So I went to check in online, and it asked me to check some boxes for what luggage I wanted to bring on board. I did, and it told me that to carry on both a backpack and a roller bag it’ll be $45, or $65 if I try to play games and they have to check stuff at the gate.
I said fuck that, and unchecked some boxes. It said I couldn’t check in without putting a credit card on file, that they would charge if there were any issues and they wound up needing to charge me for my luggage. It wouldn’t let me continue without putting a credit card on file and checking a box that said they could charge me for my luggage, if they felt it was excessive.
I said fuck that and decided to check in at the airport. I threw all my stuff in a backpack to remove any wiggle room, and the kiosk said the same thing. I talked to one of the people, and she said it’s a new policy. I pointed out that I paid for my ticket, she could see I had only a backpack, and I wanted to get in the airplane. She told me to go talk to the guy at the end.
I talked to the guy at the end, politely, and eventually he printed a boarding pass for me. But you should know they’re up to some bullshit.
I learned this about United this summer. Except the language they used didn’t specifically rule out roller bags, it called them “full-sized carryon”. I showed up with a checked bag and a small carryon. The desk agent told me wheels make it a “full-sized” regardless of the dimensions. Fortunately, I was able to stuff a bunch of stuff a bunch of my crap into my checked SCUBA bag, and repack my regs and underwear into the backpack I was bringing anyways.
Note: This was on an International flight so I REALLY didn’t appreciate feeling like I was flying on a budget airline.
My sarcastic asshole would have snapped the wheels off the bag if that’s the distinction they want to have.