TomA

Does it have a small compartment for storing your fishing weights?

Kidding. But just FYI, PC Magazine has these laptop weight categories:

6 lbs and up (409)
Less than 6 lbs (796)
Less than 5 lbs (520)
Less than 4 lbs (355)
Less than 3 lbs (220)
Less than 2 lbs (84)

So you are a bit of an outlier...


I could make do with just...

Traveladdict69

It is experienced frequent flyers that are the most abusive. They think they are being smart by bringing medium-sized wheeled suitcases on the plane as "carry-on." I have been traveling for years with a small backpack for carry-on, and now I also have a laptop case. It irks me to see people pulling wheeled luggage down the aisle, and having a huge duffel bag or two slung on their shoulders besides! ...? I agree, airlines like UA would rather piss on a pax who is doing nothing wrong than do anything about pax who bring on enough carry on to weight down a donkey.

chollie

+1

It isn't just about baggage fees or even mostly about baggage fees, or we wouldn't see so many offenders boarding in F or the first (elite) boarding group.

There's much more of it in Y because 1) elites fly in Y, too and 2) there's more full flights and 3) waits for baggage are getting ridiculous and it's impossible to secure checked bags.

StingWest

Yes, agree, but it's not just the premium flyers that you accurately describe, it's occurs to some extent with all types of flyers.

It would be nice to have reasonable limits (and baggage "sizers") that more accurately reflect what can fit wheels first on most mainline aircraft (except the 767). Once this was done, I would say enforce the rules strictly, including for premium flyers. My 22" roller bag is actually 23" long and can be stuffed to about 10.5" thick. It fits easily in the overhead, wheels first (except on the 767). The sizer is just over 9" wide however, but luckily no one has ever asked me to try it (I did it surreptitiously)

In the meantime, why can't airport security reject the obviously oversized bags at the source, rather than inconveniencing everyone downstream.

chollie

First, 'airport security' can't even do their own job right.

Second, it is not TSA's responsibility to do the airline's job on the taxpayer's dime.

Third...would you rather gate-check your admittedly over-sized when stuffed bag or be turned back after waiting through the line at security by TSA, so you can return to the counter, wait in line, and check your bag?

As I posted elsewhere, I fly quite a bit, wide variety of times (peak and off-peak), front and back cabins, elite-heavy and non-elite-heavy routes. I'm not seeing this as a huge problem - in fact, I have yet to see a flight take off late because of problems with carry-on bags. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I'm just saying I question how 'pervasive' it really is.

The elites will squeal the loudest if UA does decide to take a really aggressive approach to carry-ons, both those in the front cabin and those in the back.

Perhaps UA should institute a fee for carry-on bags? A fee that is larger than the fee for checked bags. That would certainly encourage folks to check more bags.

Of course, elites would expect to be exempt from the fee...

sim510

I'd be curious to know what happened with a bag that somebody thought they would take on board a flight I was taking today. The bag was most definitely the size to be CHECKED, not carried on. The GA announced the size limits and offered to check bags before boarding, since the flight would be full. I was sitting in first class (and had checked my bag, so only had a small bag with me) and I boarded when first class was called, so I didn't get to see what happened. Really people.... a 25-26" suitcase is NOT going to fit in the overhead bin! I can't help but wonder how this person got through security without someone commenting on the size of the bag! I'm surprised it fit in the scanner, other than it was not over-stuffed.

With that in mind, what if the scanner refused to accept bags that were too fat, too full, too wide, and then the traveller would know immediately that their bag was too big. Just a thought.

WineCountryUA

been there, done that (but skipped on the t-shirt)
bag scanners use to have templates a number of years back
- only checks two dimensions
- does not check length
- different airlines have different dimensions (which do you use at the scanner station?)
- ...

the templates were dropped since they did not work.

anc-ord772

Since I'm usually at the front of the pack, due to my love of bulkheads, I only get to watch other elite behavour when the GA interjects. I'll say this, elites also do not take the high road when stopped. Lack of respect is not an elite/non elite divide.

That being said, I've seen some crazy stuff these days. 26", really? I've also seen GAs single out a passenger. It's not fun.

JeffK69

now your talking, that is the idea. Charge to carry on, and make it steep!

chollie

NO. Absolutely not.

First, TSA can't even do the job it is tasked with well.

Second, it is not the taxpayer's responsibility to pay for airline responsibilities.

IF (and I think a lot of this is blown out of proportion) it is genuinely a problem (ie, flights missing on-time departures because of bags), the airlines will step up and handle it. Clearly, in spite of all the grumbling, the airlines are not seeing significant numbers of delayed departures due to carry-on issues, in spite of what pax may think.

Loren Pechtel

I know. Few people are willing to trade the extra weight for the extra horsepower it gives. It's a desktop-replacement class machine, something normally only used by gamers and those of us who run very CPU-heavy tasks such as modern development environments. I'd much prefer to lug a heavy machine than keep waiting for it while I'm trying to type stuff.

fastair

Nope, UA has already stood before either the DoT or congrss (I forget which) and stated that they wouldn't do it. When the airline spends millions lobbying the Fed, one of the few times they testify before them saying you won't do something, and then do it, looks very bad. I think they even signed some sort of promise (short of a contract or a consent decree, but it was signed.)

Ari

The quantity of cataclysmicly stupid ideas expressed in this thread is astounding.

TomA

Me too.

130 fsw

Two words for you: Virgin Atlantic