Ending The Battle For Carry-On Space And The Plane-Boarding Ugliness It Leads To
I talk about this in "Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck". (It's currently on special sale, 60% off the regular cover price -- only $6.45 now -- though I'm not sure for how long.)
As I write in the chapter on airplane travel, the problems in the carry-on wars are twofold -- not being an overhead hog yourself and how to deal with the hogs without ending up on the losing end:
Because most airlines are now charging to check bags, some have gotten very strict about the size of your carry-on. Or, so I hear. Whenever I fly, the gate and flight attendants all seem to turn their backs on any rollaboard smaller than a sarcophagus.Sure, it sucks to pay $25 or $30 to check a suitcase, but whether or not the flight attendants stop you, there's carry-on baggage and then there's douchebaggage: coming aboard with two huge wheeliebags and a bulging backpack and making room for them by asking three other passengers to pull their reasonably sized bags out of the overhead and stick them under the seat.
It's good to be kind and generous and voluntarily move stuff under your seat for some late-boarding passenger who needs space for their single, reasonable-sized bag. But, if you've stowed a moderate amount of stuff and then some bag-caravanning hogaboard asks to colonize your little section of overhead space (eradicating leg room you're especially in need of if you're tall), don't be afraid to politely refuse.
Just avoid responding to "Can you put your bag under your seat . . . ?" with a definitive no, which will give them room to attack you as "selfish" and maybe get other passengers to take their side. Instead, deflect them with an indirect approach (in the guise of being helpful)--something like: "Actually, I paid to check my large rollaboard, and I think the flight attendant can help you check yours."
Remember, tone and manner count. If you don't get angry, you're more likely to prevail, deftly emphasizing the diference between sharing space and giving it up entirely.
However, there's dealing with the problem that occurs on the plane, and then there's dealing with the overriding economic idiocy causing it -- which a woman named Carol Pensker noticed.
Pensker, in a letter to the editor in the WSJ, writes -- most sensibly:
The obvious problem with airline boarding is that the airlines are giving away something that has significant value ("The Middle Seat: Can It Really Be This Hard to Board an Airplane?" Life & Arts, March 2). Checked luggage should be free, and carry-ons bigger than a briefcase should be charged a fee. Lots of turnaround minutes would be saved. And boarding could return to a civilized state.
I think she's right.
One of the selling points of Southwest is the fee-free policy for two checked bags. I still prefer to fly with just a rollaboard and a briefcase if possible, but I do wonder how Southwest can remain profitable with free checked bags when so many other airlines charge for bags in the hold.
People often compare modern-day flying to bus riding, but I've ridden the bus on short hops, and I can tell you the elbow room, the footrests, the two-across seating plan, the comfy seats and the spacious storage make Greyhound look like any modern first-class airline seat.
As far as "boarding could return to a civilized state," as the letter-writer suggests -- it's a lovely thought, but that would require America to return to a civilized state, which is optimistic, but highly unlikely.
Kevin at March 10, 2017 12:12 AM
Would emend "and carry-ons bigger than a briefcase should be charged a fee" as "and carry-ons too large to fit under the seat in front of you (excepting bulkhead seats) should be charged a fee."
Crid at March 10, 2017 12:13 AM
". I still prefer to fly with just a rollaboard and a briefcase if possible, but I do wonder how Southwest can remain profitable with free checked bags when so many other airlines charge for bags in the hold"
Simple. They fill their planes and their reservation system and prices are totally demand driven, and largely computerized.
I wonder when the other carriers are going to be forced into the Southwest model in order to stay profitable.
I've got their credit card, also a really good deal for me, as it is a Visa with no foreign transaction fee. I get five or six free trips a year, and keep racking up the miles.
Isab at March 10, 2017 1:45 AM
There are so many problems with carry-on luggage, I don't even know where to start.
I could go on all day.
Part of the problem is the planes seating is so tight that people are seated practically on top of each other. I can't reach the bag under the seat in front of me when I'm sitting in a regular coach seat if the person ahead of me leans back. I have to get everything out ahead of time - and I'm not using the seat-back pouch for storage, that thing is disgusting.
Add to that the fact that entertainment and distractions are non-existent and people have no choice but to bring their own food, entertainment, and other amenities, causing them to unpack their bags in-flight and impose upon their fellow passengers' audio space, airspace, shoulder space, and foot room.
Don't get me started on the passengers who lean their seats back as if they're in a gunfight and the first one all the way back wins. I've almost had my nose broken on more than one occasion by those folks.
Carol Pensker assumes that the airlines value making the boarding easier over making revenue from checked baggage fees.
Conan the Grammarian at March 10, 2017 8:44 AM
THE most stable and prosperous?
I daresay the author of the piece has tipped his hand.
Crid at March 10, 2017 8:44 AM
Wrong thread.
But still.
