This couple was asked to check their carry-ons. They protested — and were booted from the flight

An Ontario couple was ousted from a cross-country WestJet flight last month after they protested the airline’s demand to gate-check their carry-on bags, which contained valuables and medication.

“I was so mad,” said Porur Kumanan, who was travelling from Toronto to Vancouver with his wife, Kalpana. “Are we criminals?”

Kumanan said the couple was lined up to board the plane when a WestJet employee announced the overhead bins were full. They and about 10 other passengers behind them were told they’d have to check their bags. 

Kumanan said he and his wife refused to part with their luggage, which contained jewelry and several vital medications, including for his diabetes and his wife’s back pain.

“I needed the medication on the plane,” said Kumanan. “They should have made an exception.”

As the couple’s only additional bag was Kalpana’s purse, he asked if they could bring one carry-on bag onboard, packed with the items they couldn’t part with. 

He said the WestJet employee turned them down and they were barred from the flight. 

“They did not even bother listening to me,” said Kumanan. “Is that how airlines operate?”

The couple’s case highlights a growing problem of more Canadians travelling with carry-on luggage, leading to delays and passenger frustration as they vie for often-limited overhead space. 

“It’s getting to be chaos,” said John Gradek, lecturer and co-ordinator of the aviation management program at McGill University.

“If you are the last one on board the airplane, last 20 or 30 people, the odds are that overhead cabin space is all taken up by your fellow passengers.”

WestJet responds

Kumanan said after the couple was barred from their flight, a WestJet employee told them they would never be allowed to fly again with the airline.

To salvage their Vancouver vacation, the pair rebooked their round-trip flights with Flair airlines. The last-minute tickets cost $1,927.

“That was not a good feeling at all,” said Kumanan. On June 24, he sent a complaint letter to WestJet, which included a refund request for the costs of both the Flair and WestJet flights. 

In response to a CBC News inquiry, WestJet spokesperson Julia Kaiser said in an email that the Kumanans are “currently” not banned from the airline and will receive a refund for the $800 they paid for their round-trip WestJet tickets.

Kaiser told CBC that “these guests were refused transport due to behaviour exhibited while boarding” and that “WestJet has a zero-tolerance policy for such disruptive or unruly behaviour.”

Kumanan said he never became unruly but was upset and spoke loudly because WestJet didn’t try to accommodate the couple’s request to bring their valuables and medication onboard.

“At least offer me a zip-lock bag,” he said. “They should be providing me with a solution.”

Kaiser said that it’s common for WestJet to request passengers check their carry-on bags when overhead space is limited. 

She did not address the additional $1,127 the couple is still out-of-pocket due to the Flair fares. 

“They should give me a full refund, and give me an explanation as to why they did this,” said Kumanan.

Finding solutions

Carry-on chaos began bubbling around a decade ago when major Canadian airlines like WestJet and Air Canada introduced a $25 checked bag fee for economy fares, motivating passengers to pack carry-on bags to avoid the charge. 

Since then, the preference for carry-on luggage has grown as checked bag fees have soared by at least 40 per cent.

The trend also got a boost post-pandemic when people rushed to return to travel, sparking mass flight delays and lost luggage. 

“Charging for bags, but also delivering oftentimes horrible service for checked bags, encourages people to pack as many carry-on bags as they possibly can,” said Duncan Dee, an industry analyst and former Air Canada executive. 

He said that when overhead space is limited, airlines should still try to accommodate passengers with medical issues.

“They should obviously always give priority to medical devices and medical items.”

But Dee says a better solution is for airlines to avoid running out of carry-on space.

One solution is to charge for carry-on bags that will go in the overhead bin. Ultra-low-cost carrier Flair has always charged for the service, and in 2022, Sunwing followed suit by introducing a $25 fee for a carry-on bag. Last month, WestJet added an UltraBasic fare where customers pay extra for the service.

Gradek doesn’t support charges for carry-on bags, noting that passengers already grapple with a long list of fees for everything from checked bags to booking flights by phone. 

“We’ve gone to fee madness,” he said. “It’s gotten crazy. Consumers are confused.”

Instead, Gradek suggests airlines curb the carry-on problem by strictly enforcing size limits for the bags.

“It’s the most brutal solution to the problem but it works,” he said. “[Oversized] carry-ons take up all the space.”

Kumanan said the couple’s carry-on met WestJet’s size limits. He added that some passengers got to board the plane with carry-ons that appeared to be larger than allowed.

Bigger overhead bins?

Airline analyst Dee agrees passengers need to follow the rules, which include not stuffing coats and knapsacks in the overhead bins. He also recommends that airlines refurbish their bins to create more space. 

“I think that if everyone followed the rules, and if airlines also modernized their cabin interiors to ensure that the overhead bin space was suitable for the carry-on bags, then we really wouldn’t have a problem.”

United Airlines announced in March that it’s installing larger overhead bins on at least 50 aircraft flying regional routes, “helping make room for everyone’s carry-on.” 

Gradek said he wonders if the bigger bins might backfire, motivating passengers to cart on more carry-on baggage. “As the [space] grows, so will passengers’ penchant to bring bigger stuff on board,” he said.

CBC News asked both WestJet and Air Canada if they’re working on solutions to the carry-on problem. Neither responded.