Are Carry On Bags Out of Control ?

[muppet]

But I only ever have a small roller (smaller than the max allowed) and 1 laptop bag (very small) which sits on top of by roller when in the over head bin. So I only ever take up 1 'space'.

Totally agree here and I do the same... but there's not actually room for everyone to do what we do.

Only about 1/3 can take a roller.

What needs to happen is NGCI to actually make it faster at the other end. I hate watching the taxi line get longer while I wait 25+ mins for bags.

 

[Awesom Andy]

But on a QF domestic bird people get free luggage (yes 1 pc checked) ... so why do they insist on bringing everything except for Fido on board. Is it also the fear of luggage being lost ? Or is everyone in that much of a hurry ? Or have they just become conditioned ? or something else.

When...
1. they get priority baggage working properly
2. speed things up at arrival so we don't have to wait 15min just for the belt to start moving
3. the new luggage tags don't go missing
4. the said tagged luggage don't miss connections

Perhaps then I might consider it.

 

[dfcatch]

+1 to seeing that similar situation way too often now in Oz (lets not even mention the US).

But on a QF domestic bird people get free luggage (yes 1 pc checked) ... so why do they insist on bringing everything except for Fido on board. Is it also the fear of luggage being lost ? Or is everyone in that much of a hurry ? Or have they just become conditioned ? or something else.

Personally, I must admit I avoid checked luggage like McD's brewed coffee. But I only ever have a small roller (smaller than the max allowed) and 1 laptop bag (very small) which sits on top of by roller when in the over head bin. So I only ever take up 1 'space'.

Agree with Justchecking.

IMO the biggest issue is checked bag charges. Yes, QF gives free baggage. But with JQ and DJ charging (especially when DJ didn't use to), the societal response now is to carry on as much as possible.

It's because charged baggage is the new norm.

 

[serfty]

Again - the question is why is it out of control?

Answer - simple - checked baggage charges.
...
AA prior to baggage charges was not the carry-on nightmare it is today.

Agree with Justchecking.

IMO the biggest issue is checked bag charges. Yes, QF gives free baggage. But with JQ and DJ charging (especially when DJ didn't use to), the societal response now is to carry on as much as possible.

It's because charged baggage is the new norm.

Actually, the situation was quite dire BEFORE they introduced charges for checked baggage - these charges simply provide a further reason.

At the larger US airports one can often wait an hour or more at the luggage carousel for the bags to appear.

There are also regular reports of theft/pilfering rings as well.

As I have posted, the airlines are loath to really enforce carry-on restrictions as there is too much competition - the PAX will simply fly another carrier next time.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

for me... I see no problem in current carry on allowances... or people taking what they can get away with. part of the amazement of travel for me is seeing the boarding process and the countless bags, and then right before push back seeing it somehow all magically stowed!

if I travel economy I board early to get space. in higher classes it's never a problem. BA and iirc easy jet as well have no weight limits, so I don't see any issue with safety. if airlines were getting sued then they'd limit and strictly enforce. that's not happening so I assume there's no problem.

agree that qf 767s are in urgent need for new overhead lockers. it is impossible to fit a large carry on (115cm) in... which ever way you try. thankfully some airlines are now going for full size on the upper deck of their 747s... better than having to stow at the stairway.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

Personally i think the size of the wheelie bags being brought on are huge. I travel light, i suppose from the many years of fitting within Air Asias' strict 15Kg check in policy, and I'd take on a 25 liter backpack with me.

It's easy to spot the people who are really abusing the hand held luggage when they're barely able to lift the wheelie bag into the overhead compartment. I remember in the states this couple who looked as if they needed to do a bit more exercise, and between the labored breathing of getting their wheelie bags up and in the overhead compartment, and them pushing and pushing till they finally wedged in. I was so glad that when we got to mexico they let us out the back door as well, cause I reckon they would have been blocking the back half of passengers getting off while they tried to get those backs out.