Crid at March 10, 2017 8:49 AM
The thing is, the airlines did this to themselves. Charging for checked bags -- making a service that many were already leery of even less desirable -- was an absolutely stupid idea. The other big thing that has happened is that priority boarding has transformed the boarding process into utter chaos. How often do you have to wait in line in the aisle, as the person who has the window seat in row 15 wrestles his bag into the overhead and then has to wait for the aisle passenger (who inevitably was among the first borders and is already seated) to get up so the window-seat pax can get to his seat? Meanwhile, people who are sitting further back wait while the aisle is blocked.
And in at least some regard, this is actually costing the airlines money. Typical boarding and disembarking procedures today have added about 15 minutes to the time needed to turn around a flight. Consider something like a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320, aircraft that typically are used on shorter routes. Back in the day, such an aircraft could probably fly six routes a day. But now, with 15 minutes added to the stage time per flight, the same plane can only run four or five routes a day.
It's the General-Motors-ization of the airline industry.
Cousin Dave at March 10, 2017 9:35 AM
"Lots of turnaround minutes would be saved."
Did the back of the envelope have enough space for the calcs to sub out the extra baggage handler time and to ensure you won't just move the limiting factor to the carousel?
I do agree with you though, I admire the tidy organized traveler - wish we could downsize carry-ons through culture, design, and enforcement - and wish people would check bags if they're either traveling for more than a few nights or bringing the wife along for one.
smurfy at March 10, 2017 9:44 AM
Remember when de-regulating the airlines fixed everything?
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at March 10, 2017 1:49 PM
There are the idiots sitting in the back of the plane who put their carry-ons in the overhead at the front of the plane, so they don't have to wrestle it through the plane at deplaning - thus taking those overheads away from the passengers seated in those seats and forcing them to store their bags several rows back - which forces them to have to fight their way back to their bags at deplaning.
I hate those people so, SO much.
Other bag-issues can be tied to people being in a hurry or just being clueless. But this one is purely selfish.
sofar at March 10, 2017 2:23 PM
"There are the idiots sitting in the back of the plane who put their carry-ons in the overhead at the front of the plane, so they don't have to wrestle it through the plane at deplaning."
A guy in front of me as we were boarding stuck two bags into the overhead bin above what turned out to be my seat. I watched as he stuffed them in (moving other people's bags in the process) and them march back to his seat way in the back.
I solved this problem by asking (although I darn well knew the answer) if they belonged to anyone nearby. Of course, everyone said "nope, not mine." So, I pulled the large bag out and put it in the aisle.
The flight attendant came along and asked whose it was - we all said, "I dunno." She then had it moved elsewhere.
What the end result was I have no idea as I got off the plane long before the jerk came up to get his bag.
Problem solved.
charles at March 10, 2017 2:51 PM
> There are the idiots sitting in
> the back of the plane who put
> their carry-ons in the overhead
> at the front of the plane
I totally do this... Because the airline tells me to. I can here the amplified words of the stewardess right now: "Don't pass up any overhead bins on your way to the rear of the plane."
(I usually sit up front because [A.] Southwest, [B.] it's worth a few bucks, [C.] window-seat views are uninterrupted by wing slats and [D.] I'm so fucking beautiful the airlines want me to be the first thing you see when you step onto their airframe.)
Crid at March 10, 2017 5:33 PM
(I usually sit up front because [A.] Southwest, [B.] it's worth a few bucks, [C.] window-seat views are uninterrupted by wing slats and [D.] I'm so fucking beautiful the airlines want me to be the first thing you see when you step onto their airframe.)
Crid at March 10, 2017 5:33 PM
I totally believe this.
Isab at March 10, 2017 5:55 PM
I think part of it is that space has gotten so small. Last fall I had a 10hour international flight and if I put my fold flat headphones (so about 1 inch hard plastic + 1/4 sturdy foam) in the pocket then I no longer had room to put my legs in front of me. I am on the tall side but not that tall.
KLM was checking all carry on in the line to check in.
I heard one airline was going to try charging for carry-on.
I hate that I need to have to carry ons. My normal backpack with chromebook in it and a camera bag with camera in it...because if I put all of that stuff (chargers, etc) in the pack then TSA can't handle it and I have to unpack and repack it all there.
The Former Banker at March 11, 2017 9:36 AM
"I think part of it is that space has gotten so small. Last fall I had a 10hour international flight and if I put my fold flat headphones (so about 1 inch hard plastic + 1/4 sturdy foam) in the pocket then I no longer had room to put my legs in front of me. I am on the tall side but not that tall."
I was on an ANA flight out of LAX two days ago. Leg room was pretty good, but they had achieved it by making the seat cushions and backs very thin. That wasn't a trade off I liked much on an 11 hour flight. If they are going to make the seats that thin, they need to be memory foam. Im old and I notice shit like that.
Isab at March 11, 2017 11:28 AM
The seats have gotten extremely uncomfortable with those thin cushions.
Oh, and I write about those people who put their bags in the front part of the plane when they're sitting in the back -- so they can avoid that "Bataan Death March-like struggle" to roll their bag 30 feet from the back of the plane to the front when deplaning.
Assholes.
Amy Alkon at March 11, 2017 12:53 PM
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