airlines are getting tough with people who bring roller bags on plane

[Liberal_in_LA]

I'm waiting for a flight out of lax. People without roller bags are being allowed to board 1st.

[CincyDem]

1. Might make sense depending on what they are allowed to be carrying

As a mega-flier, this might not be as bad as it sounds. There's a time element associated with tucking those roller bags up into the headspace. As long as the space isn't full with lots of other chit when I get on with my bag, this might speed up boarding time.

When I hear "getting tough" on roller bags, I think about forced bag checks. I don't mind when I can gate check it and pick it up after the flight on the jetway but when they do the full bag check and I have to pick it up at the carousel, it's always a worry that I'll go to Pittsburgh and the bag will go to Phoenix. Yeah - it's happened.

[KurtNYC]

2. I'm old enough to remember when ONLY the flight crew had roller bags

[blueamy66]

3. I'm old enough to remember when people dressed up to fly.

My Dad was a Supervisor for AA.

We'd visit him every now and then. Go in the plane, eat the leftover shrimp cocktail, sit in the pilots' laps.

Air flight these days just plain sucks.

[NutmegYankee]

5. Why dress up to ride in steerage? Nt

[blueamy66]

9. Oh, but we flew First Class. Non-rev, but FC....

I was just pointing out the fact that I am old enough to remember when men wore suits and women wore dresses when they flew.

It's a whole different world now....

[NutmegYankee]

13. I'm happy society shed that goofiness.

Who wants to sit in stuffy uncomfortable clothes for hours on end? As a professional, an engineer, I'm glad society has changed. It's so much nicer going to work without a tie.

[blueamy66]

15. We did. Nothing but great memories.

People dress like slobs now. Just go to WalMart.

[NutmegYankee]

22. Oh no! Don't tell me we have to rub elbows with the great unwashed masses...

I think the switch to jeans/shorts and shirts is just fine. And since we have more clothing today, I'm sure we smell a lot better.

[blueamy66]

24. I don't want to be near an unwashed person.

But hey, if that's your thing, rock on!

[NutmegYankee]

25. Are you saying you didn't get that reference? Really?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoi_polloi


Unwashed-
unwashed Idioms

the (great) unwashed
the common people; the masses: originally a patronizing or contemptuous use, now usually ironic in application, with reference to elitism

[blueamy66]

59. I guess not...

nt

Not an elitist at all. You did read where I said that we flew FC cause my Dad worked for AA, right?

[WinkyDink]

61. It's a common expression. (posted to blueamy66)

[blueamy66]

64. Guess I'm not elitist enought to know that.

Thanks for the info though.

Now I know...

[NutmegYankee]

71. I was reacting to your remarks about people of walmart.

One of the main groups we liberals try to help are the poor. It's not productive to mock them.

[blueamy66]

76. Well, I guess that if I didn't shop there, I wouldn't know what the other customers look like.

My point....it's not hard to bathe and put on clean clothes....even if you're poor.

I am not mocking anyone.

My Grandmother raised my Mom and her 2 nephews (her sister died young) on a secretary's salary, with not much help from anyone's Daddy, but they always were clean and wore clean clothes....even if they were the same clothes they wore the day before.

Not trying to sound elitist at all.

[uppityperson]

82. "it's not hard to bathe and put on clean clothes....even if you're poor."

"they always were clean and wore clean clothes....even if they were the same clothes they wore the day before."

Poor people who do not access to laundry facilities and do not have many changes of clothing, all they need to do is continue to wear the same clothes, just make sure they are clean?

I guess it all depends on their living situation, what bathing and laundry facilities they have. You don't want to be near people who do not have the ability to bath and do laundry or stay clean somehow?

[blueamy66]

84. Are you talking about poor people or homeless people?

Homeless is one thing....poor is another....

[uppityperson]

98. Both, either.

[Tsiyu]

104. insufferable snobbery is insufferable, innit?

I've been working with the poorest of the poor, no running water in many cases, no money for food let alone for soap or laundry.

There are so many poverty ridden people who don't have washers and dryers or even refrigerators; they barely scrape by.

I'm just so, so happy that there are so many DUers who live in bubbles, where everyone lives in a suburban home with heat and AC and TVs and showers and the finest hair care products and deodorant and they never, ever have to be subjected to the stench of humanity.

To paraphrase Barbara Bush, they just don't want to trouble their beautiful, violet-scented brains with the struggles and sorrows of the poor.

