Air Canada Cracks Down on Carry-On Chaos

Air Canada is set to implement stricter enforcement of its carry-on luggage rules, aiming to streamline boarding processes and reduce costly delays. This move comes as passengers increasingly opt for carry-on bags to avoid checked baggage fees, leading to overcrowded cabins and extended boarding times. The airline hopes this crackdown will improve efficiency and on-time performance.

Air Canada's New Carry-On Crackdown

Air Canada is re-introducing a stricter enforcement of its carry-on baggage policy, starting at Toronto's Pearson International Airport and expanding to other airports throughout the summer. The airline will station staff at gates and security checkpoints to ensure passengers adhere to the two-piece carry-on limit, with specific size restrictions (23 cm x 40 cm x 55 cm for the largest item). Bags meeting the criteria will receive an "approved carry-on baggage" tag, while oversized items will be directed back to the check-in counter, incurring a $25 fee.

Why the Change?

The primary motivation behind this renewed enforcement is to alleviate the growing issues associated with overstuffed carry-on luggage. These issues include:

• Extended Boarding Times: Passengers searching for overhead bin space cause significant delays.
• Increased Risk of Delays: Oversized bags needing to be removed and stowed underneath can lead to costly flight delays.
• Reduced Aircraft Utilization: Planes spend less time in the air making money due to prolonged ground times.

This initiative follows Air Canada's decision last year to charge a $25 fee for checked luggage on domestic flights, a policy already in place for U.S. flights and adopted by most major North American airlines. This fee has inadvertently led to a surge in carry-on luggage.

Industry-Wide Impact and Challenges

The shift to charging for all checked luggage has had broader implications beyond individual airlines. In the U.S., the increase in carry-on bags has been linked to slower airport security lines. Some aircraft manufacturers have even invested heavily in increasing overhead bin capacity to accommodate the trend.

While WestJet, another Canadian airline, claims its $25 fee hasn't caused delays, the reliability of airline on-time performance statistics is often questioned due to airlines' ability to pad schedules. A more telling sign is the frequent pre-boarding announcements asking passengers to volunteer to check their carry-on bags at the gate.

Air Canada's previous attempts at carry-on crackdowns have met with passenger frustration, largely due to the lack of a standardized carry-on size across airlines. Despite this, airline executives view the billions generated from checked bag fees as justification for the operational challenges. The success of this new enforcement will depend on whether passengers, fed up with cramped cabins, will welcome the stricter rules or continue to resist additional fees.

Sources

• Air Canada set to crack down on carry-on luggage, Macleans.ca.