who do not want to check a bag. It isn't about the cost of checking but rather the risk that my bag will not reach the destination when I do.

 

Now that so many so called carry ons have 4 wheels that stick out way beyond the bottom of the bag, it is very difficult to find a bag that will give you sufficient space for clothes while meeting the length requirements. Many bags are more than 9 inches deep when fully packed and many bags are wider than 14 inches.

 

I expect more US airlines to follow United's lead. Many international airlines already have very limited carry on policies. The biggest problem for travelers is that policies aren't uniform so one size bag doesn't fit all!

[CruiserBruce]

I don't believe this is a change. The 22x14x9 has been around quite a while.

[slidergirl]

I don't believe this is a change. The 22x14x9 has been around quite a while.

 

Just about every US-based airlines has that size dimension as it's carryon max. Been that way for awhile (I travel Delta 99.9% of the time). The issue is that 1)people didn't count wheels and handle in their calculations and 2)airlines never really enforced the measurements. What does look new is that United has defined the dimensions of the "personal item." AND, in the photo on their web page, it looks like they now have sizers for the personal item with the carryon sizer to be sure that no one is trying to bring on a second bag as big as the first.

 

I applaud United IF they stick to this and really do enforce the rule. I have several compliant bags and it burns me that people try to get away with the wheeled bags that exceed the limit with the excuse "but the compartment section of my bag is within the limit", ignoring the extra 2-3" the wheels/handle give the bag…

 

I'm flying on United next month with carryon stuff only and I will have no problem complying. I'll probably bring my eBags Mother Lode TLS Weekender (22x14x9 NO WHEELS) or my Weekender Jr (19.5x14x9 NO WHEELS). My "personal item" will be one of my compliant daypacks. Easy peasy...

 

If you want to carry on your bags, comply, don't try to get by...

Edited May 14, 2014 by slidergirl

[bouhunter]

Carry-on baggage has gotten ridiculous and out of control.:( Airlines are partly to blame with their checked baggage fees, but passengers have no shame anymore on what they bring aboard.

[Bowie MeMe]

One of those "I will not comply" folks on my last flight. roll-on with two expandable sections fully expanded and there was no way the man was stuffing that bag in. He started taking things out and stuffing them in and around other folk's bag loose!!:eek: He took out 2 pair of jeans, 2 or 3 long sleeve dress shirts, a belt, a pair of shoes, a sport coat and a baseball hat. Meanwhile the line is stopped as he darts from one baggage bin to another stuffing where he could on this fully loaded plane. No FA did anything and I sat there and only once said "You are holding up the line". He was not the only one that had bag problems but he certainly was the worst I have seen in some time. The nice lady that took the last seat (next to Peter the Packer!) in the middle and the 2 nd to last seat next to me in the middle were told by the FA to put their fairly small carryons one under the feet (barely fit) and the other in her lap. Yeah lapping over into my too small seat.

 

People mind your manners and share the space. Kindergarten teachers taught you to follow the rules and we are STILL watching.

 

The only solution is to have rules. Enforce the rules. AND make a penalty if the whole plane has to wait while your bag that does not fit has to be stashed below. (We were 15 minutes late on take off -- some of that time was waiting on the Peter Packer person!)

[kenish]

One problem I've seen is the sizers are a cage. Bags fit neatly into it, making the passenger think they're OK. But wheels, handles, and pockets protrude and the item is actually oversize. A box with a lid would be a big improvement and wouldn't leave room for debate.

 

It's no more difficult to have a "legal" carry-on than it was before..just the rules are being enforced, and a higher penalty at the gate changes the risk equation for people trying to sneak oversize carry-ons past the gate agent.

Edited May 14, 2014 by kenish

[purduemom1]

I agree that the airlines have been lax in enforcing carry on regulations. However, now it seems that some United employees have gone to the extreme enforcing the policy. I was told that a compliant bag that did fit in the sizer would have to be checked. No reason, flight wasn't full, just an over zealous employee! Saw this happen again at the gate. So I guess you might think your bag complies and it may fit in the sizer, but that does not mean that you will be allowed to board with it!