I wonder if they also can't bear to see disfigured veterans and raggedy homeless people and child burn victims? Gosh, the Bubble Dwellers should be protected from reality; if a person can't be as clean and perfumed and perfect as they are, they should just hide themselves away.


Thanks for speaking up for them.

Insufferable snobs make DU suck

[blueamy66]

119. Whatever.

You don't have a clue.

[Cal Carpenter]

81. Wow, haven't seen such a showing of elitism in awhile here

Charming.

[blueamy66]

83. oh, for fuck's sake

this site is getting ridiculous

[Drahthaardogs]

90. Agreed. I never understood the whole

I am such a rebel I refuse to wear clean clothes and shower genre. I grew up poor. I wore hand me downs because it is what we could afford. Wearing nasty clothes doesnt impress me with your lack of conformity.

[Mariana]

116. Lots of people wear shorts on the East Coast.

Only a weirdo would assume they aren't washed, or would look down on them in any way.

[blueamy66]

120. Wrong.

Never said anything about wearing shorts.

Just think that if you can afford an airline ticket, you should be able to afford a shower.

[TransitJohn]

95. The horror! Being forced to sit with the proles!

Sheesh.

[blueamy66]

121. Yeah, it was horrible.

Quit reading shit into posts.

I never said anything like that.

[PasadenaTrudy]

67. You actually had

more room back then too. This is before the sardine tin coach seating.

[RKP5637]

102. I spent a lot of my life when casual was the rule in R&D. However, in my early years, I worked for a

company where we ALL had to wear suits and ties. How stupid. I also used to fly a lot, we were required to wear a 3 piece suit! Damn!!!

[Gormy Cuss]

52. Non-revenue fliers had to dress up as a condition of using those free tickets.

That stipulation lasted long after paying passengers stopped dressing up for flights. By the time I took my first flight in 1974 the only people dressed up were business types sitting anywhere on the plane and the people in first class. Everyone else dressed as they pleased.

[blueamy66]

63. No....disagree....

Long after 1974 people dressed up a bit, even in Coach.

Tom Selleck and Doc Severinsen were both in suits in the 80s. One in the last row of Coach and one in FC. Was lucky enough to sit next to each.

And what is wrong with dressing nicely?

[Gormy Cuss]

68. Good, disagree all you want. I'm telling you what I saw

on Allegany and Delta in the 1970s. I saw it on every other legacy carrier in the 1980.

Who said there was anything wrong about dressing nicely? You're the one calling people slobs for not dressing up to fly.

[blueamy66]

77. No, I believe that I stated that people dress like slobs now.

Flying, shopping, walking, going to the library....

Come to small town Midwest America and tell me different.

[BlueJazz]

118. Even when I fly to Australia, most of the people look like they found the clothes..

...they are wearing, on the way to the airport, in a trash can.
You may think I'm being a snob but I wear something that's...ah...appropriate for someplace like "Red Lobster".
(which is no big deal).
I mean, if you can pay 2400 bucks to fly, at least wear a t-shirt that doesn't have food stains all over the front.

Some reading this may think I'm exaggerating....I'm not.

[blueamy66]

122. Red Lobster...our family restaurant....love it

I agree 100%.

Why is everyone going so crazy?

If you can afford airfare, can you not afford to take a shower and clean clothes?

This website is off the chart!

[raccoon]

96. It's more comfortable to dress casually. Remember the bad old days when women

wore dresses and stockings and --gasp! girdles? Never again!

There is a happy medium between dressing up and dressing like a slob.

[blueamy66]

97. Yes. Agree with a happy medium.

nt

[jmowreader]

99. Now they call girdles Spanx

[MADem]

28. I remember when the seats in 'steerage' were bigger and more comfortable than the ones in today's

'First' or 'Business' class...and the meal was better too--on a real tray, with silverware and a cloth napkin!!

I can also remember stretching out across a row of those 'steerage' seats with a pillow and a blanket, and sleeping from CA to MA!

I can't imagine what those poor flight attendants had to deal with, with all that cutlery and coffee cups and trays and so forth. It must have been a real mess back in those galleys (which really don't exist anymore--and the FAs hardly have a place to sit, either.

Of course, while I'm remembering those "good old days," I am also remembering that I paid MORE for a round trip flight to the Caribbean back in the early seventies than I paid for the same flight to the same place last year. And no, I'm not correcting for inflation--I'm talking actual dollars! If there were a road across the ocean, I couldn't drive so cheap!

