Now that the airlines have hiked their checked bag fees — and have gotten away with it — prepare to pay for carry-on baggage.
That’s right. Carry-on baggage.
Up to now, most airlines’ policies allowed passengers to bring one certain size carry-on, plus one “personal item” like a purse or a laptop.
And that second personal item has been very poorly policed.
Face it, we’ve all seen a person carrying a normal carry-on plus an oversize personal item. (To be fair, my laptop backpack is almost the size of my 19-inch roll-aboard. Unfortunately, I need most every item in there to perform my job, and the airline won’t guarantee it will arrive safe — or at all.)
Airlines already are charging for the first and second bags of checked luggage. That means people will be carrying more of their luggage on board.
With delays inevitable with all the people fighting for overhead space, the airlines will be forced to start charging a carry-on fee for anything larger than a paperback novel. While the new fees have just been implemented, many are predicting chaos both during boarding and at the security lines.
Mark my words, this new fee will be spun as a way to speed up boarding time. The airlines will claim they are doing this to ensure on-time departures.
Actually, I’m surprised they didn’t start charging for carry-on bags first before they started charging for checked luggage.
Instituting the first baggage fee was the hardest part. As with all uproars, they eventually die down.
Once this checked luggage fee brouhaha is over, we will see one airline broach the subject of carry-on fees. The press and general public will not pay as close attention because of luggage-fee fatigue.
And as with all things related to fees, once one airline does it, the rest will follow.
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DL is already equipping it’s fleet with credit card readers. SO this is logical for sure. I wonder how and when the transaction takes place? Will the credit card readers have the PNR info (including CC info) and just bill it to you when the FA notices a second bag?
Actually, I would pay a fee for a carryon if I were guaranteed a space above my seat for my stuff.
Ellen,
Careful what you wish for….you just might get it. Truth be told, I agree with you. I am an elite traveler on most every flight I take, so I take advantage of priority boarding simply so I can get my bag in the overhead with little fuss. I would love to be one of the last people on board before the flight takes off. It would give me time to unwind in the airport, knowing I have space to put my bag in the overhead.
Ron
I’m all for charging for carry-on luggage. I don’t travel that much (4-6 pleasure trips/year) but I’m horrified at the amount and size of items the airlines let people carry on. Besides taking up space which other passengers who operate w/i the rules should have, I dread someone opening the overhead and stuff falling out …on me!
If airlines do move ahead w/this, I certainly hope they manage the situation well before the security lines or the boarding lines. I also hope they have staff on hand to handle the passenger who loses his/her temper over this.
I made 4 flights this week, and each time, there was no problem putting stuff overhead – lots of room. ONE person had an overstuffed carry on, that was hard to fit, but it went.
It might be that there were 4 of us flying, and only 2 carry ons, plus my wife’s (small) purse
I am against the airlines charging for carry-ons. I think if they want to charge for baggage, it must be either the checked or carry ons but not both. It is an unfair practice. If the major airlines did this, I would take my business to Southwest because they would never do something like this. Even today, the first two bags are free, non-alcoholic drinks are free, snacks are free, and carry ons are free. I don’t see Continental doing this either since it would go against their motto: Work Hard, Fly Right.