[calliopecruiser]

I congratulate them, and hope they enforce it. The carry-on situation on most airlines is ridiculous, IMO, and I'd be happy not to have to deal with the chaotic situation. Most of the rest of the world easily deals with much smaller and lighter carry-on restrictions, so I know it's not an undue burden.

[slidergirl]

I agree that the airlines have been lax in enforcing carry on regulations. However, now it seems that some United employees have gone to the extreme enforcing the policy. I was told that a compliant bag that did fit in the sizer would have to be checked. No reason, flight wasn't full, just an over zealous employee! Saw this happen again at the gate. So I guess you might think your bag complies and it may fit in the sizer, but that does not mean that you will be allowed to board with it!

 

Were you on a regional jet like a CRJ or ERJ?? Most carryons will not fit in those overheads, so perhaps the GA was trying to get the gate checking done quickly.

 

If I have a compliant bag and a GA says it has to go below, I have no problem with that as long as I don't have to pay. Everything "valuable" is in my daypack and that always goes with me. If I'm flying on a RJ, I might bring my roller, just because it's going to be valet checked (aka "pin tagged") and go into the hold anyway. Otherwise, it's usually one of my non-rollers that go with me.

[purduemom1]

No not a regional, a flight from HKG to SFO. My bag fits easily in the overhead of all the mainline metal. As I said earlier, it's not the cost but the problem when my bag doesn't reach my destination when I do. I don't object to enforcing the regulations as long as it is uniform and not arbitrary.

[slidergirl]

No not a regional, a flight from HKG to SFO. My bag fits easily in the overhead of all the mainline metal. As I said earlier, it's not the cost but the problem when my bag doesn't reach my destination when I do. I don't object to enforcing the regulations as long as it is uniform and not arbitrary.

 

You may have run into this issue: Your bag is over the limit, but it fits in the overhead. Many business people are b*tching about this right now, that they are having to gate check the bag that they've carried on for years. It's kind of like the chicken vs egg: Sure, you bag does fit in the overhead, but it is not a compliant size. Plus, over on a United forum on a website where "flyer talk" is the name of the game, it has been reported that stations in Asia are being very aggressive about the sizing now...

[purduemom1]

My bag fits easily into United sizes so perhaps some stations aggressively enforcing the rules may be the answer to my situation since this happened at HKG. I have also read that some stations aren't enforcing because they don't want to deal with angry pax. Uniform enforcement benefits everyone in the long run.

[roamerfromtexas]

Does that mean that United will no longer accept a 45 linear inch total carryon? My carryon is 16 x 16 x 8 inches (including wheels) and fits under the seat except in aisle seats. Since I travel with my DH, I am in the middle seat nearly always. It even goes under the seat on regional jets.

[slidergirl]

Does that mean that United will no longer accept a 45 linear inch total carryon? My carryon is 16 x 16 x 8 inches (including wheels) and fits under the seat except in aisle seats. Since I travel with my DH, I am in the middle seat nearly always. It even goes under the seat on regional jets.

 

If you go to the United website and look at carryon baggage requirements, it looks like they've dropped the 45 linear inch alternative and are going strictly with the 22x14x9 measurement. I would definitely double-check this and decide if you want to roll the dice on it...

[ducklite]

Personally I think 22" is too tall. That won't allow the bag to go wheels in on a lot of equipment. If they would reduce to 20" they could put 30% more roll on's in the overheads. I don't care if the business travelers howl. I am one of them and have managed with a 20" bag for over a decade.

[PennyAgain]

United is enforcing these rules now.... hope that it lasts well into the future.

 

The sticking point for some of us in medical equipment and supplies which we do not want to check but take up space. United is looking at this issue on a case by case basis.

 

For people who only fly now and then, this is going to be a hard adjustment. Lots of delays in line and arguing.

[waterbug123]

I expect more US airlines to follow United's lead.

 

I sure hope so! The number and size of bags that people try to carry on these days is ridiculous.