[NutmegYankee]

38. I was poking fun in another post...

But air travel in the past was an option for far fewer people than it it today. The cost was just prohibitive for the average person. If you had the wealth at that time, I'm sure it was a great memory.

[MADem]

46. I didn't have wealth but in that particular instance I needed to travel!

I ate a lotta beans and rice to cover that airfare!

I was always a saver, and that put a massive dent in my savings account, that particular trip!

When I traveled on the "work dime" though, it was a more pleasant experience--at least my bank account stayed solvent!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. My dad too! 35 years with AA

Of course we dressed up because it was company policy. "Dress for first class in case that's all that is available" he would always say. Later, when I went away to school, I would always fly first class back and forth and he would tell me I didn't "need" first class - lol, hells yeah I needed first.

Later when they relaxed the dress code , it was nice to be able to wear jeans and a nice shirt. Everyone else was wearing sweats with holes in them and flip flops. Pops would also lament the current dress standards - "like a bus terminal" he would say.

Getting dropped off and picked up at the bottom of the gate was a nice perk. That would cause an international incident with "breaking news" banners on CNN if we did that today.

I remember a Christmas party in the hangar with our own private airliner to tour and play in.

[blueamy66]

10. 45 for my Dad and even when they relaxed the dress code, we still dressed up.

I think it cost my Dad $75 for a round trip, FC flight from PHX to BUF. Can't beat that.

Then the airlines came up with these frequent flier points and upgrades and it was tough to get into FC.

Great memories.

AA was part of our family.

Which airport did your Dad work at?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

16. Midway and then O'Hare

It was even cheaper than that is the old days. IIRC, he only paid the airport fees. Also, before the IRS started considering the flights income.

Yeah, the frequent flier points and the expansion of buddy passes.

"Non-rev" used to be immediate family only then they expanded it to basically everyone and upped to cost. My dad said they were using the non-revs as a revenue source and competition with the discount airlines - with a 100,00 employees selling "buddy passes" to friends.

[blueamy66]

19. Southwest screwed it up.

My Dad died a few years back. At that time, he was allowed to designate a "companion". AA was getting politically correct. As my Mim was gone too, i was his "companion". I don't remember if they had buddy passes. Do you?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

34. Yeah. I could get tickets for anyone at the end.

I got passes for some friends to go to San Francisco to do the Aids ride. The only requirement was the post-9/11 security measures - the potential passengers had to be pre-registered on the AA website with, IIRC, with social security numbers and birthdates x amount of days prior to travel.

My dad passed in '08 and with him went the benefit.

Toward the end, I found myself paying for flights as much as using the benefit because it was too hard to coordinate a "wide open" flight with my schedule. But I was used to flying at off times because pops only liked sure bets.

The last flight I took using the benefit was to San Francisco. I listed for the 7 (or 6:30?) am Sunday flight back to Chicago because it was the only sure bet. After all, who the hell flies at 630 am on Sunday? I had been out boozing until 4am. I asked the agent for first class and she told be they only had business. I was disappointed until I realized business IS first class with reclining bed/seats. Whew!! Shows how much I had been flying.

[blueamy66]

69. Was cool to be able to go on the web and see just how many seats were sold.....

I remember my Dad jumping behind a counter at O'Hare and logging into the computer to see if we had a chance to get on the next flight to Buffalo.

I tried to get on the red eyes every time....almost a sure thing....

Was nice to fly free but was even nicer to have a ticket in hand and not have to wait to hear your name called!

Are you a Cubs fan? Bears? Blackhawks?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

111. I live a block from Wrigley field so I'm a Cubs fan by osmosis.

Ben to plenty of games but never watched one, don't know who played but pretty sure the Cubs were there. Lots of drinking in the bleachers.

Haven't been in a few years. If I want the ambiance I just open a window or sit on the roof deck.

[MADem]

33. I think those buddy passes were also a reaction to single employees without kids getting screwed, in

essence. The employee was provided a perk based solely on marital status and reproductive rate that was denied to the single/childless, and those passes and expansion of the programs where employees could designate a pal or other family member, like a parent or sibling, was a reaction to that.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

50. Could be.

IIRC, they sort of did it in steps. It was immediate family, then family and then everyone. Along with it went the dress code.

I DO remember directives from the company warning the employees about the responsibility for their guests' conduct on flights and how it could jeopardize their own privileges. Also, to educate guests that "stand by" means stand by and throwing a fit in the ticket desk area was not acceptable.

