airlines should rethink cabin bags situation

[aaatozedd]

AIBU to say I'm finding these days when I go on a plane;
-people bring too much cabin baggage and get arsey with the staff about it if told it's too much/suitcase too big etc

• there's not enough space in all the overhead lockers for all the bags
• people swing the cases around to get them in and out which makes it feel more cramped and dangerous that bags hit people on the head etc

I think airlines should go back to one charge for seats and that includes checking in a suitcase if you wish. So people can still bring cabin bags but have the option to bring a suitcase/check in luggage etc.

If im flying hand baggage only I love it if they come down the line and ask for volunteers to have their bag put in the hold for free. Take it off me! No trying to cram it in lockers, etc.

Best holiday I ever had was 4 weeks in the Pyrenees, going by Eurostar & French trains. No limit on quantities, no extra cost . I was carrying everything with me, so didn’t take more than the essentials on the way out. On the way back, though, I managed to bring 37kg, mainly foodie souvenirs. (Sadly Eurostar’s banning of many essential sports/outdoors items on ‘security ‘ grounds means they’re no longer all that great.)

I am tall so I hate the lack of leg room with Ryanair at least with Jet2 you get more leg room than the likes of TUi, Easyjet, Ryanair etc.

@SmellyNelly2018 You might be surprised to know that Ryanair actually offers more legroom as standard than Jet2. You can compare the stats for each airline on Seatguru.

I always follow the rules.

My bags are the correct size and weight. I never overpack.

It's really shocking to hear about that crash, Backintebox. I suppose airlines have to enforce their own rules, but they do seem reluctant to do so.

I work in the aviation industry.

Scheduled carriers are more and more leaning towards ‘hand baggage only’ fares as their cheapest option. This includes the big airlines like Virgin and BA.

This is fuelled by demand for low entry prices on the many meta search engines out there, after which additional items can be added or you can upgrade to a standard economy fare with checked baggage or even premium economy.

It’s the way the industry is now moving and if anything will become more widespread not less.

This is fuelled by demand for low entry prices on the many meta search engines out there, after which additional items can be added

I’m wondering if safety/everyone’ frayed nerves wouldn’t be served better by reversing the default on this, and playing with pschology by quoting a headline price then “...and you can save if you don’t take a hold suitcase “. Meaning that the people who really should be putting their stuff in the hold are presented with that option as the initial price.

Trouble is that no airline is going to want to be the one showing the highest fare on the headline prices — so wouldn’t work unless they all did so together (ie compulsion).

I always pay for priority boarding and take a cabin bag. My cabin bag is within the guidelines and I never overpack as then it is heavier to lug around. I’ve never had an issue with getting an overhead space right by my seat.
I’ll put my essentials (e.g. book, iPad etc) in a small plastic bag at the top of my cabin bag while I go through security etc and take it out after boarding the plane so I’m not having to get stuff out of the overhead locker every 5 minutes (I hate people that do that). Then I’ll shove it all back getting off the plane.
With a lightweight cabin bag (and a seat close to an exit) you can get away really fast. You can save a lot of time and hassle like this. I’m probably out the airport door before most people have got to the baggage carousel!

I don’t see why the Overhead lockers cannot be partitioned to fit the maximum cabin baggage sizes they allow & numbered to match your seat.
That way, everyone who stays within the rules has no issue, & the ones that feel the rules don’t apply to them will suffer & learn they have to be considerate to others.

good idea iwantsomesun but it would just add to delays when people couldn't fit things in? some people bring musical instruments etc on board.
When you think of the design of the plane it seems mad to have all the space down below in the hold empty, and all the passengers and cases crammed in together.
Interesting yupindeedy that it's likely to get worse- when the airlines like BA virgin etc start doing hand baggage only fares too there aren't even any other options

The fight for a locker space drives me mad. I always keep to the correct sizing and weight yet tend to be selected to put my bag in the hold whilst someone else with a huge suitcase is allowed to stow it in an overhead locker.

Quite a comical situation I witnessed was in Austria. Two people turned up for the same flight back to the UK as I with huge, and I mean huge, suitcases as cabin luggage. They could easily hold 30kg. One of the gate staff noticed them and politely asked if they could put their bags into the hold, for free, however both passengers said no in quite a direct fashion. The gate staff asked again, stating that the cases were rather large and they would need to go into the hold. The passengers became quite rude, insisting that they were to take their cases into the cabin. One of the gate staff disappeared then returned with a tape measurer, measured their suitcases then charged them £££ (or should I say euros?) else they would not be able to fly with their cases. The look on their faces.

“I don’t see why the Overhead lockers cannot be partitioned to fit the maximum cabin baggage sizes they allow & numbered to match your seat.”

There isn’t enough locker space for every seat in each row to have a bag the size of the allowed cabin baggage.

This is the major flaw in tne whole system.

Before you even start on people who wear a massive hat during boarding and tnen fill the locker with it. Alongside the Duty Free etc. And a child’s Trunki.

