Bastids! (Airlines, that is.) A Rant.

[MorningGlow]

I travel once a year (and these days, that's plenty)--every summer, my mother, son, and I fly cross-country to California to visit my brother and his family. Same routine, although we've chosen different airlines (trying to find one that won't drive us crazy).

We all check one bag, and we all have one carry-on bag. Mine is great. I've had this bag for three years. It's one of the best purchases I've ever made--a tough little bugger with wheels and a handle, but also soft handles so I can pick it up when I need to squeeze down the airplane aisle. Lots of compartments, including one for my laptop, but very squishy and compact.

And as long as I've owned it, it's fit just fine under the seat in front of me. And nobody at any airline ever gave me a second glance. This year's trip, however, was different. This year, every airline employee within 50 yards of me, from the gate attendants to the flight attendants, approached me (on every leg of the trip) to tell me that my carry-on bag would not fit under the seat or in the overhead bin, and I "had to" check it. They would argue with me. They'd hand me a check-bag ticket to fill out. And every time, I would politely explain to them that the bag would fit just fine under the seat. Really. Honest. I've done it a dozen times before. They'd look at me dubiously, insist I keep the check-bag ticket, and move on.

Okay, confession time. I was polite to all but one person--the unfortunate flight attendant who tried to give me the same spiel as I huffed and puffed down the aisle of our connecting flight, with my exhausted 85-year-old mother and 6-year-old son in tow, grabbing our seats with literally 10 seconds to spare before the plane took off, because of the airline's screwup with the first leg of our flight. HER I snapped at. "IT FITS UNDER THE SEAT!" But only because she was the third person to feed me that line that day. She was smart; she backed off.

Anyway, I never understood what was going on. Did my bag suddenly expand in the year that it spent in the closet between trips? Had some airline employee snuck into my home and fed it growth hormones? I know I didn't pack more stuff in it--in fact, it was carrying less stuff than previous years.

It remained a mystery...until I saw this article today (forgive, it's the Daily Mail, but other news outlets are carrying the story as well):

Air passengers hit unfairly with £60 levy by budget airline whose hand luggage bins were too small

A leading budget airline may have unfairly charged thousands of passengers because its measuring devices for hand luggage were too small.

Customers of bmibaby were routinely asked at departure gates to put their hand luggage in a metal cage to ensure it met size restrictions.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1310345/Budget-airlines-bag-blunder-hits-passengers-60-levy.html#ixzz0z5W8eAuc

I mean, why am I not surprised? But this interesting tidbit leapt out at me:

Most airlines pay check-in staff a bonus linked to the value of the excess baggage fees they collect.

Again, I say, BASTIDS! No wonder those employees were literally chasing me. They wanted their bonus! Will these pirates stop at nothing to squeeze every last dime out of us?!

I know that there are far worse things going on in the world these days, but that little revelation just made me :grr: today.

'Kay, I'm done. Thanks! :rant:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Airline employees do not get bonuses for excess baggage fees.

At least not in the US; maybe some in the UK do.

[MorningGlow]

2. Sure about that? I mean, none of 'em?

I'm starting to wonder. :shrug:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. At most airlines these are union employees. They get paid whatever

their union contract says. I have never heard of airline employees (and I am one, though not in the customer service area) getting bonuses based on baggage fees. The reason those fees are charged in the first place is because the more an airplane weighs the more fuel it burns and the more the flight costs. The fees make up for the extra fuel burn costs. Baggage weight wasn't such a problem when fuel was cheap but now fuel is an airline's largest operating expense. So if you are bringing a lot of stuff with you, you have to pay a little more because the extra weight makes the plane more expensive to fly.

Most airlines don't charge extra for carry-ons because there is a size limit -- the charges are for checked bags. This also encourages people to bring only their smaller, lighter carry-ons, but the disadvantage is that there isn't always room in the overhead bins and it takes longer for passengers to board because they are trying to cram their bags in the bins.

[MorningGlow]

7. Thanks for that information

I do sincerely hope that is the case (that there's no "cash incentive" for chasing people and trying to get them to check their bags). I do realize that the airlines are trying to cover their costs by charging for checked bags, and to clear the aisles faster (and try to prevent people from cramming luggage the size of small elephants into the overhead bins), they try to get people to check larger carry-ons. I just thought it was very curious that they were so much more aggressive this time around.

