Five ways to beat the competition to the overhead bin

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There’s nothing so gauche as to stick your carry-on into an overhead bin far ahead of your seat, grab a book or magazine from it and walk 17 rows back to your seat. Because, whether you know it (or give a damn), one of the passengers sitting under your bag may not have a place to put his. Then, when the plane settles in at the gate, he’ll try to shove his way to the back of the plane (where he was forced to stow his stuff) while everyone else is moving the other way. It’s a recipe for disaster.

And, it’s getting worse.

Airlines have had to cope with shrinking budgets, thanks to a dismal travel market, and that means making cuts. So, when there isn’t another pill water, peanut or blanket to chop, the airlines have to take away the planes themselves. Airline capacity is falling almost across the board this year, making planes more crowded. That translates to fuller overhead bins. The other airline money-making scheme – charging fees for extra baggage – has also cramped the cabin. Passengers are hoping to dodge the extra cost, even though it is modest.

When there’s an airline problem, of course, Congress rushes to devise some sort of solution – an obvious move given the track record legislators have had “fixing” the industry. The latest move appears to be an effort to limit and standardize carry-on sizes across airlines, with the TSA enforcing the rule at checkpoints. What will this accomplish? Well, your security wait just got longer. Not only will they have more work to do, but you’ll have the joy of waiting behind 27 people who all need to argue with the TSA employee about how the new rule is bullshit.

Until Congress comes in and accomplishes nothing, what matters most are strategies for making sure you can get as much of your stuff as possible into the overhead bins, especially if you want to keep some foot space under the seat in front of you. Here are five ways to make the whole process easier.

1. Board early
Chance favors the prepared. Get onto the plane as soon as you can. If you have elite status, use it. Linger by the gate to wait for your zone to be called. Then, strike when the announcement is made.

2. Be honest
You could become a scumbag and toss your carry-ons into the first overhead bins you see … or you could play it straight and put your bags in the appropriate bin. Become a part of the solution, not the problem.

3. Consolidate
Don’t carry too many carry-ons, and if you do max out the gear you can tow, bite the bullet and stick some of it under the seat in front of you.

4. Gate-check
You’ll have to wait a little longer for your bags, but it isn’t nearly as bad as having to linger by the carousel. This is as close to a win-win as you’ll find in the hell we call air travel.

5. Deal with checked luggage
Sometimes, you’re going to have to suck it up and check your damned bags. Don’t try to fight with the flight attendant or gate agent over size or amount. You’ll only delay the process … especially if the flight attendant has to announce that some of the bags in overhead bins will need to be checked. Don’t push the envelope, and learn to live with the rules.

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Bag too big? Check with Congress

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Every carry-on could become a federal case, so to speak. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-IL, has proposed legislation that would cap the size of each carry-on. Right now, airlines are left to their own devices, leading to a bit of confusion for fliers who use several carriers throughout the year. Since a de facto industry standard hasn’t emerged, Lipinski feels it’s a job for the folks in Washington.

Lipinski is quoted in USA Today as saying, “It’s clear if anything is going to be done, it’s going to take an act of Congress to do it.” The airlines aren’t enforcing the restrictions that they’ve enacted, he continues.

As with anything regarding Congress – and, for that matter, airlines – the public is divided. Supporters are glad to see a proposal that would keep oversized bags out of overhead spaces, seeing it as a safety measure or simply an increase in available space (they fill up quickly with large bags). Of course, on any flight, you’ll find people on the other side, passengers who refuse to check luggage and would cram a compact car into the overhead bin if they could.

Available space in the overhead compartments has become a problem recently. With airlines cutting flights in an effort to reduce costs, the remaining flights are becoming more crowded – as are the storage spaces.

The Air Transport Association, an industry trade group, doesn’t see overhead storage spaces as a matter for Congress. Instead, he believes it should be left to the airlines to decide.

Avoid high baggage fees – rent clothes from Zero Baggage

by Katie Hammel on

Airline baggage fees just keep going up, and there seems to be no end in sight. With few airlines left that don’t charge for checked bags, travelers who can’t manage to get everything they need into a carry-on bag could end up paying some hefty fees. One Canadian company has come up with a plan to help.

Zero Baggage promises to provide travelers with an “environmentally responsible, anxiety-free way of living and traveling”. How? By renting clothing. Travelers select the clothes they need to rent (either pre-worn or, for more money, brand new), Zero Baggage delivers them upon arrival, and the items are returned when no longer needed. Travelers have access to a wider variety of clothes, at less cost, and without having to pack a larger bag and pay checked-luggage fees.

Or at least, that’s the plan. The company says it will begin offering service in early 2010 in Toronto, Canada and Gold Coast, Australia.

As someone who has, over time, learned to get by with less and now rarely takes more than one carry-on for a trip of 2 weeks, I don’t think I would use the service. And even in an emergency (a fashion emergency), I’d probably just run out and buy something new. But it is an intriguing idea. What do you think?

