
Global airlines to reduce size of carry-on bags - user_235711
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/09/global-airlines-reduce-size-carry-bags/28758065/
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UnoriginalGuy
Airlines absolutely created this problem themselves. Aircrafts are designed to
carry large bags in the hold, and small bags in the cabin.

But airlines decided to actively discourage people from checking bags with
ever more insane checked bag fees (e.g. $25 on a $100 ticket!) and even worse
if you try to take a bag that is clearly too big onboard, they waive the fee
at the gate which "punishes" the people responsible enough to check.

Honestly the entire system seems silly to me.

~~~
josefresco
I'm no expert, but didn't the concept of packing _everything_ into your carry
on develop because of the fear (rational or not) that your bag would be lost
if checked? The exorbitant bag checks fees seem to have arisen in the last
5-10 years seemingly as a result of the 2008 economic crisis and overall
crappy business model (cheap fares etc.)

~~~
mapt
Nuh-uh. This is your fault, Internet. Bag fees came along when booking
websites cut fares to the bone, but neglected to factor in bag fees.

Edit: This is also plausible -
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9691867](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9691867)

~~~
eli
Not sure the messenger is to blame. _Customers_ wants the cheapest possible
base fare and booking websites gave them what they wanted.

~~~
dragonwriter
Customer wants the cheapest total price, not base fare; internet provider base
fare comparisons, which are presented and perceived to represent cost
comparisons, airlines game the system so that they can minimize what people
are able to easily compare on while maximizing revenue.

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fauigerzigerk
It's because they keep cramming in more seats. I always used to buy the
cheapest possible ticket and I very much welcomed no-frills airlines. But
recently legroom has become so extremely narrow that even short flights have
become torturous for my back and knees.

My last Ryanair flight was horrible in every respect. From booking the flight
on their buggy website infested with ads and extras and deceptive nonsense to
broken baggage promises and legroom that isn't even enough to get into the
recommeded heads down safety position in case of an emergency.

I guess I brought this upon myself by making cheap fares the only priority.
Well, no more! From now on I'm going to want to know how much legroom each
airline/flight offers and I'm going to pay for more or simply stop flying if
they charge excessively for it.

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edwhitesell
I still think the best solution is to make basically reverse the current
rules. Make the first 2 checked bags free, charge for additional after that.
Allow one small carry-on, but charge for the second. The fee for the second
carry-on should be at least 2x the fee for the 3rd checked bag.

~~~
jasode
_> Allow one small carry-on, but charge for the second. _

I also think checked bags should be free and the carry-on bags should pay the
fees.

However, allowing only 1 free carry-on is a disadvantage to women who want to
carry a purse (that's 1 bag) and also a laptop briefcase (that's now 2 bags)
to do work. I suppose women could stuff the bare minimum of toiletries into
the pockets of a laptop bag but I think a lot of them will want _everything_
that they carry in the purse.

The airlines could make an exception for purses, but then the men could claim
they should also be able to bring on messenger bags[1]. Therefore, we're right
back to 2 bags again.

Or we allow 2 small carry-ons for free and they can't be rollerbags and
suitcases. If mothers with infants require a 3rd bag for a supply of diapers,
toys, etc, they have to pay. We have to draw the line somewhere :-)

[1][https://www.google.com/search?q=messenger+bag&source=lnms&tb...](https://www.google.com/search?q=messenger+bag&source=lnms&tbm=isch)

~~~
bryanlarsen
"If mothers with infants require a 3rd bag for a supply of diapers, toys, etc,
they have to pay."

That's not a 3rd bag, that's a bag for the infant. So you don't have to make
an exception for parents, just say "2 bags per person", since the infant is a
person too.

~~~
jasode
Yes that makes sense because you're using customer's logic instead of
airline's logic.

Airline's logic: "passenger" would mean "ticketed passenger" which would mean
a _seat_ that was paid for. Since most people do not buy separate tickets for
infants (because infants are held in the arms), the infant doesn't get a "free
bag".

For example with American Airlines policy[1], the _unticketed_ infant gets
_zero bags_ as an allowance. However, the diaper bag is allowed as an
exception. There is no "2 carryon bags per human" type of rule.

But my comment about mothers was tongue-in-cheek (note the smiley face) so we
don't have to overanalyze it.

[1][https://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/specialAssistance/...](https://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/specialAssistance/childrenTraveling.jsp?anchorLocation=DirectURL&title=children)

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bedhead
I wish the airlines would dictate the size of carry-ons based on the type of
plane, because the size of overhead storage bins varies tremendously by
aircraft type and vintage. It's nuts that they have the same carry-on rules
for a regional jet as an A380.

