Think the airlines got the baggage fees all wrong. They should have instituted a charge for carryons other than the 1 personal item, not for checked baggage. Charges waived for elite members and Y and above tickets.

Elites/high fare passengers would no longer have to worry about bin space or about boarding early to grab a spot in the bins. Of course then you'd have some people trying to claim a huge rollaboard as their one personal carryon...

And yes, it would result in worse stats on lost baggage and longer time at the carousel -- but have there really been any notable improvements since the checked baggage fees started?