The Big Panic to Find Overhead Storage Space
 

I find the more and more I fly in recent years, the more I am seeing people really push it with the amount of stuff they are bringing on board with them in Y. Sure, charging for checking a bag doesn't help, but typically on all flights they offer to check bags for free anyway at the gate to alleviate the problem. Why not go one step further and actually have a better system to control how much (and what size) bags get brought on board?

I was on a UA flight 2 days ago from TPA - ORD. It was oversold (as usual) and the flight attendants could care less about the passengers, and instead put all their focus in getting stuff into the overhead bins. I find it ridiculous that the flight attendants have turned into on board baggage handlers! By the time the flight was underway, they were so frazzled and stressed that they couldn't be bothered to help people (like me and my family of 5) that were in jeopardy of missing their connecting flight because of a delay of over an hour.

On my connecting flight from ORD - YVR (which was luckily, in this case, delayed!), the flight attendants were more relaxed, more personable and helpful, and just less stressed in general because there were some empty seats and no carry-on hassles to contend with.

The boarding process is so harried and crazy to begin with, I just don't understand why there isn't tougher restrictions with the carry-on bags.

I'd be curious to see what other people think that fly Y regularly think of the overhead space situation and how they think it affects their flying experience. Of course this isn't unique to UA, I just really noticed how it affected the flight attendants this time around, that it really made an impression on me!

Plenty of discussion of this in the boarding process thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ay-2013-a.html

My own feeling is that overly restrictive carry-on limits are weird and European. I'm glad our bins here in 'merica are filled with bags rather than a few jackets and a loose bottle of duty-free liquor.

Really!? Have you been on a legacy airplane in the good 'ol USA recently?

Virgin America seems to handle it nicely, by the way: People with a small carry-on that fits under the seat get to board first. Problem solved!

AA has started doing this, too. First class, then elites board. Afterward, passengers with only carryon luggage that can fit under the seat may board ahead of all the other groups.

I wonder... how many of those people put their "carryon luggage that can fit under the seat" in the overhead bins once they are on board?

i think they should set a 8kg limit on the carry-on luggage, max of 1 piece per person regardless of class. anything heavier than that automatically gets gate-checked.

this would make it fair to everyone on the plane since bin space is shared by all and the weight limit would probably lend itself to people using smaller carryons especially wheeled bags.

allowing those people w/o carryons to board first isn't going to free-up more bin space nor discourage those who try to bring their bags onboard to avoid checked fees.

Let me guess. You don't carry on much.

For those that carry expensive equipment, being able to carry it on is important. I'm not going to check my Cpap, laptop, digital cameras and the like. I've had way too many delayed bags, and the weekly reports of valuables being stolen out of bags on FT.

In the past, I've also only taken carryon luggage, so no need to wait around the carousel.

passengers would be allowed a personal bag no more than 36" inches (W-H-D) in addition to the 8kg carry-on allowance so laptops/cameras/electronics can still be brought on the plane, CPAP would be exempt from the restrictions.

like you, i try to avoid checking luggage whenever possible. 8kg is quite sufficient to accommodate your valuable clothes/shoes/etc (that you don't want to risk in a checked bag) in a carryon if you pack intelligently and pick luggage that is lightweight. europeans have been dealing with 7-8kg carryon limits for a while now, it's time that Americans get onboard.

My carry-on weighs 4.5 kg. So I'm left with 3.5 kg? Doesn't make sense. While I agree that someone bringing on a carry-on of 40kg is a bit much, there are many legitimate reasons to bring on more.

I often fly for business, and carry business printed material in addition to ones that are in my checked luggage. That way if luggage is delayed or lost, I have enough materials to get by on.

The luggage bins are rated for more than 8kg. Most are rated for 70-100kg per bin.

With everything the airlines have taken away from us in the last 10 years, it's nice to have some benefit left.

european business travelers have been able to adapt to the inconveniences of an 8kg limit, americans can too. you can arrange to have business materials shipped prior to your arrival or elect to gate-check the bag if that is not possible.

hey, i wish the airlines would make more bin space available or remove fees for >1 checked bag, but we know that's probably not happening.

8 kg/17.5 lbs kg is asinine as it is way too low. My usual carryon soft side briefcase often weighs more than that yet will fit under the seat of a CRJ-200. And nothing in it can be gate checked; it's full of electronics, confidential papers and personal items. I have no problem gate checking my rollaboard when the overheads fill up, but the other bag I will not check under any circumstances as there are too many valuables contained in it.

Volume, not weight, is typically the issue in finding overhead bin space.

Perhaps the airlines should have actual overhead bins and seats as sizers, and require passengers to test their bags in the bins or under the seat to be allowed to bring them on board. (And having actual overhead bins as sizers means that passengers also have to show that they can lift their own bags into the bins.)

I often print stuff out locally to avoid lugging loads of spec sheets and brochures around, but then I generally go to places where it's easy enough to find walk-in print shops.

your briefcase would be classed as your personal bag [no different than how many airlines are operating now] and would not be subject to the 8kg limit.

In that case, what's the point of boarding first? I always found the advantage of having checked my bag was in being able to board as the door is closing and spending as little time as possible on the airplane.