this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
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I don’t get it — the planes haven’t changed size and the regulations for what you can carry on haven’t changed. So how come we’re seeing an increase in carry on baggage? Are they trying to squeeze more people on the planes than they were designed for?
Blame FedEx, and Amazon.
So ... Once upon a time, you'd get to bring one or two checked bags for free. Then FedEx came along and you could ship documents overnight (except it was really expensive). But they started to bring costs down and it became more reasonable to ship stuff that way, at which point the USPS, UPS and other carriers had to start offering similar options or risk becoming the second or third choice carrier. But they needed a way to quickly move letters and packages around the country without having to buy an entire fleet of airplanes.
And then a bright person said, "Hey, why do they have to be our airplanes?" And they went to United and American and all the other carriers and said, "Hey, we want to buy space in your baggage holds, and we're willing to pay!" And suddenly the space under the plane where they tossed people's bags stopped being a way to lose money (did to the extra fuel needed for the extra weight), it became a revenue stream, it was profitable, and the airlines rejoiced.
But now every suitcase a passenger brought up meant less space for those lovely, lovely packages. So the airlines started restricting suitcases - number, size, weight, whatever they could do to create more room for packages - and the start of Amazon only meant even more packages that wanted space. And other companies wanted to compete with Amazon, and packages increasingly needed timely delivery to ever more remote parts of the country.
Anyway, the upshot is that - in addition to squeezing in ever more passengers - nowadays, when you pay to bring along an extra suitcase or oversized/ heavy item, the airlines are actually charging you some of the revenue that they're losing because that space is no longer available to carry lovely, lovely packages.
It wasn't that the airlines were losing money on baggage, it was included in the ticket. It was that they wanted to double dip by charging for the baggage because they could also sell the space to the shipping companies.
It was included in the ticket because if you didn't check a bag the belly would be empty. Now if you don't check a bag they get to fill the belly with air freight, so they want you to try to jam your life into the overhead compartment so they can resell the belly to cargo customers.
I flew last year. Each checked-in bag was $50 before tax and it took over an hour before the baggage carousel even started to spin. Everyone who had carry-on bags were $50 richer and could leave the airport immediately.
That's why. The checked-in baggage process is expensive, miserable, and frustrating. Even worse if they lose your bag which is becoming increasingly common.
Last time they lost my bag it showed up the next day at my door, which was pretty nice.
People stopped checking their bags because they kept getting lost in 2022.
Every flight I've taken since then is pure fucking chaos as people go up and down the aisle looking for space and the staff keep asking if anyone wants to check their bags for free (but nobody takes them up on it). One person actually tried taking my wife's bag out of the luggage compartment to put theirs in her spot.
I don't know if the rates of lost luggage have changed, but every time I fly everyone makes a point to tell me not to check my bag out it will definitely get lost, which never happened to me until this year. The $50 extra they charge is just another incentive not to.
Our nationally-named airline used to do the same: they'd lose a bag like 1% of the time, but it'd be at your door after the next flight. The bag was super-priority, and my buddy was one of the bag-bashers whose job was #1 delivery of lost bags and #2 regular baggage stuff.
Then the 90s happened and it started going to owl shit.
Check-in baggage getting more and more restrictive or expensive on weight/size, maybe?