Top Ten Tips for Carry-on Baggage
Guidelines for Retailers

Airlines are becoming more restrictive with regard to luggage, especially for carry-on items. Carry-ons are very critical sales — they’re extremely personal items, especially because travelers tend to hand-carry their most prized items.

Selling a bag as a carry-on requires a lot of trust on the consumer end, and requires you to be well-informed and careful about how you position your wares. While the airlines write the rules about carry-on, consumers will often blame the retailer if they’re forced to check their “carry on” because it violates airline rules.

The top ten points to make with customers shopping for carry-ons include:

What is a Carry-On Bag?

Again, the airlines write their own rules in this department, and they’re subject to change at any time. However, some general guidelines apply in most instances:

  1. If an item, measured along its longest dimensions (including handles, wheels, runners, corner protectors, full pockets, etc.), is no greater than 14 x 9 x 22 inches, it may be referred to as a carry-on bag.
  2. A 14 x 9 x 22-inch item will meet most domestic airlines’ carry-on size standards (obvious exceptions include small regional jets/commuter aircraft).
  3. There is no such thing as an “FAA-approved carry-on” or “government-approved carry-on,” and consumers should be wary of products whose labels include those statements.

Packing Hints

  1. Overfilling a bag, particularly the outside pockets, may cause a 14 x 9 x 22-inch bag to balloon to a size that violates carry-on limitations.
  2. International flights and regional/commuter airlines often have different carry-on sizes.

Airline Enforcement

  1. Airlines employ a variety of enforcement techniques to screen carry-on bags for compliance, including size templates at the security conveyor belt (typically, bags that fail to pass through a 14 x 9-inch opening are rejected), sizer boxes (usually 14 x 9 x 22 inches) at check-in or in the gate area, visual screening by airline personnel, and others.

Be Informed, Stay Informed

  1. Airline carry-on restrictions are subject to change. Consumers should check with their airlines for more specific information prior to traveling. Airline websites are an excellent resource, as well as the TGA’s own resources pages.
  2. A summary of carry-on size standards for domestic airlines should be available in the retail outlet, for reference by sales associates and customers alike. It may also help to have airline phone numbers and website addresses on hand.

Give Customers a Voice

  1. It’s important for consumers understand that carry-on limits and enforcement are determined by the airlines. Any inconvenience customers may experience — including the purchase of a bag that’s no longer an acceptable carry-on — is the result of airline action. As retailers and manufacturers, we are as subject to the airline rules as consumers.
  2. Encourage customers with complaints about airline carry-on rules or enforcement to contact the relevant government entity:
    Aviation Consumer Protection Division
    U.S. Department of Transportation
    400 7th Street, Room 4107
    Washington, DC 20590
    http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov
    airconsumer@ost.dot.gov