Carry-on Luggage: Forewarned is Forearmed

Parent Cafe
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<p>With all of the upcoming holiday travel and trying to get our kids and their luggage home from colleges for Thanksgiving and winter breaks, I thought I should share what happened on a recent flight.</p>

<p>If you fly the smaller commuter flights, you are used to surrendering your larger carry-on luggage at plane side to be retrieved, again plane side, when you land because there is no way anything larger than a laptop or small duffel will fit in those tiny overhead bins. And, anyone who has traveled recently probably realized it was inevitable that the carrying capacity of the overhead bins in the larger planes would be overwhelmed as more and more travelers fly with only carry-on luggage to avoid baggage fees and the real chance of misrouted or lost luggage. Still, this weekend’s experience was new to me:</p>

<p>On a major airline, on a fairly large (but not jumbo) jet traveling a major West Coast to Midwest route, the overhead bins were already full with only about half the passengers on board the plane. We had been warned before boarding by airline personnel to expect this and were told that for the passengers boarding in the later seatings, carry-on bags that would not fit under the seat would be tagged at the airplane door by airline personnel and handled like checked bags. You would not be charged the checked bag fee but would only be able to pick up these carry-ons at the baggage claim area of your final destination (not plane side like the small commuters). Obviously this would be inconvenient if you had planned to have access to the bag during the flight (or at a stopover if connecting to another flight), or if you had fragile or valuable items in your carry-on that you didn’t want moving through the baggage system. As you can imagine, and probably have seen if you have flown recently, there was some scrambling in the boarding area as some passengers rearranged their carry-on items to try and move fragile/valuable items into their smaller, ‘fit under the seat in front’ carry-on bags. But on the whole, passengers were generally resigned to the reality of giving up their carry-on bags. On the plus side, I was thinking, you wouldn’t have to board wondering how you were ever going to find a spot for your bag in the crowded overhead bins.</p>

<p>But then, with at least 20 or 30 passengers still to board, the gate agent announced the plane’s cargo area was totally full. No room for any more luggage whatsoever. The airline would have to forward the remaining carry-on bags on the next available flight. No guarantee of when. Say what!?! Not only was the carry-on luggage no longer carry-on, it wasn’t even going on the same flight! Might not even go out the same day? What a nightmare. I know from experience, it can take days for delayed luggage to catch up to you (if it is not lost in the meantime), especially if your final destination is not a major hub or city. Good luck if you your travel plans include multiple destinations over several days. Good luck if your bridesmaid dress for your best friend’s wedding was carefully packed in your carry-on so you would be sure it would arrive safely with you for the special weekend. You can imagine your own travel horror story if the carry-on luggage you counted on having is no longer safely with you. </p>

<p>How could the cargo hold be too full for the remaining carry-on luggage? Obviously, checked bags would have priority. But, people are traveling with the generally smaller carry-on bags or with fewer bags. Smaller and fewer should mean more room in the cargo hold, not less. A guess is that the passenger flights are also carrying more high profit, non-luggage cargo, leaving less room for luggage. </p>

<p>What’s the answer to this mess? I think the airlines have to drop the baggage fees so there is less motivation to avoid checked luggage. I don’t know if and when that will happen. Some of you will say fly Southwest (or other carriers without baggage fees?). A good alternative if they go where you want to fly, when you want to fly, but doesn’t work for everyone, including usually, our family. You can try and be in one of the early boarding groups by selecting seat assignments towards the front of the plane, but that is going to vary by airline and airplane model, and in my experience has been tied to the price I paid for my tickets. Discount ticket? My seat selection has been limited to the back of the plane, even when buying early.</p>

<p>Maybe you frequent fliers have already experienced having seen carry-ons ‘carried-off’ to be put on another plane, but it was new to me. I have to add, I was lucky and my bags flew with me. Good luck out there in the coming months!</p>

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<p>I’ve flown several times in the last couple of months and have also experienced the mad scramble for overhead bin space. While I haven’t experienced the refusal of luggage, I was on a flight with empty seats where the flight attendant announced that someone needed to volunteer to get off the plane because the plane was over-weight… Of course, everyone’s reaction was confusion since the plane was not full so you’d think that there wouldn’t have been a luggage problem. </p>

<p>As we all sat and looked at each other, the attendant said “This plane’s not going anywhere until someone gets off.” And someone did. So I have a feeling your hunch about more profitable cargo might be right on.</p>