God I hate Trunkis.

when we go abroad and fly we always pay for one big suitcase to go in the hold and take two cabin sized bags one each and i love it if when checking in the staff ask me if i want to put the smaller bags in the hold for free, frees me up to just poodle round the airport till i get on the plane and at the other end just pick up my handbag and get off the plane, we have to wait for the big case any way so no skin off my nose to grab three bags off the carousel

That’s not a problem purely isolated to airlines who charge for checking in a bag.

It’s now a rarity for them not to say ‘The flight is very full please put small items under the seat in front and only large items in overhead bins’ on BA now.
They also offer to take large bags from people at the gate to check in for free, which the handbaggage only fare people have picked up on and ends up delaying departure.

I think the current Ryanair model of handing over your “cabin baggage” on boarding to go into the hold free of charge is a very sensible one. You can still take a handbag on board.
We are travelling with Jet2 this year, and as it is a package, we get a 22kg baggage allowance included. I found this holiday cheaper and less hassle to book as a package than putting it together individually. I also rate Jet2 as an airline, and agree that their seat pitch is a little more generous than most budget airlines.

“My biggest gripe is the eye watering price of hold baggage. £40 per bag, each way”

But the flights are dirt cheap.

Backinthebox thank you for your explanations. I have found that getting through security in the UK takes forever now, especially at Manchester airport.

Checking in at the gate must be much cheaper for the airline than at the check in desk & transferring through the airport.
Problem is Ryanair have stopped it’s check in 15kg, which was a slightly more reasonable £25 each way.
I prefer the no frills option; I must fly Ryanair monthly, and to be honest, non priority boarding plus bag in the hold can be very cheap. I have bought return tickets, for as little as 30 quid

Totally agree. I live in Australia and fly Qantas. No charge for bags and I generally have to wait about 60 seconds at the carousel for my bag when I land so I tend to check my bag even if it is tiny because it means I don’t have to carry it round the airport
People tend to be speedier at putting their luggage up because they are used to it and don’t try to cram as much as is humanly possible into hand luggage
I recently flew in Europe and it was shit.

Ps also can select seats for free, have never seen anyone moved because they couldn’t sit by their child etc. And the stewards are LOVELY

A PP said "I hate checking bags, you have to arrive earlier, wait ages at the other end, and there’s always the risk of your bags getting lost. Far better to just take a little bag on the plane with you."

Partially agree, but even better to trim the checking in procedure so you wouldn't experience all that hassle, or run a (non-negligible) risk of losing your bags. Seems a bit dangerous with all these huge carry-on bags stowed away in the overhead lockers.

I also wistfully remember the time when you could bring on bottle of sparkling water in your handbag, together with your toilet bag including the nail clippers, and it wasn't regarded with any suspicion, but those days are sadly gone and will never return. I sometimes miss the 1980's and 1990's.

I love the cabin baggage rule. Even book a virgin Atlantic flight to the states on their new light service.

The main issue of the cabin bags rule is policing it.

I can’t see the old way returning as the cost of the extra loading unloading, using more of the airport staff and resources would impact fares.

I’m also happy to check my bag at the gate if asked.

Love flying Ryanair, less so easyJet.

Also love the fact you can go long haul and reduce the costs by not taking suitcases.

People take too much shit anyway.

I have flown emirates long haul and they strictly enforced their 1 bag, 7kg only rule. I had to repack 2 cabin bags & put one in the hold in the airport before I could check in.

I do think they should make hold luggage cheaper. It would make going through security so much quicker if people actually took what they needed just for the flight instead of a weeks worth of shit, especially the liquids rule

I'mnotreallyawaitress - that's just a standard announcement, to make best use of space. You should hear it on every BA flight.

I haven't RTFT but wondered if anyone else as this strangely irrational thought about cabin bags?

I travel on easyJet regularly. I only ever take a small rucksack, to go in the overhead lockers and noticed there is hardly any baggage going in the hold now, compared to a few years ago.

I keep thinking (stupid and irrational I know) if all the baggage goes on the top of the plane is it likely to get top heavy and cause an accident because of lopsided weight distribution?

@JJS888 I've never flown like a monkey. EasyJet let me sit in a comfy seat, get 1st class assistance (can't see where I'm going ) and they don't send me to be quarantined for 3 months!

I love easyJet, fly around 6 times a year, return to Denmark for under £50 of booked at the best time. Never paid more than £80 return, never been on a delayed flight and never had cause to complain. British Airways were shite. Booked assistance and BA didn't pass it on to airport staff. By the time assistance arrived I had missed my (already delayed) flight.

This is why you need to get to the boarding gate early then near the front of the boarding queue! People shove their extra cabin bags into the wrong lockers.
What bugs me even more is people who take ages in the aisle, faffing with luggage and lockers, so nobody else can board just find your seats, put your bags up and SIT DOWN 😬

The thing I find annoying is when you adhere to the overhead cabin bag size the airline request and then people come on the plane with a small suitcase and about 15 bags of duty free. 🤔🤔😏

Phew I would assume that airlines use the space in the hold that used to be taken up by cabin bags for cargo these days.