Airline to remove bag sizer at gate in major boarding shakeup

American Airlinesis moving its bag sizers from the boarding gate to the check-in area in a process shakeup.

The airline—the third biggest in the world by number of employees—charges passengers whose carry-on bags are too big to check in.

While the size limits will still apply, American Airlines has moved its bag sizers away from the boarding gate. Now, passengers are being encouraged to check whether their luggage is too big when checking in, rather than just before they enter the aircraft.

That should, in theory, give them more time to repack or remove items from their carry-on bags before they get to the boarding gate, when time and space can feel limited.

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In an internal memo, American Airlines team members have been directed to “use their judgment” and “err on the side of the customer” when passengers arrive at the boarding area from now on. If there is uncertainty over the size of items to be taken on board with passengers, only luggage that is “clearly oversized” should it be forcibly checked in, the new rules say.

“Team members will continue to monitor carry-on baggage in the lobby and at the gate, and oversized items will still be required to be checked in ahead of the flight,” the carrier said.

American insists that the changes are part of improvements to the boarding process that the carrier has been making since 2024. But some might argue that boarding with carry-on bags is about to become a more subjective process as a result of the rule change, making it harder for passengers to prove that their bag is within reasonable limits.

American Airlines allows passengers one “personal item” and one carry-on. The personal item should fit under the seat in front and be no bigger than 18 x 14 x 8 inches (45 cm x 35 cm x 20 cm). Meanwhile, the carry-on should be able to be placed under the seat in front or in an overhead compartment and cannot exceed 22 x 14 x 9 inches (56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm).

It's definitely not something you'd want to get wrong. The most expensive fee for an oversized bag with American is $200 (£150).

The news has been met with a mixed reaction by those who fly regularly.

"Honestly, I think this is an unnecessary and stupid change. The size restrictions haven't changed, but now there's no way to check them at the gate? And when the gate agent has to stop someone with an oversized bag, they don't have proof to back them up?" one person wrote on the American Airlines subreddit.

"I'm sure they were used occasionally by overly-eager gate agents, but I personally have never seen the sizers used except by curious passengers sizing their own bags. There's no reason for them not to exist; they should just (continue to) only be used when necessary."

A defender on the new system said: "This is an awesome move. Those gate sizers were never accurate and just made people feel like rubbish."