Can we split out the "carrying on the kitchen sink" from being over the weight limit? Most complaints I hear about hand luggage are that people get annoyed with people carrying on so much that it fills the overhead bins.
This is a pet peeve of mine. It's very, very frustrating to get onto a flight carrying just my
tiny messenger satchel and to then end up with it in my leg space because other passengers are bringing
steamer trunks into the cabin. However, I've gotta say that the problem here is
nothing compared to the state of affairs in North America. I just got back from a trip through the US and the only flight I was on where there wasn't an
insane amount of gear being brought into the cabin was a Porter Airlines flight, which provided free checked baggage. The United, Continental and Air Canada flights I was on had people bringing stuff into the cabin that was just nuts. People just seemed to assume that it if would fit through the aircraft door it was obviously fine. The staff also seemed very reluctant to challenge anyone on it either. The solution seemed to be to wait until the overhead space was totally filled then ask passengers if there was anything in there that they could fit under-seat, then tell the remaining passengers that it either went under the seat or into the hold (at a fee).
Having said that, this is the state of things at the moment and I just don't see the airlines reversing the fee-for-bag policy. So, I'm inclined to agree with simongr, it's the space, not the weight that's the issue. I think it's reasonable to tell passengers they can have as much under the seat as they want, but you get
one and only one bag in the overhead and the dimension limits should be enforced without mercy.
Of course, a lot of this would go away if they just gave you a checked bag for free. I think a lot of passengers would prefer to just check the damn thing and not have to worry about fighting for the overhead lockers or dragging the thing around the airport and onto and off of the plane.