I’ve recently flown on a CRJ-900 on both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines and the experience with carry-on bags could not have been more different. Why does American Airlines insist on such a restrictive approach?
CRJ-900 Carry-On Bags: A Very Different Experience On American Than On Delta
On my American Airlines flight, gate agents were tagging every large bag, saying it would not fit onboard. I’ve flown this aircraft type so often and know that my carry-on bag easily fits, so I did not take a yellow tag.
But upon boarding, I was scolded by a flight attendant for attempting to bring my larger bag onboard. I told her that it easily fit (and pointed to her own crew bag in the same overhead bin) but she was having none of that and handed me a yellow tag with instructions to leave the bag outside the door (with dozens of others)…
I’m not going to argue with a power-tripping flight attendant, but I asked her why and she claimed “federal rules” (which is usually a red herring when there is no rule). It is my understanding that my issue was hardly unique (I don’t fly AA often enough to know) and that you simply cannot bring larger carry-on bags onboard.
But then I flew Delta Air Lines, also on a CRJ-900. Guess what? Same plane. Same overhead bins. But no problem.
Passengers took their carry-on items onboard and placed them in the overhead bin. They fit! There were no issues. In fact, one guy brought an oversized bag onboard and I thought for sure it would not fit, but it did…even that fit.
So my question is why does AA have such a strict policy? Is it really federal rules? Unless my eyes deceived me, the overhead bins are identical.
Lately, I’ve been traveling only with a bag that fits under my seat, but I will avoid the CRJ-900 on American Airlines going forward if I have a larger bag…
