Solving the Oversized Carryon Bag Problem

July 12, 2012
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Wizz Air Airbus A320-233 HA-LPF

One of the side effects of increased checked bag charges is that more people are trying to cram all of their items into their carry-ons.

Spirit Air tried to address this by charging for carry-on bags, but we like a new program by Wizz Air. Passengers who try to sneak bags past onto the plane will be charged.

If their bags are bigger than carry-on size, they will pay approximately $12. As a consolidation prize, they get priority boarding, which would give them first access to the overhead bins. It seems like a better move than some alternatives.

The problem is, this does not address the problem, in the sense exactly. Those who follow the rules will find themselves squeezed out of the overhead. And that isn’t exactly fair either.

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This entry was posted on July 12, 2012 at 12:43 AM and is filed under Onboard. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

  • cedarglen

    The Carry-On issue is becoming a bit trite.  In my view, some uniform (modest) size and weight standard should be established and ENFORCED: If you bag exceeds the size/wight standard then it gets checked.  Period.   The result: enough OH Bin space for everyone.  As for that second, ‘personal’ bag, such as perses or briefcases,; they should be limited to ONE per person and be able to fit in the under-seat space in front  of you.  If YOUR assigned seat does not have under-seat space available, you’re simply out of luck and will check another bag.  Most importantly, these standards should be universal, across all airlines and all classes of service, so the flyin public knows what to expect, on EVERY flight.  Why is this necessary?  Becasue far too many ‘savy’ flyers take advantage of the lax enforcement and early access to the airplane – and try to carry almost everything they own as a carry-on item.  ENOUGH people!  Enough.  set a reasonable standard that applies to all carrier and to all pax and then enforce it.  Other benefits:  WIth a lot less baggage to inspect, those frisky visits with TSA should become faster and the end product slightly safer.  
    If the airlines still want to affer perks to their preferred customers, they can waive more (or all) of the checked bag fees.  The point here is to get the oversized and heavy crap out  of the pax compartment and into the baggage hold where it belongs, for the comfort and safety of all.  



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