[dennis]

On january 7 2012 we were to fly from CDG to JFK.
We arrived 3 hours before the departure so we wouldn't be rushed. We had our boarding passes so the only thing pending was to have our bags ticketed and go through security.
After we passed our bags ,we proceeded to the security area. A person was at the area with an iron box and told us that we had to verify the carry ons dimensions.
We complied but he insisted that since the carry on was a little bit larger than the box and needed a shove to fit into the box, we had to go back to the baggage area and check the carry ons as baggage.
We tried to speak to him and we told him that this was a trans atlantic flight and that we had a flight the next day and that we needed the medicines and clothing for our next days flight in case our other bags were delayed. He ignored us and told us to go back.
We went back to the check in area and had to wait on the long line to get to the counter. After an hour long wait we talked to the clerk and told her the same things we had tried to explain to the other person. I told her that i have traveled all over the USA, Canada and South America with this same carry on .
We even told her that we have seen other airlines take large carryons at the gate and check it in free of charge. We even told her that Air France had taken this same carryon and allowed me to travel with it on our flight from JFK to CDG one week earlier. She would not budge and told us in a rude fashion "you are in France now!!!!".
She sent us to the ticketing counter where we had to wait in a long line again and had to pay 75 Euros per bag...that is 150 euros or aprox. $200. We were furious at the extortion that we had to be submitted to. We got to the gate as the flight was boarding and i will never fly Air France in my lifetime....

[xjcaptain]

So what you are saying is that you freely admit your "carry-on" was oversize, and it had to be checked as checked luggage? I guess I don't see the problem. The sizes are published and should be known to all who care to check. You wouldn't believe the bags people try to bring on as a "carry on". All it does is cause delays and slow the boarding process when people get on the plane and can't make them fit. I've also had people break the door on overhead bins causing us to delay the flight substantially to have maintenance come out and either repair the item, or defer it for repair later. You may have gotten away with it in the past, but that is a risk you took and you got called on it.

[Gromit801]

Like the guy who was pulled over for speeding, and complaining he's never been pulled over for speeding all the other times.

[dennis]

What i am saying is that i had a normal carry on that has been used and accepted by all airlines since i have bought it 3-4 years ago.
I have traveled to New York, Boston,Panama, San Francisco,London, Dallas, Miami, Palm Springs, Los Angeles,Madrid, Tortola USVI and a few other places with it on Delta, US Air, Continental, Spirit, Southwest, American Airlines, Copa and Iberia and i have never had a problem with it, nor have i ever had a problem loading it in the overhead bin.
I have seen people that bring oversized carryons to a plane and i can understand the problems that these carryons cause, but mine is not an oversized carry on. The problem was with the receptacule that Air France used to measure the carryon. It was way too small, much smaller than others that i have seen at airports.
The other problem is that since i had already checked my bags at the desk, i could not remove anything my carryon to place in my checked bag. I had 10 pounds underweight in my regular checked bag so i could have easily transferred anything to my checked bag if i had known of this problem.
And the third problem was the airline sticking me with a $100 dollar fee per bag to load a carry on. I think the whole situation was an abuse of power. All the other people that the airline did this to were furious and with cause.
On all other airlines that i have traveled on, graciously take any oversized carryon and check it for free at the gate. As a matter of fact, on my flight from San Juan to JFK on Delta, the Delta personel at the gate announced that anyone with carry on that wanted to check it on the plane could hand it over to the Delta employee at the check in counter for free. And this same carryon was used for my subsequent flight from JFK to Paris on Air France with out any problems at the gate at JFK or in the flight. This is why i believe this is an Air France situation at Charles De Gaulle Airport....