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Airline fee backfires: skycaps win in Massachusetts court

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When American Airlines started to charge a $2 fee for curbside baggage check-in, the skycaps lost their tips. Passengers were accustomed to paying $2 or so, it seems, and weren’t going to amp up the cash flow just because the money was going into a different pocket. So, nine Logan Airport skycaps – current and former – just came into $325,000, thanks to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which ruled based on a law intended to protect wages and tips.

American Airlines tried to get by on a technicality, saying eight of the nine skycaps were subcontractors (working for G2 Secure Staff) and thus weren’t protected. The court disagreed, favoring broader protection. But, it isn’t over yet. American Airlines, according to a report in USA Today, is evaluating “all of its legal options.”

Delta’s checked baggage fee to go up: A flawed, unfair practice

by Jamie Rhein on

While browsing Wallet Pop, I found out that Delta is increasing its checked baggage fee as of August 4. If you don’t check your baggage on-line before you arrive at the airport, you’ll have to pay $20 for that first bag instead of $15.

Okay, people. Okay Delta, who I’m not too pleased with already, enough is enough. Here’s why I think that’s nonsense, and I’m a person who paid $55 total for checked bags without batting an eye. On our Great American Road Trip 2009 that involved flying to Albuquerque to rent a car to get to Montana and back, we checked one bag on our way there and four on our way back to Columbus.

The fourth was because of a flimsy wooden child’s toy bow and arrow set that was purchased at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. More on that in another post. Let’s just say it was considered a weapon by you know who. All four of our checked bags were paid for at the airport. The fourth was after I found out about the bow and arrow.

I didn’t mind paying the $55 one bit. I didn’t mind having to pack the bow and arrow in one of our carry ons and checking it last minute. (The bow and arrow was small enough to fit into a carry on. The arrow didn’t even have an arrow on it. It was a stick–a skinny stick with a suggestion of a point.That’s all I’m writing in this post about it, except this one more thing. Every time I look at it now that it’s home, I shake my head and say to myself. Dumb, dumb, dumb. And I’m not talking about the bow and arrow or me.)

But, I digress. Back to why I think the practice of charging more for a bag checked in at the airport is flawed. The assumption is that everyone has access to a computer when they are traveling. Or Wi-Fi. I spent a good part of vacation traveling for three weeks with a laptop without Internet access. There are places and circumstances beyond ones control. Here’s another aside. If you’re at the Telluride public library using the Internet –kind of–with your laptop, watching paint dry would be faster.

Here’s another truth. Not everyone has access to a computer at home either for that matter. My father doesn’t have a computer, for example. My father works at a place where you are not supposed to do personal business on company time. As much as it’s hard to believe for those of you out there in the world of Blackberries that aren’t fruit, not everyone is wired to the hilt. Not everyone wants to be either.

But back to baggage. So the assumption that Delta is making is that everyone has access to a computer where they can check bags on-line. I’m thinking about those people who can’t because of not having the equipment, or those people traveling under duress, like my mother has done twice this summer because of a family emergency. My mother has a computer but using it for things business related where you have to enter your credit card number makes her suspicious. Plus, under duress one isn’t sure what one is doing at all.

There are people like that who might just say I’m through with flying. I’ll take the bus or the train. I’m retired. I have time on my hands. Why not take transportation where I’m not nickel and dimed to death and treated poorly in the process-like cattle being sent down chutes to slaughter?

So, let’s say someone doesn’t have access to a computer. Or technology is something they’re not that great with. Or a harried family isn’t sure how many bags they need to check for that trip back home. Or whatever reason someone waits until they get to the airport to check a bag. There they are at the airport and it costs them more money.

Or there they are at TSA with their tempers up because they can’t take that jar of apple butter their grandmother gave them that they forgot about until TSA pulled it out of their bag (This happened to a friend of mine), or that souvenir snow globe or that bow and arrow set–the flimsy CHILD’S toy, on the plane, but they happen to have that carry-on and the time to check it. Air travel already gets people anxious. I’ve blogged for two years at Gadling and I’ve read plenty of stories.

In any of these situations wouldn’t it be better to have them be able to check that bag without being even more ticked off or more annoyed that they are trying to turn a bad situation better or be a good traveler by using the check-in kiosk themselves and it cost them more? We checked the one bag before we arrived at the airport in Columbus, but for the return trip checked all at the airport using the kiosk for the first three without any assistance, and the 4th one with the assistance of the check in person because she wasn’t doing anything when I arrived with the 4th bag. There weren’t any other passengers in line either. If the 4th bag would have cost $20 instead of $15, I may have said forget the bow and arrow, it only cost $7.50. The airline would have not made the $15.

Personally, I think airlines are becoming less and less passenger friendly and the people who are working behind the counter or in the airplanes–and that means flight attendants like our dear Heather, are trying to do their best to make flying on their company planes bearable. With baggage fee nonsense like Delta is adopting, flight attendants and check-in folks have their work cut out for them.

Delta is not ready when you are. Not anymore. Not if you’ve only managed to get ready when you arrive at the airport.

Oh, Northwest how I miss you and am not too pleased with your substitute. I can recognize the evil twin.

*By the way, there were four of us traveling, that’s why the last bag could be checked by me under my son’s name.