As I recall, the category was D1 for employees traveling on company business or dead-heading, D2 for employees and dependent/immediate family and then D3 for everyone else including non-dependent children.

So D3 was bottom of the barrel. I remember coming home from The Black an Blue Festival (big gay dance party) in Montreal and flying on Sunday night. I almost got stuck - there was one seat left and there was a D2 employee ahead of me. But he was traveling with a friend and didn't want to split up. Goo thing too - I hadn't slept in two days and was in no condition to negotiate a cab ride and a hotel room. Especially having to use that funny-money.

Me > Immigration/customs agent >

[MADem]

53. Ha ha! It's usually best to travel alone on one of those passes! nt

[blueamy66]

85. So cool to read about D categories....

Ever get kicked off a plane after you got a seat?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

89. Yeah. The whole family got "bumped" in L.A. during the PATCO strike.

We were coming home from Hawaii when the controllers went on strike. It took all day to get out of Honolulu - I just remember waiting around all day by the ticket/gate desk. We made it out on an evening flight but got bumped during an LA stopover on the way to Chicago at 11:00 pm - hustled off the plane like hobos. How embarrassing. LOL

We spent the night in the airport because the flights were starting at 5am. My brother gout out by himself on a single because he had to work the next day. There were flights about every hour but we didn't get out until about 2pm.

My dad scarfed the one first class seat. I got stuck smack dab in the middle of a Japanese tour group passing food back and forth over my head.

[blueamy66]

91. LOL!

You have me beat!!!!

We lived in Hawaii for a few years, thanks to AA.

My worst....kicked off a plane at O'Hare when a connecting flight made it in. My and I had to get a hotel. Could have been worse.

[blueamy66]

78. Or a "partner".

But yeah, you are right.

[misterhighwasted]

39. ..and smoked on flights.

only thing we feared was the soviet Union

[tblue37]

60. Air travel today is rather like interstate bus travel when I was young, only much more

unpleasant and uncomfortable--and with more obnoxious check-in procedures.

[hedgehog]

132. In many cases, air travel today has replaced bus travel.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

4. Which airline was this? n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. i think it was united

[Gormy Cuss]

58. United is experimenting with strategies to speed up boarding,

Last edited Sun Aug 3, 2014, 01:27 PM - Edit history (1)

That's why they started that 5 zone system for boarding a couple of years ago too.

United is also one of the carriers who have changed the rules for accepted carryon bag dimensions. The size used to be 45 unified inches (length+width+depth <= 45 inches) and now require that the bag fit into a sizer with dimensions of 22" x 14" x9". That's still 45 unified inches but if the rollaboard is 21 x15 x9 or 20 x 14 x 10, it will have to be checked. They've also for the first time stipulated dimensions for the "personal item" that must be stowed under the seat.

All of this to solve a problem caused by the 1st checked bag fee.

[GP6971]

75. The U.S. airlines

could learn a lot about boarding from some foreign airlines. I've flown on full Korean Air 777s and boarding was very well managed and very quick.

[KittyWampus]

101. Speed Up Boarding- when you are shoving that many people into a space that held significantly

fewer people, I guess they need to look for ways to "speed up boarding".

Or they could just give back passengers leg room and have fewer people over all boarding.

[Gormy Cuss]

128. Leg room? Who needs that?

Flying now means having LESS pitch than an interstate bus seat, longer wait and boarding times, and more expensive baggage options. It's a flying cattle car. So long as consumers keep going along with this, the airlines have no incentive to act differently. I've gone from being someone who enjoyed flying to one who flies only when there is no other reasonable alternative.

[LisaL]

7. WTF?

I have a roller bag but it's the appropriate size. Why exactly should airline be getting tough with roller bags?

[blueamy66]

11. Because people are bringing on huge, stuffed bags and hogging up the overhead bins.

nt

[NutmegYankee]

14. The planes are running out of room in the overhead spaces.

I just finished a trip cross country yesterday. At least I was on 737s and not the smaller jets that hop short flights. Those small jets won't fit most roller bags.

