15 or so years ago I would board a plane last and find plenty of room for my bag, regardless of fare class.

But then legacy airlines decided to optimise the monetisation of checked luggage. As with all grand plans come unintended consequences. The result of charging for checked luggage? The boarding disaster we all experience today.

Adding to that disaster is the degraded perception over time that your bag will arrive with you. And frankly it’s a fair view. Of the four or five times in my life that I’ve checked a bag, it’s only arrived at my destination with me twice. (Yes. I know… n=1)

All of this is to say that Air Canada et al have fundamentally changed the travelling public’s perceptions about checked luggage. It’s no longer just a cost: it’s a risk. A risk they want you to pay for.

It will take far more than some random carrots tossed at the check in kiosk to realign the travelling public’s way of thinking.