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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?
Probably something boring like workplace safety (mentioned blow), but I want to believe it's for boarding efficiency. Other travelers fussing with their ridiculous oversized carry-on is one of the most infuriating parts of air travel.
You line up nice and orderly, pass the ticket check, walk down the corridor, greet the flight staff, awkwardly try not to make eye contact with every row of passengers on the way back to your seat and then - hold up. What's this? Traffic is stopped ahead? A middle-aged fellow with t-rex arms is trying to clean and jerk 120 pounds of laptop charger and winter clothing in a wheeled suitcase that he 100% won't use at all on this 5-hour flight. That takes a full minute because he's short and the person in front of him put in their giant wheeled suitcase first, and his won't fit. Finally he manages to turn it on its side (and you can tell the compartment bin isn't going to close now and the flight attendant will have to fix it anyway..). Then he turns around and does it again for his wife.
Then the scene plays out again in reverse because you're stuck behind them deplaning too.
The whole concept of carry-on should be abolished. And don't even get me started on baggage carousels..
Edit: (oh, I misread. you're having the opposite problem, which makes the carry-on weight even worse)
Carry-on is fine, you just shouldn't be allowed to bring your wheeled luggage and hard-sided baggage. If you can't actually carry it, well, it's not a carry-on. I use a Cotopaxi Allpa 35L and it's just absolutely trivial to shrug it off my shoulders and toss it in the overhead. Even on smaller regional jets (e.g. CRJ900), it squishes into the overhead with no trouble. I also don't know what the hell people are doing with their gigantic bags in the first place - that backpack suffices for week-plus international trips that include casual clothes, dressier attire, and running gear.
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