3mo ago

Air Canada to bar carry-on bags for lowest-fare customers

www.torontotoday.ca Air Canada to bar carry-on bags for lowest-fare customers

Starting Jan. 3, Air Canada says passengers who opt for basic fare on trips within North America and to sun destinations will have to check any duffel bags, rolling suitcases and large backpacks for a fee

He added that customers need to be aware that what they see as the lowest fare on a price comparison search may not wind up being the cheapest option once the fees are tallied.

"It's not transparent until you've gotten a certain depth into the booking: 'Oh, here's the seat selection fee. Oh, here's the baggage fee. Oh, here's the carry-on fee.' And watch out if you don't check-in online, there's a massive penalty if you don't," Vanderlubbe said.

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Air Canada working on adding "steerage" section in plane underbelly to their flights. /s

Can we get an AMA from someone who's actually flown without a carry on?
I feel like the industry / govt went the wrong way here - rather than trying to compete with Flair by letting all airlines stoop to this level of selling a useless ticket at an unrealistically low base fare, they should have just outlawed it, bringing Flair up to their level.
- I love the way Air Canada positioned it as “choice”. They’ll claim, of course, to offer this as a lower cost option. In reality, it’s just going to ask you to pay more.
- Yeah I can fit a 30L bag under the seat, which has enough room to stuff 3 nights of clothes and essentials and a handful of souvenirs. You can generally make it work for up to a weeklong vacation, unless it's like a relative's place where you can leave or use stuff there.
  
  Cheers for the legit reply. I have to seriously reassess my packing and backpack choice.
- I have a jacket with 4 deep pockets, I don't bring carry on bag all my stuff is in my pockets.
- I've flown on United's "Basic Economy", which allows no carry-on. You still get your "personal item".
  I'd say it just depends on where you're going and how long you're staying. For a weekend trip, you're probably fine, except that many backpacks intended as carry-ons are too big to be a personal item. Thus you may need a new bag.
  Anything more than a few days, and it is probably untenable.
- I've done 3-4 day trips business or casual with only a "personal item". Backpack jammed with everything.
- I have, but only for 3 day trip. With the Personal Item as a laptop bag, I can fit the laptop and accessories, and then choose materials that pack small like dress slacks instead if jeans, and poly shirts instead of cotton T shirts. You can lay pants folded into laptop bag slots. Shirts typically rolled and tucked down either end of laptop. Socks can be tricky since I need cotton to breath or my feet sweat LOL. Either a light jacket with the outer and inner pockets, or a business sport coat that has same. Shoes have to match all your outfits because packing extra shoes is a lot of bulk.
- they should have just outlawed it
  God forbid other people have options that you personally wouldn't choose.
  
  Hence the AMA request - I don't think a single person would ever buy these fares because they're completely unpractical. What kind of travel can you do where you don't have a carry-on?
  edit: good replies from the other commenters show some answers instead of just snark!
  
  Yay options to make everything more expensive and shittier.
- I’ve never flown with a carry-on (or did the question imply being Canadian?) AMA

Isn't this already common? I've flown on a couple of budget carriers in the US that had such a rule. I was still allowed to bring my backpack which fit under the seat in front of me. The ticket price was low enough that buying the few things that I couldn't fit in my backpack was cheaper than either paying to bring a suitcase or going with a more expensive airline. I wouldn't do it if I was on a business trip and had to bring a suit, but the last time I traveled I brought presents for my hosts in my backpack, purchased clothing at my destination, and flew back with that new clothing in the space where the presents had been.
Fun fact: Spirit airlines charges 5 dollars for any beverage including water. Some guy didn't know, asked for a cup of water, and then had to give it back. I don't mind, because it means my ticket is cheaper. I did mind the extremely uncomfortable seats, but I'd still rather have $50 than be less uncomfortable during the flight.
- Sure but flight prices suck in Canada. And I only see this making them go up more.

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