Monday, April 19, 2010

Why All Carry On Luggage Should Be Banned


Spirit Airlines, a small Florida based airline, has caused an uproar with a plan to charge those who carry on luggage. I gasped the first time I witnessed the news. It was a happy gasp. Finally, an airline with a brain.


When major airlines began charging for checked baggage, I was outraged. How could they? Our drinks and peanuts where stripped from our trips and then a charges for luggage? What was the airline industry thinking? How expensive could a can off of soda and a bag of peanuts really be? Why not just put the expense into the ticket and forget the thought ever crossed anybody's mind?


After years of traveling, people with carry on luggage bug me to no end. For one thing, even with posted signs about the size the airline accepts for these bags, no one seems to abide by them. It's like explaining to a child they can only buy the toy under $10 and having to repeatedly say to them as they choose, it's over the limit. Someone is always going to try and manipulate the system and get past with a bag too big. Then when they are boarding the plane, they take forever to shove the too big bag into the too small compartment. In return the rule breaker takes up all of the room for the one who followed the rules. We've all witnessed it. Standing in the aisle waiting for it to move and looking ahead to the person huffing a puffing with the oversized bag thinking to yourself, "What an idiot. Come on!! I want to sit down."


Why the airline should ban all carry on luggage:


It's a nuisance for the passengers:


How many times have you tried to board a plane only to stop midway down the terminal because every person on board it pushing and shoving their bag into an overhead bin. If it doesn't fit under the seat, you cannot bring it on board. All bags carrying clothing and other knickknacks should be treated as freight. It fits in the bottom part of the plane designed for cargo.


It's a nuisance for airline crew:


How many time have you seen after all the overhead bins are full, the staff tagging bags unable to fit, preparing them for gate check? It's time to help out the crew and let them get back to handing out peanuts and drinks, not toting luggage around.


It's a safety hazard:


The inside of an airbus is not designed for traffic. It's a one way street. If people are standing in the aisle with luggage, safety of passengers and crew is in jeopardy. How many times have you been smacked with a piece of luggage as someone walks by or tripped over the luggage with pull handles? Not a pleasant feeling.



So many people are outraged carry on luggage may have a charge attached to it that your US Senators are taking aim at the airline industry and demanding fees be stopped. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, is leading the charge to get airline to back off. Last Wednesday, Schumer introduced a bill along with the help of other senators, Mendez, D-NJ, Shaheen, D, NH, Frank Lautenburg, D-NJ, Ben Cardin, D-MD, and Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, seeks to efficently ban the fees by imposing an excise tax on fees collected by the airline.


The easiest way to clean up this mess is to ban all carry on luggage that would fit into an overhead bin. If it fits under the seat, it's fine.









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