Most airlines classify garment bags as full carry-ons, not personal items, regardless of size. Here's why that rule exists and why enforcement varies so much.
It depends on whether or not you’re flying AA. Those ******* at AA will chase Exec Platinums down the jet bridge to ding us for supposedly inappropriate carryons.
Its a carryon.
Tired of OPMs taking up bin space of actual paying pax up front.
Are you suggesting that a person who paid for a FC ticket with cash out of their own pocket should be treated differently than a person who paid cash for a FC ticket with a client's or someone else's money?
(I'm concluding that "OPM" in this case = "Other People's Money," though it's not completely clear from the context of the comment)
So the DL FA on the return was just following the rules, even if she could have executed it a bit better?
“I found the interaction unnecessarily confrontational.” - sounds like an average interaction with a flight attendant on a US airline…
@Lucky, I don't think Sam's issue is whether airlines consider garment bags carry-ons or personal items. Sam boarded with three items, which is one too many. The fact that one item was a garment bag that would be put in a closet is irrelevant. Just because enforcement varies doesn't mean that he wasn't wrong. Heck, airline enforcement varies for EVERYTHING, and not just garment bags.
Now, if he had a carry-on, a backpack, a cane, and a medical device, it would be different. This combination would've been ok.
Some here may not like the rules; but, you did accurately cite the general rules (currently, for US carriers, at least). People also dislike getting fines for speeding; there can be selective (even ‘aggressive’) enforcement there, too. Each is a human construct. Not naturally occurring. Can be changed, too.
A soft garment bag containing a suit and a shirt or two should be considered more like a coat. It folds up very compactly, and in the overhead it will fit on top of your roller bag, without taking up space that someone would need for their bag. That being said, I do see why airlines would restrict it, because there’s wide variance in how much people try to stuff inside garment bags, and the gate agent shouldn’t have to police it. I’ve flown many times with a roller bag, a backpack, and a garment bag, and never have had a problem, but I know it’s against the rules and I wouldn’t push back if asked by a gate agent to check my roller bag.