[Skink]

4. But you are OK with taking off your shoes and full body scanners.

[flyarm]

5. I noticed you supplied a British source and you printed the sign for British crown sterling £.

perhaps foreign carriers give a bonus for checking more bags, But US Carriers do not give bonus's to their employees for checking bags. You did not stipulate if you were on an international flight with destination California, or a domestic USA flight.

But pssssss...you picked the wrong person to blow your top at..or snap at..especially if you are flying US Carriers, domestic or international...

write a letter of complaint ..write it to the airline , congress , FAA but don't snap at Flight crew while boarding or any time..not a good idea ..if you want to get to a particular destination, on time.

from a retired flight crew.

[MorningGlow]

8. I do hope it doesn't occur Stateside, as I just posted above

Mine was a domestic flight (on Continental), from Newark to Orange County.

And no worries--you don't know me, so you'll just have to trust me when I say I am always a friggin' SAINT when it comes to flight crews. Really--I am always polite, because I know they (you!) have one of the toughest jobs out there. I didn't even blow my top last year, when our seats were suddenly changed and I was separated from my 5-year-old son by about a dozen rows, and I requested a seat change, and they said "tough nerts". Not. Even. Then. :)

[Brickbat]

6. Two years ago, my son flew as an unaccompanied minor on Northwest. This year, he did the same, only

because of a merger the same one-hour direct flight was on Delta. Two years ago, the UM fee was $35, round trip. This year, it was $100 -- EACH FUCKING WAY!

[HipChick]

9. I'm a frequent flier and fly every week..I don't have these problems

Tip..check the dimensions of your bag...
with everyone trying to avoid baggage fees,everyone is trying to carry on everything but the sink, larger bags are targeted...

Seat change? Don't rely on the FA start checking around with the passengers, 99% you will find someone who will change seats with you, especially if you are travelling with a child..FA are way too busy with pre-departure stuff

[david13]

10. From now on, take the train. dc

[ProdigalJunkMail]

14. yep...2.5 days out there...2.5 days getting back...

and drastically reduced time with your friends/relatives...

nope...

sP

[Jim__]

11. I used to fly as part of my job. Now, if I walk into an airport, my stomach turns.

I drive whenever possible.

[yellowcanine]

12. It does seem that some "budget airlines" make up the difference in baggage fees.

Some are very quick to slap on an overweight/oversize fee. I had one attendant chirp as soon as I put the bag on the scales - Your bag is overweight and too big, that will be $49! Then she measured the bag and said - well, it is not too big but it is still overweight so that is still $49.

[yellowcanine]

13. The space under the aisle seat is smaller; a laptop case barely fits under it.

This is a problem for tall guys such as myself. I need that space for my feet with the way the seats are jammed together on some planes. Also near the back of many airplanes the overhead bins are smaller. That said, the size and number of some of the carry on bags that some passengers drag unto the plane is nuts. The FAA should outlaw checked bag fees. Everyone should get one free checked bag even if that means raising the fares a bit. And then enforce the number and size limits on carry-on bags.

[m00nbeam]

20. Yes, raise the tickets by $25 each way

And allow one checked bag per ticketed passenger.

I have stopped checking bags when I fly (If I am on a long trip, I do laundry to avoid checking bags). For me, it is the principle of the thing. I paid to have the airline ship me AND my stuff safely across country. I refuse to pay to check a bag. As it is, in economy class, my knees are digging into the back of the seat in front of me, and this is without the seat being reclined.

[Azooz]

15. FASCINATING AIDA - Cheap Flights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg0lUYHHFc&feature=player_embedded

Got it from reddit, seemed to fit ;)

[ThatsMyBarack]

16. Why do the airlines hate us regular folks so much?

:shrug:

[Curmudgeoness]

17. Unless something has changed in the last few months, Southwest

is still the airline to fly. They do not charge for checking bags. Yet.

[MorningGlow]

18. I would LOVE to

Alas, they don't fly in to my local airport. I'd have to drive an hour to Buffalo to fly Southwest. And their return flight gets in at 11:30 p.m.--I'd hate to ask Mr. MG drive all that way to pick us up so late. :(

[Curmudgeoness]

19. That's too bad. But you are lucky to be so close to an airport.

I can do Cleveland or Pittsburgh, about the same distance---an hour and a half to either. So an hour would work for me. But I can understand not wanting to. I guess it is what is more important. But your experience sucks and I would not want to fly that airline again.