Yeah, they really should not allow those to be carried on, period. If you’ve checked in at the airport, you may have gotten additional bags between check-in and boarding, but the bag you had won’t suddenly have grown; I’m pretty tired of seeing people get on board with suitcases twice the size of my computer case. If you’ve checked in from home as “carryon only” and have a baby elephant, the baby elephant gets checked at the gate. I’m perfectly happy with having elephant owners pay a fee for that, too.
It would be nice if individual airlines let you know in advance where are you supposed to be able to stow your luggage, too. I’ve been in flights where I had to take my case from under the seat and take it to the end of the plane; the overhead bins were full to bursting. Pointing out to the stewardess that the documents I had, including the safety sheets in the plane itself, stated that you could place your carryons “under the seat in front of yours” resulted in her getting agressive - I wasn’t interested in getting taken off the plane.
People trying to get large bags on the plane as carry on should be identified at the gate and pulled aside for processing (I’d also support ‘re-education’ camps). Those of us in compliance should be allowed to continue to board while the inconsiderate pay exra fees and have to board at the end.
Remember when your ticket price included checking luggage, an in-flight snack or meal, an expectation that you could use the bathroom, etc?
The airlines say that all the extra changes are so that they can give us a lower price . Further, that an airline doesn’t dare charge what they feel is a fair cost to fly us because people will shop based only on ticket price and they will lose business to a competitor who is willing to nickle and dime the customer who paid a low “ticket price.”
If it were up to me (and when I rule the world it will be) I would mandate that a stated airfare includes the ability to carry on or check one piece for free, the carry-on size limits would be enforced* and the lavs would remain free. Start with that and charge a fair fee for the transport. Level the playing field on the side of the consumer instead of infuriating people over the add ons.
*= And for the sake of entertainment, all carry ons would be checked in that little box thing at the gate area by a gate attendant who is allowed to make sure the bag fits by the judicious use of a chainsaw.
ETA: Oh, and another thing, the airlines would have to standardize the overhead compartments. I have a bag that fits 99% of the flights I take but every once in a while I get on a regional jet that has just a little less room. “But it fits in the tester!” “Too bad, gate check!”
Tell me, Mr. Engineer, how are you going to standardize the overhead compartments between, say, an Embraer Regional Jet, an Airbus A320, and a Boeing 777? Do you think they can just tack on some extra space on the fuselage of the aircraft?
The only way to make them all the same would be to make the compartments on all planes the same size as the compartment on the smallest plane.
“Standardize” was too broad a term, sorry. But if they can’t make it so that my ATA-approved luggage will fit, then at the very least they should let me know at the gate before I tromp to the plane in all good faith only to find out while standing in the aisle that it won’t fit.
FTR I am not one of those people who tries to cram my refridgerator into an overhead. I travel a lot on business and am used to packing light and small. I don’t even use that zipper that expands my carry on to a slightly-larger size!