End of the Oversized Era

Airline travel these days has gone from the days of elegance to cattle hauling in a lot of respects. Not that it's the fault of the crews that take care of us in the friendly skies but it's something that pretty much no one is happy about these days. With fuel costs rising leading to rising ticket costs for air travel, it's no wonder that so many airlines are making moves to either limit the number of bags or charge for what we bring on. Now for domestic flights it can be a major issue and for international I can't imagine the hubbub this would create but one area which the airlines are looking to overhaul in the near future is in the realm of carry-ons and this proposal has given me a moment's pause.

One travel peeve of mine is the fact that some people feel that they are well and truly pulling one over on the airlines whenever they pack a huge carry-on and manage to bring it on board as part of their 'cabin' baggage. Now I'm sure anyone who has travelled even for a little while can relate to you the frustration of trying to be rule-abiding and finding one person coming aboard at nearly the last minute carrying a huge bag and being absolutely insistant that despite looking like it is holding an Army regiment's worth of stuff, it only holds a small amount and can fit in the overhead bin. Then you watch as the person struggles to stuff it into the overhead bin and you sigh as you watch someone else's mini-carry-on get crushed by this behemoth.

And for what? To save a few bucks and avoid the wait at the baggage claim. Gee, thanks Mr. (or Mrs.) Large Carry On. I enjoy seeing my flight delayed by the fact that you feel it's your right to bring on as large a bag as you can and act like a stubborn child even when the two-year-old at the front of the plane can clearly see that the bag you're brining on has absolutely no place in the cabin of the plane. I've sat in utter fascination and horror as passengers have literally argued, forced and cajoled their way into getting these bags on the plane and then have proceeded to have hissy fits if they can't keep the bag in the overhead bin. Accompanied by pathetic declarations that 'the bag fit up there on my last flight', I have little to no sympathy for these scoff laws. And I think the absolute worst offenders of this are not women but men. Women have their purses (which are generally huge) so one bag is already covered but then the second bag is about as large as they can get it.

No. Men push the boundaries whenever they can. I've seen numerous business travellers lug large laptop bags and huge 'overnighters' onto the plane and then hem and haw when they find that the bags are too heavy to be placed in overhead bins. Utterly ridiculous. Who are you? James Bond that you need every single item of your travel kit at your beck and call the entire time? It's frustrating and I think we'll see a decrease in it after airlines start putting such bags under greater scrutiny. Let's see if it makes any difference. I for one hope it does. Air travel is getting more and more frustrating as it is. I don't need the added aggravation of being bumped and proded by huge bags in addition to paying through the nose for a small seat.