Carry on out of control !!

[straitman]

I was surprised to see Bangkok Airways were doing quite a lot of random carryon weighing a at Koh Samui today. It was an ATR so the bags could never be too large to even consider fitting them on board.

 

[Caversham04]

Yes, I've always wondered what proportion of people try to avoid the check in fee by doing this.I dislike Y in the US so much, I've taken to flying first. Much less stress (and I admit I travel only with carryon) and it's so reasonably priced!

Last time I flew via the US, I was flying LAX - Houston - San Jose (Costa Rica); the economy fare was, from memory, around $700 + $200 dollars for luggage (to ship all of my diving gear). The alternative was $1100 for BusinessFirst (or whatever United call it) with all of the luggage included in that price.... so a no-brainer incremental $200 to fly in relative comfort.......

Even without the extra luggage, do you need the stress? If you're not in a hurry at the other end, check everything into the hold, walk on carrying next to nothing, and smile inwardly while everyone else fights for the space in the overhead lockers....

 

[JohnK]

Keep pushing the boundaries.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I have travelled a fair it recently in US and before every flight they have called for volunteers to check bags in at the gate for "free" . This was on AS DL AA VX UA flights at various ports .... yes all the flights would have been 90-100% full, however it would be a way to avoid paying to check in a bag, knowing they would do it for free at the gate

I watched AA board a red eye flight LAX/BOS & they made a pre-boarding announcement saying it was a full flight if anyone had an oversize item to come forward & it would be a "courtesy check". There were plenty of takers & they even have a bag tag printer at the gate plus priority tags - the whole kit & caboodle.

Yes, I've always wondered what proportion of people try to avoid the check in fee by doing this.
I dislike Y in the US so much, I've taken to flying first. Much less stress (and I admit I travel only with carryon) and it's so reasonably priced!

Flying whY in the US is survivable but your need to board early which is where having elite status with airlines is handy so you're in the first couple of groups to board but you have to be there not later than 45 mins prior to boarding for the best outcome.

It can cost up to $160 for Jetstar passengers to check in their luggage at the airport, and up to $85 on Tiger Air which is quite a hit on the hip pocket. But does that mean you can take up all the locker room with your huge pink wheelie bag?

The quote from the above article is slightly misleading as the inference is that it costs $160.00 for checked luggage however this is only if people have not selected the option for checked luggage either at the time of booking or at some stage prior to arriving at the airport as extra fees apply.

If people pre-pay their checked luggage ahead of time the actual cost is approx $20.00 with JQ for 20 kilos.

Excess baggage: The airline carry-on craze is spiralling out of control | News.com.au

 

[ALH]

Update to the guy with his trolley full of carry-on. The flight attendant helped him repack and send some bags to check-in. No idea if he had to pay. He kept saying he didn't understand the rules/English.

.......and here's the rub.... she then charged over to me like a raging bull, where I was standing minding some carry-on and spat out at me "you'll have to check all that luggage in". I was so shocked I just said "err. No I won't". She then got pretty rude and said "you've got 3 bags. You can't have 3 bags". I said "but none of these bags are mine". She said "Yes they are". I said "no they are not". She said "well whose bags are they then?" I told her. She then said " well you should have told me". I said "you didn't ask". Far out. Good customer service, Jetstar!

 

[anat0l]

Update to the guy with his trolley full of carry-on. The flight attendant helped him repack and send some bags to check-in. No idea if he had to pay. He kept saying he didn't understand the rules/English.

.......and here's the rub.... she then charged over to me like a raging bull, where I was standing minding some carry-on and spat out at me "you'll have to check all that luggage in". I was so shocked I just said "err. No I won't". She then got pretty rude and said "you've got 3 bags. You can't have 3 bags". I said "but none of these bags are mine". She said "Yes they are". I said "no they are not". She said "well whose bags are they then?" I told her. She then said " well you should have told me". I said "you didn't ask". Far out. Good customer service, Jetstar!

Notwithstanding repercussions due to legal or threats and what not, you did extremely well to remain calm and not be belligerent, of which that staff member was certainly deserving of and then some, viz. a good knock on the head and sharp boot up the backside, literally, to be awfully nice.

As for the guy with a trolley full of carry-on, sucks to be him, but I wouldn't be prepared to use blatant ignorance as a defence.

 

[JohnK]

As for the guy with a trolley full of carry-on, sucks to be him, but I wouldn't be prepared to use blatant ignorance as a defence.

People use blatant ignorance as an excuse everywhere. Why not try to carry on more and if you get away with it no need to pay extra.

Honesty gets you nowhere real fast.

 

[VHOEJ]

The weight is always one to argue but I have seen people try to take on 3 or 4 bags plus a coat. Seriously?