[blueamy66]

17. Exactly.

It sucks that we have to pay for our luggage now, but the airlines aren't charities. They have bills and employees to pay.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

21. if the airlines would enforce bag-dimension rules

that would go a long way to reducing the madness that is boarding a plane now...

also, most people feel they can avoid the baggage fees by checking plane-side when the overheads are full... the airlines have brought this on themselves and are now punishing people who have roll-a-boards that will fit.

just enforce the rules... bag not the right size for the overhead??? you must check it and pay the $25 (or whatever the airline charges).

sP

[blueamy66]

23. Where should the rule be enforced?

At security? The gate? The agents are already overworked.

Tough call.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

27. should be checked at the time of check-in for the flight

and if it requires more personnel to do it, then, by-god, put people up there and pay them.

sP

[blueamy66]

29. Who checks in these days?

I print my boarding pass at home or in the hotel.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

31. fine...put more personnel at the gates...

and charge an additional surcharge for gate-checked bags to incentivise people to check bags in the terminal and not at the gate...

it will take personnel... but it should be done. air travel is miserable for the most part and this is one of the HUGE reasons.

sP

oh, and while i do check-in online, i still check a bag at the terminal... in 25 years of flying and over 2 million miles in the air, my bag has been misrouted exactly twice and one of those two times it took a whole two days to get it back.

[NutmegYankee]

42. Nearly everyone who checks a bag.

I always get my pass at check-in when flying for work. The agent for American Airlines was awesome. He gave me priority boarding and put a priority tag on my bag so I could get it right away.

[orpupilofnature57]

36. Too bad they didn't think of that 9/11 .

[orpupilofnature57]

35. Airline storage space will be a separate commodity, charged for .

Last edited Sun Aug 3, 2014, 02:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Because people are at their most Uncivil when they consume, and when there going somewhere in a car, plane or boat, or in a store, restaurant or airport .Somethings need to be regulated to protect us from usurping, greedy ungracious assh-les .

[jeff47]

117. Turns out charging for checked bags has repercussions. (nt)

[Johonny]

135. +1

pretty much. Now everyone carries everything they can onto the plane and the overhead bins that used to be big enough are filled to the brim every flight. I bought a nice regulation roller but am thinking of switching back to my backpack since I can always chuck it under my seat. The thing is my back enjoys the roller but the roller is useless if they force me to check it in at the gate (even though it is regulation one).

[MikeW]

12. maybe

I think it might be that they dont compress in the overhead. Ive seen this happen to people with hard sided

carryons on a few flights. They sometimes make them check those if the flight is full.

[Populist_Prole]

87. Bingo. I think that's it

The reason I don't like and don't use roller bags is that they are hard sided. Soft sided luggage is squishy enough to conform itself into irregularly shaped spaces where the hard sided square or rectangular stuff either won't go into, or if it does it makes very inefficient use of the space it's in. I mean, they're clothes, not crystal goblets.

[hedgehog]

18. I think they are also getting tougher on loading people in sequence group 1 and group 2 etc.

[JCMach1]

20. The solution is REGULATE 1 checked bag allowed on short flights and 2 on flights of 4hr. or more

If it raises rates, let the market decide on the price.

Also, freaking airlines could enforce their own regulations about size of carryons... OF the countless flights I have taken around the world over the years, I had my carryon weighed exactly 1 time.

It was British Airways.

Wheels are irrelevant... enforce your existing regs.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

26. i am a 2 million miler...

and i think you should be able to CHECK your whole damned house as long as it is done at check-in and not at the gate (and pay over-weight bag fees as documented). i also couldn't agree more on the enforcement of the bag-dimension rules and 1 carry-on and one personal item (the personal item MUST fit under the seat).

it kills me to see someone get on the plane with :
1 roll-aboard steamer trunk that could hold a small car
1 'personal' item larger than my roll-aboard
a purse
a bag of shit to take home to someone (souvenir type stuff)
three bags/boxes with their lunch and a vat of cola

and the airline never says a thing as they stuff EVERYTHING in overheads and nothing at their feet...

sP

[Logical]

30. +1000!! I so so many also putting 2 bags in the overhead! nt

[MADem]

37. I have to agree with this. I never put more than one thing in the overhead.

And it fits easily--I have a SMALL roll-aboard that fits in that little box they have to show you your size limits on some airlines. I also have a soft sided over the shoulder sack that fits everything else and can go at my feet with no issue.

