Originally Posted by
phltraveler
Normal people try to carry large bags, normally if they are offered to not have to lug it on and off the plane they will take a free gate check.
Depends who. I'm sure there are some. However, on the previous threads on checked vs. carry on, many elites on this board say they don't check even though it's free and won't do so unless they absolutely have to.
Originally Posted by
transportbiz
The point is, I don't agree that elites are the violators of taking more than they are allowed on the plane. I very rarely see people in group one with more than a roll aboard and one "personal" item. I much more frequently see people in groups 3-5 bringing pillows, beach bags, massive backpacks, and more aboard the plane. Elites check their oversize bags, because they don't have to pay, and typically don't want to struggle with it. We also, travel enough to have invested in appropriate size bags to do the job, and have enough experience to not over pack.
I don't know if elites or non-elites are worse, but I've most definitely seen the problem from both. See above for one elite perspective. And yes, elites have enough experience but that doesn't mean they will follow the rules or have a compliant bag. There is enough DYKWIA behavior where they think the rules don't apply to them and that they won't get called out because they fly a lot, or use the, I flew with it as carry on on my past X flights, why does it need to be checked now?
I say who cares who it is, enforce it the same through all the boarding groups in the same way. If the elites don't like it, so be it. If the once a year fliers threaten to never fly UA again, that's fine too (especially since most will ignore that vow as soon as the ticket price is $1 cheaper on UA the next time they want to go somewhere).
I actually am starting to wonder if Fast Company had it right in an article where they suggested no carry on baggage except for a personal item. Would speed the boarding process, get rid of the size arguments, would be easier to travel through airports, no last minute gate checks when there is no more space in the overhead and have a host of other benefits.