I'd really like to see strict enforcement of back size and weight. Yeah, by backpack will generally fit under the seat in front of me, but why do I have to give up the last bit of free space i have in the sardine can when I can see backs packed in above me that are barely smaller than what I checked in.

 

[wilco]

^ I couldnt agree more. Call me what you will, but when I buy my seat, I buy the space, the footwell and the space in the overhead bin as per the carryon policy.
I dont give two hoots that Mr John citizen has decided he's somehow more important and deserves the hog the entire overhead bin with double or triple his allowance.
Why should I be uncomfortable, by wedging my carryon under the seat so that JC can stretch out in comfort, because I stuck to the rules?
And for the record, no, I dont want my bag 10 rows behind me, I want it within 1 or 2 rows of me so that I can access it when required and keep an eye on it at all times. If thats selfish, so be it.
Im not complaining about what anyone else does exactly, so long as it doesnt affect me, and I dont think thats unreasonable.

 

[dfcatch]

^ I couldnt agree more. Call me what you will, but when I buy my seat, I buy the space, the footwell and the space in the overhead bin as per the carryon policy.
I dont give two hoots that Mr John citizen has decided he's somehow more important and deserves the hog the entire overhead bin with double or triple his allowance.
Why should I be uncomfortable, by wedging my carryon under the seat so that JC can stretch out in comfort, because I stuck to the rules?
And for the record, no, I dont want my bag 10 rows behind me, I want it within 1 or 2 rows of me so that I can access it when required and keep an eye on it at all times. If thats selfish, so be it.
Im not complaining about what anyone else does exactly, so long as it doesnt affect me, and I dont think thats unreasonable.

Agreed - but if you have two bags - then IMHO you should place your second one under the seat. That helps equitable use of the overhead for everyone (including people like you and I).

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

Agreed - but if you have two bags - then IMHO you should place your second one under the seat. That helps equitable use of the overhead for everyone (including people like you and I).

Totally agree. I sometimes will have a small satchel bag for my laptop or tablet, so yes that goes in the seat in front of me, also because it's usually got my passport wallet and anything else I can't afford to loose on a holiday.

I'm sure it wouldn't be too long after the first airline blinks that the rest would bring in the charging, because otherwise it would be a bit like the internet where if an ISP has a cheap high download plan it tends to attract those who will use the full allowance, citing they pay for it they can use it, so if these people started to predominantly use other airlines then they would find their baggage allowance revenue falling, and I would have to assume that their fuel costs would rise considering the extra tonnage being lifted.

I do always worry when I see some heavy bags in the space above my head. I just wonder what happens if we ever hit bad turbulence or something. I suppose if an obviously overwight bag did fall out and injure someone it would be easy enough to go after the airline as they have not enforced their standards.

Does anyone know if there's a safety requirement by some of the airline safety boards?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I do always worry when I see some heavy bags in the space above my head. I just wonder what happens if we ever hit bad turbulence or something. I suppose if an obviously overwight bag did fall out and injure someone it would be easy enough to go after the airline as they have not enforced their standards.

Does anyone know if there's a safety requirement by some of the airline safety boards?

well BA and easy jet have unlimited weight... so no safety issues I can see.

I landed in an a340 once into Cairo so hard a ceiling panel dropped out. no luggage though. lots of people have reported seeing other people injured... but I think that is more of a 'friend of a friend' type story as I said before, if it actually happened too much airlines would crack down...

most overhead bins these days have a lip at the front to stop luggage just sliding out.

being one of the first to board eliminates all luggage problems.

 

[serfty]

well BA and easy jet have unlimited weight... so no safety issues I can see.
...

