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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   2519 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 22, 2024

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When I am flying, if I check in the bag, they weigh it and if it's over some specific number (50lbs? Don't remember, but it doesn't matter) they demand I pay ridiculous money for it being overly massive. Unless I, right in front on them, take some stuff out of the checked bag and put it into my carry-on bag, which they know I will be taking with me onboard. Last time we did this dance over 2 pounds. How does it make any sense? I understand carrying more mass takes more fuel, but putting it into my carry-on does not change the mass, and I could be traveling with a box full of lead bricks and nobody would tell me a word if it fits the carry-on size. One could suppose maybe the handlers are not allowed to lift over 50lbs - but if I pay the ridiculous payment, they suddenly become allowed?

I'm not even saying they charge the same for 2 yo kid and for 400lbs landwhale, so clearly the mass is not that important here. Why are they doing it? Just to piss me off because airlines secretly agreed their goal must be to maximize the amount of frustration in the Universe? Or there's some logical reason for it?

The people who write the rules aren't the same people who enforce them. The individual airline workers don't care if you move things between your bags because it doesn't affect them. As for reasons why the airline might insist on the rules:

  1. As mentioned below, workplace safety rules
  2. The assumption that some passengers will pay the fine rather than bother with the hassle
  3. A means to incentivise passengers to purchase more bags

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