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.

there ends up no space in overhead lockers above own seat for even a small purse style handbag

why would you want your handbag up there? unless you sit where you don't have space under the seat in front.

I think ryan air has it sorted now. very efficient their system.

For my family of 3 I always take a cabin sized pram as handluggage for the toddler then two cabin bags with smaller rucksacks in packed with the essentials in case they want people to volunteer to put bags in the hold. It's no skin off my nose to do it but the cabin crew always seem pretty grateful if you offer.

I don't mind paying for hold luggage when I need it, and usually pay for at least one case between DP and I unless only a weekend break. Much more relaxed, waiting for baggage rarely takes that long at the other end and there's an advantage in that you don't need to worry about liquids or lug a wheelie case around the airport or fight for the limited locker space. If you buy suncream etc abroad, it's likely to cost most of the savings made by not taking hold luggage.

Some of us don't really have the choice to use 'normal airlines' anyway, for those of those breezily saying 'oh don't fly budget if you don't like how they do things, BA isn't always more expensive anyway'. If you want shorthaul to holiday destinations from Northern England, there's little choice except Jet2, Ryanair or Easyjet.

OP, yes look at jet2, especially for beach holiday destinations. A lot of people will be on jet2holidays packages, which includes hold luggage as standard. One we went on in the last couple of years had lockers about a third full, despite a full flight, because most people just brought a small bag for the flight and put most of their stuff in the hold.

I'm another one who needs the space for my feet under the seat in front of me so I don't want to put my rucksack there. I'm not going all the way to Cyprus with no leg room because someone else is taking the piss with the cabin luggage rules.

If they included the price of hold luggage in the ticket, we would all pay more whether or not we needed it. What about people going somewhere for the day (I've flown to the Isle of Man or Dublin for the day for work several times) or a weekend?

Why should they pay for hold luggage when they only need a small bag, not even a wheelie case?

But realistically, airlines must be losing money on some tickets. I've been to the Canaries for £30 return hand luggage only. Appararently there's £26 taxes on that flight, leaving £4 for the actual flight - I can't even get a return bus ticket to the closest town to my house for that.

I don't usually pay for allocated seats or buy anything on the plane - I take food with me and buy water in the airport or do without. No way did Ryanair make a profit from me from that flight. Of course they would have done from others on the flight who paid more, took hold luggage, chose their seat, bought food, drink, perfume and scratchcards while they were there.

On another flight the couple next to me had two G&Ts each and bought 2 bottles of spirits and perfume/aftershave. They must have spent well over £100

The airlines seem to want it both ways - they wanted to be able to turn planes round faster and save on baggage handling by encouraging cabin baggage via charges for hold luggage. Now they’re complaining that too many people take cabin baggage, there’s not enough room and it makes boarding/leaving the plane too slow!

I travel on hand luggage only - I see it as a challenge to travel with as little as possible - and I’m meticulous about it being within the size and weight limits. I have a second bag which goes within my main bag (if necessary, some of the bigger airlines allow a small handbag in addition to you main cabin bag) so I can have that next to me on the flight so my main bag can be stowed.

The main problem as far as I’ve seen is airlines not enforcing their own rules. I’ve seen so many people rock up with bags clearly larger than the limits, that they can hardly lift and/or more bags than they’re allowed. Filter those out, enforce the rules and I bet the problem would be much reduced, either because there’ll be fewer bags in total or they’ll be taking up less space.

In all my years of travelling I’ve only ever seen anyone pulled up about hand luggage twice. One was me, because I’d taken my smaller bag out to get my passport and the EasyJet rules were only one bag. The other was a family of four who rolled up to the gate with six enormous suitcases that were so blatantly oversize that the staff couldn’t have turned a blind eye if they’d wanted to.

We will soon be flying into Venice and back from Rome with Jet2.I paid extra to choose our seats , extra for our hold luggage and then I paid an extra £3 x2 for guaranteed overhead space for our cabin cases. I want them together above our seats not halfway down the plane .