BA now have a 23kg limit and you must be able to stow it on the OHSB's unassisted.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

BA now have a 23kg limit and you must be able to stow it on the OHSB's unassisted.

damn! can't pack those bricks anymore me still thinks for all intents and purposes 23 kg would practically be unlimited for a carry on bag that must fit within 45' measurements

 

[drron]

damn! can't pack those bricks anymore me still thinks for all intents and purposes 23 kg would practically be unlimited for a carry on bag that must fit within 45' measurements

I dont know.A bag with internal dimensions of 15x15x15cm=3375 ccs.24 carat gold=19.3gm per cc.So a little over 60kg would fit in that undersized bag.

 

[Timba-Jet]

Like highways will keep getting filled with cars if you keep building them.

With the more spacious design of the 787 and future models, will carry on bags keep growing and growing to fill the extra space?

 

[coco50]

I am not sure what the issue is here. You seem to have a problem with wheely bags, no mention of size or weight of the carry on bag. Other that a vague comment that putting wheely bags into the overhead locker is bad.

Or to put it another way, you seem to be suggesting that all wheely bags must be automatically over weight. I suggest that is a false assumption.

The thing I notice most is that people are totally incapable of stowing their luggage efficiently. Then they get all uppity because you rearrange their cough so that their jacket isn't occupying half of the overhead locker space.

It is not so much the wheelie bag but the size of the piece of luggage. Most airports have test modules to see if the bag is oversize. I was annoyed at Ballina one day when a JQ questioned my shapeless duffle bag which fitted easlit in the test unti while she allowed this woman with a massive bag on board without a challenge. She couldn't even lift it into the overhead locker.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It is not so much the wheelie bag but the size of the piece of luggage. Most airports have test modules to see if the bag is oversize. I was annoyed at Ballina one day when a JQ questioned my shapeless duffle bag which fitted easlit in the test unti while she allowed this woman with a massive bag on board without a challenge. She couldn't even lift it into the overhead locker.

so...if she couldn't left it then it went underneath the seat in front of her... what's the problem?

 

[dfcatch]

so...if she couldn't left it then it went underneath the seat in front of her... what's the problem?

Because:

1/ If she couldn't lift it, it was probably in excess of the 10kg.

2/ If she couldn't lift it, it was probably too big for under-seat storage.

 

[rechoboam]

I'm in the US right now and have had several flights (LAX, ORD, DFW, SFO) with more to come.
All have been in first with AA. And yes the FA barks these exact instructions. SO I can 100% agree.

But what I find strange is that people will shove a huge bag in the over-head bin ... yet the bag is so big that the bin door will not close. They then just take their seat and somehow magically expect the bin will either grow larger or their bag will get smaller.

The FA then comes along and tries to close all the bins only to find no matter how hard they keep trying to slam it shut or squash (more like ram) the bag into the bin, it just will not close. So then the FA commences a game of Tetris and starts asking people who owns what bag etc and then does the over-head bin bag shuffle ... and very roughly at that. The FA takes their frustration out on everyones bags.

Then when the plan lands, everyone stands up and does a re-shuffle in the cabin to try and get to their bag.

I used my priority boarding (WP & 1st Class) thinking I'd be sweet. But when they do the bag shuffle, it then becomes a pain in the bum.

I've now had the pleasure of watching this a few times. Funny as all hell ... not.

Have seen that often and every time I think those poor CC have a thankless job sometimes.

 

[coco50]

Because:

1/ If she couldn't lift it, it was probably in excess of the 10kg.

2/ If she couldn't lift it, it was probably too big for under-seat storage.

The bag had no place being in the cabin of the aircraft - it should have been checked-in baggage in the first place. I bet this woman purchased a carry-on fare and printed her own boarding pass so that she didn't need to approach check-in staff. Her bag was the size of what I took on a RTW trip for 2 months and I bet it weighed more than 20 kg. It could not fit under the seat and could only just fit in the locker.

 

[reductionist]

I think we're going to keep fighting for overhead locker space until airlines get strict on enforcing cabin baggage rules.

If there was a quick & easy way to have cabin bags somehow pre-approved for boarding I'd be happy to do it - especially if it meant I could board last and still find space for my bag.