‘I’ve been traveling over a month on 8 different airlines’: Woman weighs her bag before American Airlines flight. Then she accuses the airline of running a scam
A traveler says she’s been traveling for over a month with eight different airlines and her bag has never been overweight. Now, the same bag is registering as overweight with American Airlines, and she thinks the company is running a scam.
In a viral TikTok, Lyla (@ahoneycrispapple) shows her red, carry-on-size rolling suitcase as it sits on a scale at a check-in desk. “OK, wait,” she says before demonstrating why she thinks the company is trying to pull one over on her.
At first, the scale says the bag weighs 53 lbs. Then, when she moves it slightly to the left, it says 52.5 lbs. When she moves it to the upper right corner, it says 54 lbs, and in the lower right corner, it says 55 lbs. Finally, in the lower left corner, it weighs 54 lbs once again.
“That’s actually insane,” Lyla says. She writes in the caption that she had to pay $100 extra for her bag.
‘Call the number on the sticker’
In the comments section, many suggested the discrepancy was simply a matter of poor calibration.
“Wow, so a measuring device that people bang 50 pounds bags [on] hundreds of times a day may be slightly off calibration??? Whoda thunk…” user Matt said.
User Vee wrote, “It’s not that deep. It’s out of calibration.”
Some mentioned that the bag needs to be placed dead center for the most accurate results.
User MamaBearMaggie said, “Those things need to be calibrated and bags need to be weighed directly center on the scale for the most accurate weight.”
User Aleexfoster wrote, “A scale measures distribution of force. If the force is not equally distributed the weight will fluctuate. The most accurate reading is when it’s completely in the middle.”
Others mentioned that there’s a sticker on the scale certifying its accuracy and she could call the number on it to report the wacky weights.
“Notice the certificate taped on the scale to certify accuracy call the number on it,” one viewer said.
Another wrote, “Call the number on the sticker, they regulate stuff like this. They can get fined.”
One viewer suggested Lyla get her own luggage scale. Lyla replied, “I weighed it before I left !! But maybe to show in front of them would be good as well!”
Why did she get several different readings?
According to Adam Equipment, “Airport scales may be inaccurate, or calibrated too infrequently to maintain accuracy they once had. You can ask to reset the scale if you know your bag is under the limit.”
@ahoneycrispapple I’ve been traveling over a month 8 diff airlines, same suitcase, & never overweight! Now all the sudden it is? They made me pay $100 EXTRA! #americanairlines #scam ♬ original sound – ahoneycrispapple
She’s not the only dissatisfied American Airlines customer
The Mary Sue has recently reported on two American Airlines passengers who were unsatisfied with their meal service.
One says she was the only Black woman in first class and the meals all of a sudden ran out when it was her turn to be served, which viewers who work in the industry say is bogus.
The other says she pre-ordered a gluten-free meal in the app and was told during meal service that there were no gluten-free meals. She says the flight attendants were rude and one of their attempts to remedy the situation included giving her snacks full of gluten.
The Mary Sue contacted Lyla via email and TikTok comment and direct message. It contacted American Airlines via email.
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