I also think that people who stand up to rush off are barking too.
It should be a row by row exit.

Airlines bring it on themselves by not being strict enough about the size/number of the cabin bags. But in essence I agree that a crackdown of some sort needs to happen.

We have just booked 3 hour flights with Ryanair on a route that only they do from the UK airport we want to go from. It has cost more for our one 20kg suitcase (£25 each way) than it has for our individual seats. As both DH & I weigh considerably more than 20kg I cannot see the logic in the system.

We’ve had our bags taken at departures. Suits me so well - free, have had access to stuff in case (good when we had horrendous delay),

I always thought it was an unwritten rule that row by exiting was the norm?

Anyway, the last few flights I took were Ryanair. Their policy of tagging bags for the hold (where priority fee is not paid) seemed to work very well. Plenty of room in the overheads anyway.... so far!

Only issue is, on the return the ground handling staff did not care if you had priority or not for cabin bags, was a bit meh, but not a big issue in the end either. Except I had PAID for it, and others hadn't. I heard that is because the handling staff are not Ryanair employees or something. Anyway.

I think charging for hand luggage will become more prevalent. Remember the days when locost carriers measured and weighed everything? Those days seem to be over now, but may return if things don't improve.

Have only taken hand kuggage on when I was able to lift a weekend case abive my head. Now, I love checking in a suitcase and not having to wheel it or carry about until take off. I have noticed though the size of some carry on luggage seeming to be bigger and bigger especially those hold all types
I try not to use the likes of Easy jet as really by the time you pay for luggage and seat it's no cheaper than the likes of BA unless you use a flight at 5 am or 10 pm
Haven't been on an EJ flight yet that hasn't been delayed some up to 2.5 hours. I'd go for what used to happen - one price for seat and luggage.

I also think that people who stand up to rush off are barking too.
It should be a row by row exit.

Some people have transit flights to catch, or trains, or are being picked up and airport parking is very expensive. Or they might need the loo. Plenty of reasons.

I'm more bothered by people who resolutely remain seated even though everybody around them is on their feet trying to leave the plane and pretend to enjoy themselves while sitting around like lemons.

What is madness is the passengers who have arrived at a large airport for a family holiday with 2 or 3 children. All with a large suitcase each that they check in and then each and every person has a cabin suitcase as well!!

I have seen this twice in the last month. Short haul holiday destinations such as turkey and Greece. Saturdays flight had a family of 6 and each had a suitcase and a cabin case and several of them had a handbag or rucksack as well. How many clothes does one person need for a two week break?

And yes how annoying to those that all jump out of seats and grab luggage before the plane has even finished taxiing to the terminal.

Worked in our favour yesterday though as they all surged to the middle and they opened the door right at the front and we were row 4.

I'm more bothered by people who resolutely remain seated even though everybody around them is on their feet trying to leave the plane and pretend to enjoy themselves while sitting around like lemons.

I have a bad back and bad leg, so the last thing I want is to be bumped, pushed and jostled about by people desperate to be the first off the plane. Especially when it's a package holiday so the majority of people on the flight are going to be waiting for their luggage at the same carousel, then travelling on the same coaches to the same resorts. So I just sit & carry on reading for a bit while the madness goes on, and only stand up when it clears a bit. I prefer to consider it as being serene rather than a lemon .

It is the behaviour of other passengers that puts me off almost every aspect of air travel.

Collecting bags from the carousel: the notice says keep trolleys behind the line. Whole families and trolleys rammed right up against the carousel, only Dad is lifting off bags but they all take up space and you can’t get to your bag let alone lift it off safely without knocking out a lolling 6 year old!

Another downside of EJ’s ‘one bag’ edict is people stuffing everything into one already overstuffed bag and then re-shuffling it all again once they are in the plane, blocking the aisle.

PP asking about the logic: the logic is, presumably, that they have a fixed price with the airport for baggage handling. The airline doesn’t have its own baggage handlers, carousels etc and has to pay the airport a fixed fee per bag (presumably) . So they work out a fixed profit margin on top of that.

