Airlines have carry-on allowances, and often they can be ridiculously low. While researching something related to Air Côte d’Ivoire (as one does), I stumbled upon what I’m convinced is the world’s most generous carry-on allowance… by a long shot! I feel like I almost have to fly this airline just to drag 80 pounds worth of stuff onto the plane.
Air Côte d’Ivoire allows up to 80 pounds of carry-on bags?
Air Côte d’Ivoire operates two Airbus A330-900neos, which are in a four class configuration, and fly between Abidjan (ABJ) and Paris (CDG).
I desperately want to fly the carrier’s first class (because in the coming weeks, it’ll be the world’s only first class I haven’t flown, after I check Starlux Airlines off my list). So I was doing some research, and was checking the carrier’s product page for its “La First by Air Côte d’Ivoire experience.”
What’s the first feature listed for first class? “2 x 18 kg of cabin baggage.” That’s right, the airline allows two carry-on bags, each weighing up to 18 kilograms (or 40 pounds), for a total of 36 kilograms (or 80 pounds) worth of carry-on bags.
That is by far the world’s most generous carry-on allowance, as far as I know. In terms of hard product, first class seems more like a “business class plus,” so perhaps the extra carry-on allowance is one of the primary selling points.
As a point of comparison, business class passengers receive a total of 18 kilograms (or 40 pounds) worth of carry-ons, which is still generous, though is half of what you’ll get in first class.
I’ve gotta say, as someone who tends to travel with a fairly large carry-on, I still couldn’t imagine boarding a flight with 80 pounds worth of stuff!
I appreciate a realistic baggage allowance, for once
Obviously Air Côte d’Ivoire is probably the other extreme, but I always find it frustrating how some airlines have ridiculously limited carry-on allowances, even for premium cabin passengers. It seems that some airlines publish really low limits, but then just turn a blind eye for first & business class passengers, which is also sort of frustrating, since it comes down to individual enforcement, and makes it tough to manage expectations.
For example, Singapore Airlines’ baggage allowance for Suites and first class passengers is two cabin bags weighing up to 7 kilograms (or 16 pounds) each. If you have a Rimowa hard-sided carryon bag, that can weigh as much as 4.3 kilograms (or 9.5 pounds) empty, meaning you have 2.7 kilograms (or 6 pounds) for your actual belongings.
Look, I’m not saying other airlines should go as extreme as Air Côte d’Ivoire, but if you’re actually going to market an exclusive product and charge a lot for it, it’s nice to see a policy for once that’s based on being more generous than needed, rather than less generous, where you’re just crossing your fingers that you won’t have to gate check a bag.
Real talk — I have to imagine that many people flying first class between Paris and the Ivory Coast may have done a lot of shopping in Paris, so perhaps this increased carry-on allowance is one of the primary reasons one would have to book first class, so you don’t have to check most of your “haul.”
Bottom line
In a world of airlines with ridiculously low carry-on allowances, credit goes to Air Côte d’Ivoire for standing out. First class passengers can take two carry-on bags weighing a total of up to 36 kilograms (80 pounds), while business class passengers can carry-on up to 18 kilograms (40 pounds).
I really need to figure out a good way to fly Air Côte d’Ivoire first class, and you can bet that I’ll be showing up with 80 pounds worth of carry-ons, just because! 😉
What do you make of Air Côte d’Ivoire’s generous carry-on allowance?
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