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Luggage weighs more than you think it should? Maybe it's the scale if you're at JFK
Let's say you've weighed that piece of packed luggage at home. You've checked the weight several times. You are satisfied that the weight is not over what the airline will allow for no extra charge. You know that you have a terrific scale that doesn't lie.
Feeling confident in the weight that you are now hoisting onto the scale at the airline check-in counter, your eyes bug out because your luggage is two pounds over. "How can that be?" you ask the person who is getting ready to write you up the bill for overweight baggage.
If you are at an American Airlines ticket counter at JFK, the difference between your luggage weight at home and your luggage weight at the airport may be caused by the scale at JFK. According to this NY Post article, the American Airlines' scales are sometimes not calibrated correctly. In one instance, a check of scales at both La Guardia and JFK found that 102 scales out of 810 were not accurate.
When a scale is not accurate, it's supposed to be taken out of commission until it is fixed. Although airlines aim to comply with this rule, sometimes faulty scales are still used. For example, of the 120 that were not working correctly, 10 were still being used a couple days later.
From what I gather after reading the article, the scale problem is mainly with American Airlines. The airlines does claim to spend mega bucks on scale calibration.
If you see a red sticker on a scale that says 'condemned' and the scale is still being used, let the Department of Consumer Affairs know about it. With American Airlines charging the heftiest fee for overweight baggage, one pound can make a difference.
[The photo by Todd Huffman is of a scale at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. I wonder how accurate this one is? Maybe American should look into it.]
Filed under: Airlines, Airports, News, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Zach Everson Nov 24th 2008 8:29PM
Could airlines be that far away from having their agents put their thumb (or foot) on the scale?
Dries Nov 24th 2008 8:32PM
Last Friday, we were checking in for a Delta Airlines flight from Tampa to Atlanta. When one of my colleagues put her luggage on the scale, it read 55 pounds. She either had to take off 5 pounds, or pay a $175 fee. So she started taking out stuff and putting that on the scale, until that read 5 pounds. Then, after weighing her luggage again, the scale read ... 34 pounds. So, she put everything that she had taken out back in (allegedly 5 pounds), after which the scale indicated 44 pounds. When I told the Delta Airlines staff that their scale needed some serious recalibration, one of them told us she could feel without weighing that the luggage was to heavy anyway. I couldn't help but to start laughing, after which she checked in our luggage without saying another word. So if the American Airlines scales at JFK are off, I bet they can't compete with those those of Delta at Tampa airport :)
Emland Nov 25th 2008 9:02AM
The company I work for uses scales for shipping and since we deal with the public the scales have to be tested and pass a yearly test administered by the city.
Since the airlines are now charging for poundage I think they should be subjected to the same tests.
I've seen the way people slam their bags on those scales. I would imagine the biggest cause of error is that the scale has become unbalanced. It is an easy test to remove the metal cover and check the balance bubble. If it is not centered, it can cause errors in the 5 to 8 pounds range. Of course that kind of error benefits the airline so they really have no interest in making sure those scales are accurate.
Lily Nov 25th 2008 11:19AM
Zach Everson said...
Could airlines be that far away from having their agents put their thumb (or foot) on the scale?
I wouldn't put it past them! But when I worked for Jamaica Air I actually had the opposite happen - passengers trying to get over on the weight limit would crowd the counter so I wouldn't notice them putting their foot under the scale to lift it! Ask them to step back and suddenly the bag weighs 20 lbs. more!