Tickets, though, they would rather fly with paying passengers than empty seats. So while you get a bargain ticket ( as you obviously did) the bags remain the same.

I haven't done the hell that is a package holiday in bloody years.

Can't pay me to go, I'd rather stay in the UK than do it again.

Personally I think if it isn't carried then it shouldn't be deemed carry on. So all the suitcases on wheels and so on should go in the hold.

EasyJet have a little advertised ‘hands free’ service, basically when you arrive at the airport you check in your hand luggage for £5 no hassle with liquids or lack of cabin space. Perfect

"All with a large suitcase each that they check in and then each and every person has a cabin suitcase as well!! "

I don't get it either. I was talking about our upcoming holiday with a workmate, saying that Jet2's 22kg luggage allowance was very generous, and I would struggle to fill half of that, and my friend said she would struggle to stay under that. What on earth is she packing?

OH has more hand luggage than most because he has a CPAP machine, but he is allowed that and hand luggage.

EasyJet have a little advertised ‘hands free’ service, basically when you arrive at the airport you check in your hand luggage for £5 no hassle with liquids or lack of cabin space. Perfect

But surely then it's not hand luggage anymore? Or do they bring it to your seat in the cabin?

On a trip to Patagonia Iberia managed to lose my luggage- so stuff to walk in extreme conditions. I wasn’t best pleased and now take the approach if you can’t do without it, it can’t go in the hold

I think there are those who will always try to break rules on hand luggage whatever the rules are. Regardless, given the time to collect luggage and the possibility of loss, I can understand anyone wanting to have all their luggage with them.

What I think there should be is a common policy about size across all airlines.

Unicorn
My dcs have a rucksack each when they travel.
They have games, books, soft toys etc.. somthey don’t annoy people around them.
I have a bag myself with drinks and food for the whole family. And a book for myself and medications for the oldest. Food that helps keeping said children occupied too.

That has nothing to do with clothes, that are all in the (usually one for 3 of us) suitcase.

I never have hold luggage. A, it takes far longer to get through the airport, and B, it frequently gets lost, damaged or stolen. This way I know exactly where it is at all times.

lonicera Manchester airport security is beyond ridiculous. DH travels a lot for work and I do the Manchester Newark flight about once a month. DH has said it's really bad at Manchester and when meeting me he will fly into Birmingham and take the train up. I know it's bad at Manchester and have complained formally over the way I and my DC have been treated. The worst was an agent accused of throwing a stroller at them which to me is an act of aggression by the agent knowing I was on my own with 3 kids, two with autism and denied assistance upon arrival. The supervisor took my passport and had me wait for 25mins while he spoke to her, wanted to arrest me, I was wresting with the 2 year old with none of my things through security, my son was wheezing because they had removed his medicine and thrown it away (over 100ml and apparently I could buy it in boots but I couldn't) and I asked the supervisor to show me and make available to my lawyer the security camera showing me throwing a stroller at her. Obviously there was nothing to see because I hadn't thrown or shoved my stroller at her. I assume she thought the stroller was lighter than it was (it's a citimini). The agent was upset with me because I questioned her decision to throw away my sons allergy medicine which was half full. The calpol which was also over 100ml was fine to go through. I also question the discrimination of certain people at Manchester airport. DH lost it with them doing a detailed search because he was wearing a baseball cap, removed while walking through the machine. Since when did wearing a baseball cap make you a security risk!?!

Anyway, if it fits in one bag, can be listed with two fingers it should be allowed in the cabin otherwise it should be checked. I travel with up to 3 young DC (7, 5 and 2) and yes it's hard. The elder two have a back pack each and I have a backpack with spare stuff, my shoulder bag and the stroller plus car seat (I strap my 2 year old in and highly recommend doing this from when they start walking until about age 5 when they can be sat for hours at a time).

It takes us 5-7 mins to get myself and 3DC through security at Newark. It takes on average 20-25mins to get through security at Manchester airport.