[FritzG]

If it's consistently enforced I'd be happy to see the new rule. I hate waiting in the aisles while people try to cram huge bags into the overhead and take up the whole bin.

When we were returning home in January out of FLL my husband was stopped and asked to put his bag in the frame. It didn't fit, but once he zipped the expander it was fine. However, other people in line had big duffels and other large bags, and they weren't being stopped. Consistency is the key to get people to pack properly.

[Fattony]

United is making things difficult? By enforcing their regs? Few if any planes have overhead bins large enough to accommodate everyone's total baggage. Something has to give. A lot of people insist they bring on big carry-on bags and don't check bags only because of worries over loss, not cost. Haven't seen anyone admit that they are using extra space, meaning others won't be able to put anything at all in the overhead bins. Also leads to people trying to push ahead in boarding lines, to get space in the overhead bins.

[calliopecruiser]

A lot of people insist they bring on big carry-on bags and don't check bags only because of worries over loss, not cost.

 

A convenient excuse so that they don't look cheap. The reality is that the rate of baggage loss is decreasing, and on average only 0.2% of bags are lost (2 per 1000).

[ducklite]

United is making things difficult? By enforcing their regs? Few if any planes have overhead bins large enough to accommodate everyone's total baggage. Something has to give. A lot of people insist they bring on big carry-on bags and don't check bags only because of worries over loss, not cost. Haven't seen anyone admit that they are using extra space, meaning others won't be able to put anything at all in the overhead bins. Also leads to people trying to push ahead in boarding lines, to get space in the overhead bins.

 

 

I get three checked bags free, so it is not about cost for me. Time is money and I want to get off and out of the airport on my way to my meeting. My home airport is notoriously slow for baggage handling, I waited two hours once for my bags, because there was a thunderstorm. I could have been home in bed after a very long day in half that time.

 

My bag is 20" wheels and handle included. It fits wheels in. I am not taking extra space, my other item goes under the seat in front of me.

[waterbug123]

A convenient excuse so that they don't look cheap. The reality is that the rate of baggage loss is decreasing, and on average only 0.2% of bags are lost (2 per 1000).

 

Exactly. Not to mention that "lost" bags are usually just delayed bags. I've had bags not make it several times and they have always delivered them to me promptly. If I'm headed to an important event immediately upon arrival, I take what I need in my carry on (which is usually just my personal item) so if I don't get my bag I'm fine for a few hours or until the next morning.

 

 

My bag is 20" wheels and handle included. It fits wheels in. I am not taking extra space, my other item goes under the seat in front of me.

 

You're an experienced flyer. I have a 20" bag too, but as you know, those are not generally the ones causing the problem. It's the folks trying to get their 23"+ bags into the overhead with all the expandable zippers open, plus shove their personal item that's way too big to be considered a personal item up there as well.

[critterchick]

A convenient excuse so that they don't look cheap. The reality is that the rate of baggage loss is decreasing, and on average only 0.2% of bags are lost (2 per 1000).

 

I get two free checked bags on AA, and I would still rather carry on my luggage because I don't like waiting for it to arrive on the luggage carousel. Plus it forces me to travel light. I hate dragging a big suitcase around.

[Zach1213]

I get two free checked bags on AA, and I would still rather carry on my luggage because I don't like waiting for it to arrive on the luggage carousel. Plus it forces me to travel light. I hate dragging a big suitcase around.

 

I get free bags too, and my trips are generally split between 2-3 days, 5-7 days and 7-14 days (sometimes more). For the 2-3 day trips, it's always carry-on. For the 7-14 days, it's always checked (aside from a very few). It's the 5-7 day trips that are tough. I usually decide to just check the bag, and then I'll pack my running gear, an extra set of clothes for the heck of it...things that I'd like to have, and just figure that I might as well spend the extra 20 minutes waiting for a bag.

 

My big suitcase is super easy to wheel around, so I don't mind it at all. My biggest problem is losing stuff inside the bag ;)

Edited May 21, 2014 by Zach1213