When I was getting stopped all the time by the TSA, I used to send my shit by Fedex or UPS and travel with nothing but a toothbrush. It was easier than getting my stuff scattered all over the place while being intrusively brutalized by those jerks.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

40. if i am going to be out for more than a few days i ship sometimes

and it is a JOY to move through the airport with nothing but my laptop and a smile...

sP

[tammywammy]

41. I flew DCA to DFW and the gate agents were actively having people out there bags in the sizer.

Even if the bags are gate checked, at least they don't fill up the overhead.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

44. it would be a better world if that were the rule

instead of the exception. i rarely see anything like that until the plane's overheads are overstuffed and then they make an announcement to people still the the gatehouse that they will have to check their bags... it's like the lottery... wondering will your bag make it or not.

sP

[tammywammy]

48. oh the other annoying thing

Is people filling overhead bins at the front of the plane where their seats are in the back.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

49. i get upgraded a lot due to my status...

and i see this on every flight. it is incredibly selfish... screw the people actually sitting here... my bags are important...

sP

[blueamy66]

92. What airline?

nt

[tammywammy]

93. AA

It was a pretty full flight.

[NutmegYankee]

45. I check a bag and use a bookbag for boarding.

I just slide it under the seat for takeoff then pull it out and position it behind my legs for easy access to electronics and snacks. It works fantastically.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

47. i think i love you...

i carry a small footprint laptop (and am thinking about a surface pro 3 as a replacement) and that's IT... (well a couple of toiletries go in the bag just in case)...

invariably the person next to me is carrying on a small country's supply of clothing for a month PLUS a gaggle of electronics... and possibly lunch.

sP

[NutmegYankee]

51. I use an iPad.

And carry one of those myCharge Peak 6000s to keep the tablet powered for an entire flight. On this last cross country flight, I ended up charging two cell phones for seat mates and still had 1/3 of it's charge left. Otherwise, I keep one pair of underwear and socks, one shirt, and medication in case I get stranded at an airport.

[ScreamingMeemie]

54. Length of flight does not determine length of stay, so that would be ridiculous.

I check my bag, and I carry a tote bag on board.

[JCMach1]

80. On all the international flights I took, I eventually got tired of fighting with the peeps stuffing

the overheads...

I just went to one pretty flexible heavy duty hiking backback which goes under my seat.

Essentially, I surrendered as I need stuff near me like meds, glasses, contact lens items, etc.

[n2doc]

32. Few years back I flew out of La Guardia on US Air

And they had a person going up and down the check-in line, pulling people out who had oversized bags (they had a guide box right there) and making them check the bags. Of course, this raises money for the airline too.

Haven't seen it since at other places, but it would be a place to start. Right now, many airlines let you bring essentially anything and let you gate check the big ones that don't fit, for free. So there is an incentive to try.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

43. indeed...

the incentive to try is part of the problem... there should a regular bag-check fee AND a gateside surcharge... that would put a stop to that.

sP

[Duckhunter935]

55. from the 60's

skip to 6 minute mark to see how the seating used to be.

[TeeYiYi]

62. This post needs some Pam Ann...

TYY

[TeeYiYi]

56. k+r...interesting thread. ..nt

TYY

[Shrike47]

57. I live in the Pacific Northwest. Coats alone take up most of the overheads in the winter.

We travel with one book bag, containing meds and books, and check everything else.

[TeeYiYi]

66. That seems odd...

...unless planes in the Pacific Northwest are still boarding and deplaning on the tarmac.

TYY

[PasadenaTrudy]

65. Tom Bihn bags

are great for replacing roller bags. You can carry them on your back too. Also, USA made in Seattle

[Brickbat]

70. Why do people think getting on a plane first is a perk?

[TBF]

74. We fly southwest so it is a good thing -

our kids aren't teens yet so I pay extra so we can board early and be assured of being able to sit by them.

[TeeYiYi]

79. The only advantage...

...would be if you actually require an overhead bin on an overbooked flight. Otherwise, I'm with you; fashionably late.

TYY

[jmowreader]

100. Because you stand for a shorter length of time

[Brickbat]

110. I honestly can't tell if you're being serious.

If my seat is reserved, I can sit just as easily at the gate while everyone else jostles to get in line. My seat will still be there. I wait until the line is gone, and then I don't have to wait in line.

[jmowreader]

114. I'm being serious

While it is true you can sit at the gate while everyone's standing in line, how many people actually do?

An aside: my favorite thing to do when flying is to get to the airport early, find a plane that's going where I want to go that's on the airline I'm ticketed on, and get on standby for it. NO ONE wants to fly out at 6am, so if you're willing to you can have extra time on the ground at your destination.

