Have been able to carry on a reasonable sized weekend bag a few times now, excellent! About time Europe woke up to the way it's been done in the States for years.
The law in the States is different from here. In the USA, there are between 40 and 45 accidents and dangerous incidents reported every day regarding "carry-on" baggage. However, in he USA the airline has no responsibility - if you're injured the onus is on you to sue the owner of the bag.
In Europe, the carrier is responsible and, since the decapitation of many passengers in the Kegworth disaster, the CAA has advised an upper limit of 5.5kg - with astonishingly good reason!
You want to carry heavy weekender bags? - let the train take the strain. You want to fly? Abide by the safety regulations!
The FAA has, for years, taken the "soft" option - this is why it is widely believed that the escape chutes on 45% of US registered aircraft would fail to operate in an emergency - the FAA turns a blind eye to safety standards!!!
The evidence of this was displayed at Gatwick a few years ago when an "N" registered DC10 was overnighted in BA's maintenance hangar. Two crossmembers in the fuselage were badly perforated by corrosion, yet just three days before a General Certificate of Airworthiness had been issued in the USA!