Qantas Baggage Police

I do several business class flights a week on Qantas and have noticed a disturbing trend of Qantas staff zealously policing carry-on baggage limits in the premium security lanes. On two occasions now I have been forced to check a small bag that was less than a kilo over the limit and wait 20 minutes for it on arrival.

I get that something needs to be done to prevent people from taking on American style suitcases or 3-4 bags and delaying boarding, but it seems like an odd decision to go to war with premium customers when the airline is still very much recovering from a period of massive reputational damage. My company is paying several thousand dollars for tickets each week and the airline is now functionally equivalent to Jetstar (but at a 30% price premium on pre-Covid Qantas fares).

The biggest problem with this new policy is that Qantas is responsible for the carry-on baggage problem it is seeking to solve. If it hadn’t chronically underinvested in its fleet for the last decade, it would have modern aircraft with appropriately sized storage bins instead of a fleet of 20+ year old 737s with tiny lockers. If it hadn’t retrenched its ground staff, customers wouldn’t have to wait 20 minutes for their bags on arrival and they would have confidence that their bags wouldn’t be lost. Why am I now (again) paying the price for bad decisions made by Qantas management?

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Is it unreasonable to expect a little flexibility if your bag is a kilo or two over the limit but you’re a loyal and high value customer?

Loyal and high value? Foreign words to Qantas. Less than 1kg over: you're spot on greg959 when you say Qantas has a Jetstar mindset. Vote with your feet, go Virgin. Only way to change things, if enough of us do it. Not that Virgin is exemplary by any means but they do seem to appreciate loyal customers.

More than happy for them to properly police baggage, regardless of status or class.

How entitled can you be to think that just because you fly a lot you are allowed to ignore the rules that are already generously applied to Platinums, P1s and CLs? I am Platinum One and make sure that I am within my limits, its not hard to do.

Seriously sick of seeing people boarding with a massive carry on plus a backpack and a brief case and a coat that they put in the overhead lockers.

Qantas is just Jetstar at twice the price.

If airlines allowed flexibility of one or two kilos then that becomes the new baseline. Six months later the people who think rules don't apply to them will then be saying "oh Qantas should allow some flexibility" above this new baseline. If your hand luggage is over the weight or size limit then CHECK IT IN.

This is no different to people who fall 30 status credits short of retaining their status then go to social media to complain that the airline is awful because it would not grant an extension for a status they no longer deserve to have.

Love to see Qantas enforcing the bag rules across the board, maybe next they could start enforcing the second carry on small bag which is meant to go at the pax feet, but seldom does, I am sick of watching selfish pax stuff a roller, plus a backpack and box of donuts in the overhead locker.

I also agree with some of the previous. Make the rule and stick with it. I got so sick of individuals with multiple items, generally a computer bag, hand bag and a roll aboard containing what must be their life’s possessions coming on the plane barely able to drag their kit up the aisle then look at you with their puppy eyes and ask if I can help put their case in the overhead when they can’t even lift it off the ground. Cabin crew wont do this now and I wont either.

The trolleys that some international airports have for their “hand” luggage also known as “carry on” really annoy me. If you need a trolley then it isn’t hand luggage or carry on!

We're all frustrated by the old fleet, baggage services, though I think the carry-on on domestic allowances are generous. Being allowed a total of 14kgs with limit of 10kgs for a bag is pretty reasonable. If you are over this then it should be checked. That sort of weight is a fair amount for a short trip plus a small bag or laptop etc. Being on a Syd - Mel flight recently highlighted how people take liberties with this policy. Check it in if you want to take that much luggage. It's not safe to be lifting bags of that weight above passengers heads based on what I see.

14 kg is pretty generous, so yeah, I think it is a reasonable move.

My pet peeves is that many passengers decide to put BOTH luggage + small carry on/backpack/etc on overhead locker, instead of putting the second bag underneath the seat in front. Plain selfish I reckon.

Qantas's baggage services (domestic) have improved significantly over the past 12 months.. in particular Brisbane and Adelaide.. Sydney just a bit as well as Melbourne. People who carry on a wheeled bag+backpack+ computer bag really are stretching limits and should be stopped. I was asked to help a young muppit to put her "carry on" into the locker in Sydney.. I can bench press 100kg.. her bag had to be 30+.. it's not fair to other customers.

You are the entitled people which make flying Qantas even worse. I dont care if your a chairman lounge, you are not special.

You need to be knocked down a few rungs in the pecking order clearly

Yeah, maybe that’s right @Redwood, but if I cared about opinions like this (or some of those above that miss the point of the grievance) I’d probably be sitting at the back rather than in 1A, contributing more in revenue to Qantas’ bottom line than the rest of this thread combined.

The fact is that the bag is small and doesn’t affect other customers’ overhead space. It just over the 10kg limit because I’m not carrying a change of clothes for a weekend at the Gold Coast - I’m carry board papers and slide decks.

Seems like an odd move to introduce further pain points into business class travel in order to appease the low revenue pax in 30 bravo who are fighting for overhead bins.

I’m a P1 who has flown QF 750 times so it’s you who is part of the mass of this thread as I’ve contributed more than you combined

Board papers and slide decks?

An iPad weighs less than 700g - why do you have weight issues?