<p>The whole charging for luggage thing has just really irked me because I wish they’d just add it to the price of the ticket and forget the hassle. I realize it’s a marketing ploy because it makes it harder to shop ticket prices but I’d rather they just put it out there up front.</p>

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<p>Remember when it was fun to fly? Not anymore.</p>

<p>Part of the carry on trend is due to the checked baggage fees, but after having dealt with my own lost luggage horror stories, I think a lot of people just want to avoid those issues and I can’t blame them.</p>

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<p>I agree FallGirl, but what do we do now that you can’t avoid lost luggage horror stories because there is NO space on your plane for your carryon? Your carryon just got carried off to who knows where and may not even have a computer generated bar code tag attached to it. The horror stories may get worse this holiday season.</p>

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<p>I think the airlines should charge if you DON"T check luggage.</p>

<p>When I travel on short duration trips, all I carry is a backpack. If I’m taking longer trips, I plan to check ONE bag and carry a backpack with the first few day’s essentials.</p>

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<p>dmd77, I like your idea. I’ll take it a step further. If you carry something on board that has to go in the overhead bin, you pay a higher fee than what the airline would charge if you chose to check the bag. Let’s get rid of those heavy bags overhead. Period. I think the planes would load faster too. (And no one is allowed to put bags in an area other than directly over their own row!) The airlines could help by improving their ability to keep your checked bag moving with you to your destination.</p>

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<p>We flew recently to NYC. Flights were full, we were nearly last on (flying stand by). Attendants announced, “please hold coats to make room in the overheads” and yet bin after bin was filled with coats. My answer would be to have each seat “matched” to a certain space in the overhead bin. If you bring your overhead and a “personal item”, then the personal item goes under the seat. You only get one spot overhead.</p>

<p>Fortunately, I was able to fit mine under my seat, and the flight attendant was able to make room for H’s in the “closet”, so we didn’t have to check anything.</p>

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<p>I don’t have an answer to that one and I can understand your being upset because I sure would be. </p>

<p>Greta- I agree about those heavy bags overhead. I usually take a smallish carry on (with a spare pair of socks,underwear and top) and then check one bag.</p>

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<p>I think the airline cannot accomodate a carry on sized piece of luggage for each passenger, then they should have to pay the passenger for the huge inconvenience of sending it on another flight. That’s simply outrageous.</p>

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<p>I have always carried a shoulder tote in which I can put my laptop bag and purse and other sundries and it fits under the seat in front of me. But with the new baggage policies, if not on SWA I do the rolling non checked back to save the fee. What a pain and waste of time all that jostling for space and waiting for every one to place their items into the overhead bins!</p>

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<p>When I flew back from England this summer my connecting flight from Chicago was a smallish plane (1 row on one side, 2 on the other) with really tiny overheads. I had a seat in row 1 and there were no overheads at all till row 3. The overheads near the front were all full and there was no seat in front of me to stow my bag so I had to get off (going against the flow of people getting on including one real snotty SOB) to have my bag (normal carry on shoulder bag size) put in the hold. I would have been very annoyed to be told my bag would be going on another plane!! When we landed there must have been 15-20 people standing waiting on the gangway waiting for their carryons to be brought to them from the hold. First time I had experienced this. I had seen people with oversized bags have this happen in the past, but these were mostly regular sized bags.</p>

<p>Perhaps they need to limit people to one bag and if they bring more than one then they should be told the additional bags will only make the flight once everyone elses 1st bag has been succesfully put on the plane. And they need to be strict about the size of carryons. When I travel and I am carrying my shoulder bag sized carryon round the other side of security I always wonder at the ton of people with larger rolling bags and more than one.</p>

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<p>I just finished taking a couple of short flights and noticed that the luggage system is out of hand. In order to keep the customers happy, the airline has not enforced size restrictions on carryon luggage. Most of the luggage has expandable pockets which can make otherwise reasonably sized luggage grow to sizes that will not fit in the overhead bins. Quite a few individuals held up loading and unloading due to oversized luggage and the need to work the luggage in and out of the bins. In one case a passenger unpacked all of the expandable pockets. Eventually that worked, but they blocked the aisle while they completed this process.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>S did this, sorry to say. He tends to be an overpacker and I usually go through his bag, but for some reason didn’t before a flight this summer. We had to unpack the pockets of the bag to get it out of the overhead bin. I profusely thanked the fellow passengers who helped us get the bag out as well as apoligized to all of those who were held up (thankfully we were in the back part of the plane).</p>

