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^^^^^This and passengers know now that in most cases the gate will make announcement that the flight is full and they will check bags for free at the gate. Passengers are pushing the limits with carry ons.
My idea to correct this would be to have shields on the X-ray machines at the TSA checkpoints that don’t allow oversized bags through the machine but a friend who is a station manager for a major airline said it would create chaos for the airline and TSA.
I do have an additional hard spot with the airlines in charging baggage fees and that is they don’t pay taxes on the fees. This is a major cash grab for them.
Have to wonder who came up with that gift to airlines.
Argument by some against taxing airlines (are there others?) on sundry fees is that cost will ultimately be passed onto consumers. All businesses have two choices when it comes to taxes; eat said cost in whole or part, and or pass some or all of it onto customers directly or indirectly.
Biden and his administration have been running their mouths past several months or so against fees. So why not take on airlines and change tax code? Likely answer is what it always is; airlines have Congress in their back pocket and thus don't look for any changes to current tax laws.
Ok, did some further research as to why checked luggage and other fees charged by airlines are not taxed.
IRS has stated:
"Specifically addressing checked-baggage fees, the IRS said such charges would not be included in the air transportation taxes because "the service is also optional and not reasonably necessary to the air transportation itself."
This explains why airlines have a litany of fees, including for things that once were free such as inflight food and entertainment.
It would require new legislation to change IRS basis of finding. If and or when that happened airlines likely would simply charge passengers the nearly 8% tax same as on ticket prices. That or simply raise fares to absorb costs.
Free bags does not change anything. I happen to work for an airline that has two free bags. There are still issues with people pushing the limits carry ons.
People just bring too much stuff. My first flight in 1975--there were no roller bags. People brought less because they have to physically carry/lift their luggage. Invention of roller bags changed the way people travel, people bring way too much. I love the scene in the movie "Up in the Air" where George Clooney opens his co worker's luggage and throws things out: "you don't need this, you don't need this...".
Yep, the majority of people want to carry on even when airlines offer free checked bags:
1.) Control over their luggage. People don't like other people handling it (fear of damage, theft, et.)
2.) Fear of losing it. If you are connecting, your bags can get lost or mishandled, especially on a tight connection.
3.) Convenience: No waiting at baggage claim for 15 minutes for your bags to be delivered after the flight. You walk off the plane to ground transportation directly with less stops.
I get a checked bag free with AA on all my flights, but still prefer to carry on when not flying with the kids and just skip the wait at baggage claim. Especially being based at an AA hub, your bag is often delivered after they've handled all the connecting passengers first so you usually wait 15 minutes.
the answer is to weigh the passenger and their luggage and charge a fare based on weight.
Not the answer. The amount of capital expended to implement and enforce this will cause fares to go up across the board. No airline is going to rewrite its entire reservation program, purchase scales, pay to maintain the scales, pay extra staff to deal with consumers. No consumer is going to deal with the added check-in times because everyone must wait in line for weigh in. It's a nice fantasy but the almighty dollar rules in the end.
If paying for checked baggage is making/breaking one's trip, maybe one should reconsider their vacation choices.
I heard Finnair has actually started doing just that.
Finnair is just voluntarily asking passengers in February and April if they are willing to be weighed (with their hand luggage) to update the average weight per passenger in Finland used for weight load / balancing. The data will be used by the airline and Finland's regulators to update the data used in keeping flying safe. This is especially important on smaller aircraft, such as Finnair's ATR 72 turboprop aircraft.
Finnair is not planning to charge passengers though.
Finnair is just voluntarily asking passengers in February and April if they are willing to be weighed (with their hand luggage) to update the average weight per passenger in Finland used for weight load / balancing. The data will be used by the airline and Finland's regulators to update the data used in keeping flying safe. This is especially important on smaller aircraft, such as Finnair's ATR 72 turboprop aircraft.
Finnair is not planning to charge passengers though.
Thanks.for that info. Finnair is a decent airline. I only had the chance to fly them once. I liked their service.
Right, lots of comments here are a bit off the mark, and evidently made by infrequent travelers - why, I do not know.
Southwest, for instance, has FREE BAGS - but the overhead is still full, and countless people end up "gate checking." So you can remove from your agenda the idea that FREE BAGS would open up overhead space. It would not, and this is proven daily, on all airlines. Status members (myself included) ALSO get free bags - but I rarely check it.
Why?
Folks traveling for work don't want to waste an hour at the baggage carousel.
Checking baggage means being at the airport an extra hour early - in case there's a long line.
My baggage between connections has been delayed (by more than a day) far too many times.
There is a lengthy list of things not permitted in checked bags, for instance, spare batteries for power tools.
When your connection is delayed so long - the airline puts you in a hotel - you will NOT be getting your checked baggage, so your clean clothes, toiletries, and whatever else you'd like to have for tomorrow's continued journey will not be with you - and you can just wear yesterday's clothes all day.
Many - many - reasons to NOT check a bag. If you travel only occasionally - then a checked bag is for you. You are unlikely to have any of these problems. If you travel weekly, you WILL have ALL of these problems eventually.
Flip side: ZERO REASONS to bring a carry-on that is too big for the overhead - quite a sizable bag fits under the seat in front of you, so I've had much better luck with two smaller carry-ons. Agree here with many others that folks pack too much junk. Also agree that I am not finding a laundrymat while I'm on vacation. Nope.
Finally, some of the other ideas I've seen here:
TSA (X-ray) is not the answer to weed out oversize bags - because each airline has their own policy - whose policy should
the TSA enforce?
Out of carryon space for your zone? That's ironic, no? You're complaining about space for YOUR bag, by complaining about someone using the space for their own bag? Easy solution for you: Check the bag, problem solved. Second solution - pony up for earlier zone boarding. Often times cheaper than a checked bag. Seriously.
Limit carry-ons to speed up boarding? Nonsense. Despite how it "feels" - practically all domestic planes go from "Now boarding group 1" to "the cabin door is closed" in 15 minutes or less. Feels like forever. Is actually 15 minutes. How much faster were you hoping to board?
My travel hero, years ago, was a woman who had travelled across the country to a yoga conference with everything she brought with her in her yoga mat bag. Seriously.
I have a sister in law who went to Russia a few decades ago with two kids and one medium sized bag. The bag contents included a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and some oranges. I do not remember how long they stayed but it was more than a few days. This was pre-TSA.
She came back more recently from a solo trip to Africa and went through customs with a single bag containing mostly a few souvenirs. She had carried with her to Africa a bag with gifts for her African host's family and left the bag there. The customs agent asked her if that was all she had and was a bit dubious when she said yes.
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