Originally Posted by
strickerj
I’m not sure I follow how this relates to what I said... as of right now, checking a bag costs extra, whereas carrying your baggage on board is free or included in the ticket price, however you prefer to look at it. Conflicts occur over the bin space because passengers are carrying more baggage on board to avoid the checked bag fees, which didn’t exist 30 years ago. The deterioration of customer service by the airlines has gained some considerable attention lately, so the point of my post was just, somewhat in jest, that now wouldn’t be a good time to make such a drastic and seemingly vindictive cutback as getting rid of the overhead bins.
strickerj, when I fly, I often check a bag. Simply because I am taking something I am not allowed to carry-on. ie. a Swiss Army Knife. I do not pay to check my bag, it is included in my ticket price. I don't know why you think everyone pays extra to check a bag. That is only true in some cases of the lowest fare classes. No one flying First or Business Class pays to check a bag, so that has no impact whatsoever on why they would still have a conflict over bin space. They have a conflict only because there is less space than items people want to carry on board, you have that right but NOT because they want to avoid checked bag fees.
Remember, this thread is about "forward cabin etiquette: Overhead bin space." Not cattle class. So what is your point then? Even in Y class (you know it used to be called C class for 'coach' but was referred to as C class for 'cattle'), if the bins were removed and everyone had to pay a fee per checked bag, it would not change the overall cost of you flying at all. It would just change how the price was shown to you. No different than a restaurant giving you a price per item or an all-inclusive price for a 3 or 4 course meal.
But lets' stick to First class which is the topic of this thread. Checked bags are free as is carry-on, so there is no price difference to cause conflict as you seem to be fixated on. If you can agree that difference does not then exist, why are there conflicts in First class over bin space? Your answer ($) doesn't exist. The only answer that exists is that people want to carry on more than there is space for stowing them.
Simple logic should then tell us that there are two solutions. One provide enough stowage for everyone to be able to stow everything or remove all stowage and check all bags. Which one of those two do you think is actually possible in any practical way?
What cannot be expected is to have too much stuff, too little space and no conflict. So if we are going to continue to have too much stuff and too little space, we must then expect and accept conflict as it is inevitable given human behaviour. That would then make talking about it pointless if we are not willing to solve the problem with the only practical solution that exists.
Also consider that we can agree on the only practical solution and still say, 'I don't want that solution, I will put up with the conflicts instead.' But we could stop having threads on the topic come up over and over again that go nowhere. Why not just agree on the solution and agree we don't want the solution? But then people wouldn't have an excuse to complain would they.