[Brickbat]

115. Well, I actually do.

It gives me an extra 5-10 minutes to stretch my (long) legs and not be all cooped up with everyone.

That's a good trick, getting to the airport early; it never works for me, because if I want to get anywhere from my small airport, I have to be there early anyway. Last time I flew I was at the airport at 5 a.m. for the 6 a.m. flight. The next flight I could catch to make my connections left at 3:30 p.m., and I would have gotten to my destination around 1 a.m. the next day.

[jmowreader]

126. The last time I flew, I got there at 8am for an 11am flight

Which is no mean feat, considering (1) it's an hour from my house to the airport IF there's no traffic (and there always is in the morning - I-90 through Spokane is a popular road) and (2) I worked the night before, got off at 2am and still got on the road by 6:45.

If they have an empty seat they're more than happy to put you in it, especially if you don't have any checked bags.

[Golden Raisin]

72. I started flying as a child in the 1950s.

I remember prop planes, rolling stairs wheeled out on the tarmac to board and deplane, full, luxurious, multi-course meal services on long flights and smoking allowed in the entire plane. And yes, people DRESSED very elegantly, but this was also true of train travel up until the early 1960s. Now, the airlines charge you for everything they can, all or most of which used to be included in the price of your ticket. In the air today, in coach class, the atmosphere is dismal Greyhound bus. Seating and legroom are scandalously bad, insufficient and uncomfortable. Everything has become smaller and narrower, including the aisles. I just flew back from Atlanta and the stewardesses had great difficulties and could barely maneuver the cart through the incredibly narrow aisle. Many customers have no manners, trying to shove bags the size of mini-steamer trunks into the overhead bins, usually not the ones directly over THEIR seats, etc. However, none of what happens in the air is as bad as the experience on the ground in the airport though. The lines, intrusive & rude security checks, snotty, badly-trained personnel, shabby treatment, “no gate available” when you land, and more endless waiting. It's better to be young and only have ever known this sort of flying experience as "normal". It's hard on those of us who once had infinitely nicer flying experiences. We used to think of it as glamorous and exciting. And it was. No more!

[TBF]

73. Good to know -

we have a flight next week (haven't flown for about a year) so that is good to know. I usually just take my phone, kindle & meds in a backpack. I will be sure the kids take backpacks too so we aren't held up. We'll check the roller suitcases.

[pnwmom]

86. Is the problem the size of the bags, or the rollers? n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

88. It's been that way for a while, at least on Alaska Airlines,

which is what I fly 99% of the time. I only carry my camera, my over-the-shoulder backpack for my camera stuff, which fits under the seat, and a small bag for my iPad and headphones. I would never, ever check my camera gear. I'm always amazed at what people try to cram into those overhead bins.

Alaska airlines has an added perk for Alaskans who join their Club 49 (free) -- we get two free checked bags. That will probably go away if Delta buys them out, which I fear is in the works.

[MurrayDelph]

94. This is why I stopped flying unless there is no other way to get there

I used to commute regularly between San Jose and Los Angeles to teach five-day seminars, and would rather use a rental car (or my own) both ways than fly.

No matter where you are flying, it is a minimum of five hours to get there, once you factor in the commute time to the airport (have to make sure you allow time for traffic), the check-in time (my artificial knee always sets off the magnetometer, so I get "special" attention), the wait for the plane, the boarding, the flight, the mad rush to disembark, the waiting for luggage (if it shows up at all), the time to pick up keys at the rental counter (Oh, I'm sorry; that comfortable compact car you reserved isn't available, so we are "upgrading" you to an uncomfortable, badly-made gas-guzzler. No, don't thank us), and then the drive to your actual destination.

Now, I am retired, and drive between northern Oregon and Los Angeles regularly, and still prefer it to flying. It takes 18 hours of driving through some of the prettiest parts of the country, I can leave when I want, stop when I want, eat when I want, get up to pee when I want, take as much of my stuff as I want, and even factoring in the cost of the gasoline and a room, it's cheaper than flying (and even moreso when I use the Prius instead of the CRV).

[Live and Learn]

113. I do the same from LA to Sacramento for work.

Colleagues think I am crazy for turning down the free flight but I can't stand flying anymore. It doesn't take that much more time to drive and I arrive to my destination much more relaxed.

[MurrayDelph]

124. Plus you get to choose when to leave

When I taught, if I flew up I would have to schedule a flight back late on a Friday. If the students left mid-day, I was still stuck waiting for the flight home.