~~~
CaptainZapp
They do, in a way.

I have a carry-on hard case, which is certified for the cabin. As a matter of
fact the airline I most often use sells it branded as carry-on luggage.

it can happen, though, that I have to check it at the gate if the plane is an
Avro 100 (or something similar small) and full.

This is actually quite nice in Vienna, when my connecting flight is a Dash
turboprop plane. I have to check it at the gate, put it on a cart at the plane
entrance, but can pick it up immediately after leaving the plane with no wait
times at the carousel.

Even though I see your point, I don't think it's practical.

~~~
bedhead
I agree, it's impractical. Just wishful thinking.

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cmurf
Carry on != personal item.

Carry on max: 22 cm x 35 cm x 56 cm Personal item max: 22 cm x 25 cm x 43 cm

On at least U.S. airlines the personal item is always free. The carry on isn't
always free, e.g. Frontier. And also gate checking the 1st bag isn't always
free, it can be quite a bit more expensive, again e.g. Frontier which will
charge $60 at the gate.

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uptown
Airlines are doing everything they can to make people check bags. Why? Because
it's revenue that doesn't get taxed.

[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/business/29bags.html?_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/business/29bags.html?_r=0)

It'd be in their best interest to get rid of carry-on storage altogether, drop
ticket prices, and raise checked-bag fees.

~~~
SilasX
Strange, it doesn't seem to explain the reasoning behind this other than that
airlines like it (obviously). It goes against the general principles of tax
accounting policy as well: they (indirectly) deduct the cost of handling the
bags as expenses, so why not the income therefrom? Both should count towards
net income, or neither should.

How about when you bill out as a consultant, you can charge $1/hour, plus
baggage handling fees of $199/hour?

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Zak
I fly quite a bit and I haven't noticed a problem with there not being enough
room for carry-ons. What I _have_ noticed is some delays during boarding while
people find a place for their bag carry-on to go. Anything that slows down
boarding costs the airline money. They probably also want more people to pay
to check bags.

~~~
zzalpha
You must not fly major legs or something.

Every hub-to-hub flight on United, particularly in the northeast corridor
(e.g., ORD<->PHL or EWR, which I find myself on pretty regularly), not only do
they run out of bin space, they pre-warn folks in boarding groups 4 or 5 to
just check their bags ahead of time 'cuz odds are very good they ain't gettin'
them onboard.

I fly on average once a month (though it's been roughly every other week for
the last couple) and it's been getting worse and worse with every trip. Makes
me glad I've at least maintained silver status... in the past I used to wait
until the last minute to board, but these days, being in a priority boarding
group is the difference between gate checking or not gate checking...

~~~
Zak
I'm often on very crowded flights, but not so much in the northeast. Maybe
people there tend to bring more/bigger luggage, but it seems to me the
airlines created the issue by charging for checked bags.

~~~
zzalpha
Oh yeah, I couldn't agree more. 'course, I carry on because I don't want them
to lose or damage my stuff (I get a free check bag with status but never take
advantage of it), but I think most casual travelers are reacting to the fees.

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eli
If all the ads and booking sites had to include the price of the ticket with 1
checked bag and 1 carry-on then I suspect the checked bag fees would go down
(or at least stop going up) and carry-on space would be less of an issue.

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thrillgore
I don't see any clarity on size requirements, and since my idea of a "carry-
on" is a backpack with my laptop and a change of clothes, I'm really concerned
about this.

~~~
JshWright
That's generally what I travel with as well, and I usually just stick it under
the seat in front of me.

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merah
tldr: IATA recommend new guidelines (non-binding) for carry-on luggage to be
21.5 x 13.5 x 7.5 inches.

~~~
golemotron
Let's hope competition keeps us from having to buy new carry-ons now.

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comrade1
It's in inches, but aren't those sizes right around the normal European carry-
on size?

My wife and I have a couple of European size carry-ons (a couple of rollers,
one medical bag style) and then a couple of American size carry-ons for when
we travel to the U.S.

The Tumi expandable carry-on bags are nice, and my Tumi laptop bag is normally
nice and compact but when I expand it I can hold enough for a few days
consulting.

The European size Tumi expandable roller cannot be expanded though and be
carry-on size.

I know this sounds like it would make a boring conversation but when you
travel as much as we do it becomes important and is a common topic of
conversation with colleagues that also travel.

~~~
pmontra
The recommendation is metric
[http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2015-06-09-02.aspx](http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2015-06-09-02.aspx)

It's 55 x 35 x 20 cm which is rounded down quite a lot to 21.5 x 13.5 x 7.5
inches. That is only 92% of the volume of the metric size. Be sure to get a
European bag :-)

