Lighten your load, use more fuel?

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PS: All due empathy to those with physical limitations while obeying the carry on rules. I have 3 herniated discs which make movement above my head difficult, even with something very light. It's not the weight or size, it's the awkward action of lifting over the head that creates difficulty. ANYONE in such circumstances should be forgiven the inconvenience to others when they are being reasonable with their carry on cargo.

by samper on Monday, December 08, 2008

Don't carry on limitations indicate that the bag should fit under the seat in front of you in addition to the overhead? To my mind, paying $15 to check a bag is minimal (but I prefer to have them rescind the fees since fuel has come down so drastically lately). If folks just paid $300 for a ticket, what's another $15 to adhere to the rules and alleviate the boarding/deboarding delays? Are people REALLY in that much of a hurry that they can't obey the rules, checking bags that are obviously over limit? People are selfish in this regard and airline personnel are lax in enforcement. Someone spending a week at a resort doing nothing but relaxing "has" to get off the plane and into a cab in record time instead of waiting for bags on the carousel and spending a lousy $15 for it. I'm headed to Greece and have decided to pack in a "true" wheeled carry on (fits under the seat if there is no overhead space) as well as a "carry on approved" suitcase of 21". I chose this because I want to take the metro between points and not have added cargo size to shlep. HOWEVER, I will check the 21" bag for the flights for the convenience of others (more space for them, less cumbersome activity for me, it's all good). It's no skin off my nose... I have TIME MANAGEMENT skills that allow me to wait for the bag on arrival and have BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY skills to pay the stupid $15.

by samper on Monday, December 08, 2008

I'm sure none of us means that those who have physical limitations or strength issues (older folks often have both) shouldn't be putting a bag in the overhead. However, I saw a flight attendant actually take a bag away from someone because the two of them couldn't lift it into the overhead - it was that heavy! When the inconsiderate and cheap folks refuse to pay to check their bag and, instead, carry on three and four bags, they are often extremely heavy compared to proper carry ons because they have so much in them. It's just plain rude and they are causing the rest of us a lot of trouble while the defraud the airline out of its fee - justified or not, the rest of us may well have paid the fee as required so those who pack three or four carry on bags are defrauding the airline - fight the fee some other way that doesn't hurt other people!

by on Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Hard to believe airfarewatchdog would give such a simplistic answer as anyone who flies regularly are now seeing many bags carried on, oversized, etc. In England, my wife had a small purse and a regular carry-on. They stopped her and said one carry on only and made her stuff the purse into the carry-on. We should definitely get stricter here as right now it is being abused.

by on Tuesday, October 21, 2008

I agree this is becoming a huge problem, and I can't believe the airlines didn't forsee this, and set policies for enforcing it.

That said, I wish people would lay off on people who need help with their carryons. I have a bad back & shoulder, and cannot lift a carryon, no matter how light, above my shoulders, so I always need to ask for help in stowing it. I know I'm the one who's going to be shlepping it around, so it's not that heavy. There can be more to needing help than just being so selfish you overpack...

by on Tuesday, October 21, 2008

I am seeing this also. I fly JetBlue all the time. People are bringing ridiculously heavy carry-ons they can barely lift (or get out).. it's taking forever to board and de-board the planes now!

I just flew Turkish Airlines (from Turkey to NYC) they let you check TWO 70 POUND bags! And bring carry ons!

-Carmine

by on Monday, October 20, 2008

Yes, with checked bag fees coming to most airlines we will see more people limiting packing to carry-on. Airlines also have carry-on size limits. Watch airlines getting tough on size and weight of these bags. I really don't have a problem with this as I've sen many people actually unable to hoist their "carry-on" into the overhead bin. This is unfair to other passengers and slows the boarding process.

by on Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Just a hint here: On MD80's (some models) that have the seat configuration of 2 seats on one aisle and 3 on the other...well....the overhead storage above the 2 seat rows is smaller than the bins above the 3 seats rows. So, those with larger, but permissible, suitcases should grab that side of the plane. Smaller cases fit nicely on the smaller side. Oh and a bozo working the gate at AA in DFW tried to say my grocery bag AND small purse were one too many and would not permit me to enter the jetway until I put my purse inside my grocery bag! (which was NO problem since it was a GROCERY bag and NOT a suitcase!) The gate agents where I started my trip in PHX said nothing......but yes, some abuse the 2 bag allowance.

by on Monday, October 20, 2008

I fly quite regularly and even with the so called size restrictions, I have seen many carry on bags that have to be larger. I also see nothing being done about passengers who bring on 3 to 4 carryon bags. I saw one lady recently that had her carry on suitcase, a garment bag, a huge tote and a backpack. No one said a word to her. She was traveling alone. Her bagsalone took up 2 of the overheads.

by on Monday, October 20, 2008

Absolutely - I doubt the fees are making that much of a difference because I have seen exactly what the previous poster saw - people boarding with bagS that would each probably manage to fit the carry-on size but they have 3 and 4 of them all at the maximum size. I've seen some of them that were so heavy the owner had to ask for help to get them hoisted into the overhead - they may well have not been much lighter than a checked bag. I think the airline staff and crew are just being lazy and not forcing these people to check all but one plus a personal item. It is really annoying when there isn't room for my one proper sized carry on and I end up having to check it because others have been allowed to violate the rules. But try complaining to cabin staff that someone else has put 3 or 4 bags into the overhead - they look at you like you must be nuts.

by on Monday, October 20, 2008

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