Originally Posted by
pitz
I don't buy the excuse that waiting half an hour for baggage to be spat out at the YYZ carousel is enough of a deterrent. Jet aircraft literally make days of travel by other methods turn into mere hours. What's another half an hour? If one is really that important that they can't wait 15-30 minutes at the baggage carousel, then they probably need to look into using a private chartered aircraft service.
Speaking strictly for myself (you most assuredly do *not* know who I am), It's not that I think I'm that important, but:
- It's easily 1 hour per direction -- no need to stand in line to check in, and I can cut it closer to departure time since I don't need to worry about missing luggage check-in cut-off times. Add that to the arrival-time savings...
- That's 2 hours (round trip) that I would otherwise be away from my family. I only *wish* it was on-the-clock time.
- Gives me much more flexibility to do standby (see: less time away from family)
- Vastly better chance of surviving IRROPS by rerouting *quickly*. "No checked baggage? No problem sir, I'll get you on that plane that's closing in 3 minutes."
Multiply that when traveling every second week, and wow it adds up...
(And again, speaking for myself, I even adjust my carry-on selection depending on the the stupid planes on my itinerary that have too-small bins yet don't have skycheck; I'm looking at you, CRJ-705.)