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<p>Edad - were we on a flight together??? I understand trying to avoid the carry-on fee, but some of the luggage IS NOT carry-on. We were in the same situation. A woman had a piece of luggage that was not going to fit, so everyone had to wait until she removed a lot of stuff and just shoved in the overhead compartment. Another person was trying to hoist a piece into the bin and it came crashing down on the head of another passenger. </p>

<p>I don’t like paying extra money, but when I look at the price of the ticket, I just add the additional cost in my mind. I don’t really need the airline to add it for me. I wish they would enforce the size limits. If I thought about it, I would resent sitting in my seat, with my small bag underneath, waiting for everyone to stuff their huge pieces overhead. I don’t even carry a purse on the plane with me. I do take a few things in my bag in case my luggage gets lost, but I try to travel as light as possible. On the other hand, I try to focus on the fact that I am lucky to have the money to fly -so I relax and enjoy the show!</p>

<p>PS - FallGirl - that was nice that you apologized.</p>

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<p>Without exaggeration, I believe that the carryon luggage issues doubled the amount of time it took to load and unload the plane on my flights both Saturday and Sunday. This time I did carryon luggage and had a very small backpack - actually and old book bag one of the kids used years ago. Often I check luggage. With such a high percentage of carryons, checked luggage is usually very quick. It sure is nice not to have to deal with luggage especially for longer flights with a change of planes. It also makes the check in at security real easy.</p>

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<p>I am always amazed at the size of some peoples carry ons. The new rule should be that you can ONLY bring a rolling bag if it fits the skinny way in the overhead. I also get annoyed with the inefficient way people load the overheads. I have given up on the old idea of “always have a change of clothes” in your carry on. Now I carry a very jazzy looking backpack with my “must haves”.</p>

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<p>Does anybody remember the passage in The Poisonwood Bible where the family is going to Africa for a 1 year missionary trip and they have weight limits on their checked luggage. Every family member (except Father, of course) wore 2 or 3 sets of clothes and filled the pockets with everything they could fit (it was the 60’s), including household items, tools and even cake mixes! Can you imagine trying to get through security- much less customs- with pockets full of hammers, screwdrivers and shampoo?</p>

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<p>^^^DD did this
She moved abroad for several years and was running out of room in her bags (plus weight limit) so began layering her clothing, tank tops, skirt & leggings, etc. It was pretty funny (and when she took off the extra stuff it still fit under the seat); she looked like she should be arriving at Ellis Island back in the day ;)</p>

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<p>I’m with dmd77 on post 5. Charge for the carry on, except perhaps a laptop bag, purse or backpack. I always check my luggage primarily because of my height, or lack of. I can get my carry on into the overhead, but getting it out is often another story. I’ve stood on airplane seats, looked around helplessly for a kind, taller person, and performed all sorts of tricks to get it out. All the while people are giving me that hurry up look. If no one moved it I’m fine, but too often it is moved. It’s just less stressful for me to check my luggage. Since I’m not using up that space above, no pun intended, I think I should get a bonus ;)</p>

<p>I also wish they would enforce the size limits on carry ons. Nothing like being knocked in the head by someone else’s overstuffed bag while they take it down.</p>

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<p>I never take anything on a plane that I can’t fit under the seat in front of me. (I always try to get a seat in the middle of a row or on the window, because there’s almost always less space under an aisle seat.) In order to be able to do that, I usually take my handbag and a small backpack (one my son used to use and abandoned years ago because it was way too small for school.) And I don’t mind checking a larger bag; it doesn’t take <em>that</em> much additional time to pick up, and, fortunately, I’ve never had a checked bag lost.</p>

<p>When I went to visit my son in Chicago last month, it took at least an extra 30 or 40 minutes to get everyone on the plane because of people holding up the line by trying to shove huge bags into overhead bins that weren’t necessarily anywhere near their seat (something I don’t think people should be allowed to do).</p>

<p>I also am too short to get things in or out of an overhead bin without standing on a seat, unless it’s just a coat or jacket that I can toss up there (assuming I don’t mind that it’s inevitably going to be crushed by people’s bags).</p>