If I drove and they left mid-day (which they usually did), I could be home before the plane got there.

[PoliticAverse]

103. I blame George Clooney... n/t

[orpupilofnature57]

129. + 1000 !!!

Narcissistic Fibrosis

[mainer]

106. So passengers with bad backs must choose

Your roller bag or your place in line. Roller bags have saved many a back patient from pain. Now they have to hand carry their bag from their cars to the gate. A long, long way even if the bag's only 10 pounds.

[mainer]

131. I can't check my bag.

Last edited Wed Aug 6, 2014, 02:09 PM - Edit history (2)

I'm a business traveler who flies from city A to city B to cities C, D, and F, sometimes several cities in one day. I carry business materials in that carryon. If airline loses it, the whole trip is ruined and thousands of dollars in airfares wasted.

Not to mention there's proprietary data on the laptop which I cannot afford to lose. It must stay with me, along with files and paperwork. And since I never spend more than one night ina city, if my bag gets lost, it will never catch up with me until I get home a week or more later.

Most of the air travelers who cram too much in the overheads seem to be vacationers, not business travelers, who are good at packing lightly.

In my situation, would you check your bag?

[Warren DeMontague]

134. That seems to be the argument of pretty much every business traveler I'm talking about.

But then, why bother having anyone check bags. Just put the baggage compartment with the passengers. Or better yet, let the bags fly in the incredibly-uncomfortable too-close-together seats, and medically sedate the passengers, so they can be stacked like cordwood in the baggage hold, which would probably be a far more pleasant and humane experience.

I'm not kidding.

The bottom line, though, is that I'm sure many people think they have a logical, valid, extra-important reason for not checking their bag, but the fact is there isn't enough room in those overhead bins for everyone's bag (and despite that little chiding speech they give at the beginning of the flight, no one EVER puts the damn bag under the seat in front of them)

[mainer]

136. Would you check your bag containing proprietary data on laptop?

Business travelers are on the road for only one purpose, and that requires protecting materials in their carryons.

When i travel on vacation, i always check my bag. I'd much prefer not to lug anything onboard except a purse and a book. I always keep my jacket on my lap. But i don't have that option while flying for work. There's a big difference between losing your holiday clothes and losing the reason why you're on the road in the first place.

I can only assume you never have to travel on business.

[mainer]

138. I have actually walked off the plane

And taken a later flight once, because i would not be separated from vital materials.

[mainer]

140. Human biologic materials? Pathology materials?

It needn't be cold fusion, you know.

You seem to think business travelers only think about me me me. I assume you'd tell the doctors without borders MD to leave behind his vaccines and drugs. Or pathology
specimens.

[mainer]

142. I am an MD and have flown path slides

From third world countries for consultations with US hospitals. I am not going to trust that to baggage claim.

But of course it's all about me me me, as you characterize every business traveler.

[mainer]

144. Yep. And i used to work as an MD abroad.

Career changes happen.

To blindly label all business travelers as selfish jerks, as you seem to do, is to lump in the many, many travelers who are on the road doing important work on behalf of charities, healthcare, medical research, etc. it's not just about money. There are people on airplanes doing worthy things, attending Public health conferences, for instance, carrying materials that are vital to their presentations. Information that can't be lost in baggage claim.

[bluestateguy]

112. I want the airlines to be like they were 25 years ago.

nt

[blueamy66]

123. Me too

the good old days

[customerserviceguy]

125. Some are hoping

for the airline to offer to check in their roller bag for free at the gate. Beats paying fifty bucks or more for it.

When airlines started charging outrageous fees for check-in luggage that they'd lose (has happened to me three times in the last couple of years, and I only fly 1-3 times a year) then smart folks would start bringing bags to the gate.

[alarimer]

130. I LOVE that luggage has wheels.

Best invention for travel ever. Beats having to carry that stuff around.

But I think what you were seeing is an effort to speed things up by loading people who have little or nothing to put in the overheads.

I don't check a bag when I check-in (because I think it's too expensive, so I bring as little as I can) but I do check it at the gate if they ask for volunteers. Win-win. They free up space and I don't have to pay.

[hedgehog]

133. What people forget when talking about the glamour of flight in the old days is that

flying was very expensive and rarely done by the average person. When I was a kid, your grandparents might travel to the old country to see the relatives, or someone might sign up for a guided tour as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Europe. Of course, i can also recall when my grandmother went to Ireland via ship.