For all of you who recommend that everyone check their bags so it’ll be quicker to load and unload the airplane, haven’t you read the constant stream of stories about baggage handlers (esp. at JFK)stealing items from checked luggage? Just think how much more common that will become when they know that all of our valuables are in the checked bags. No thanks — I’d rather take an extra 10 minutes to load the plane, and know that everything I’m bringing with me will reach its destination.
One reason I don’t check bags is that I don’t want to give unionized airport luggage people extra work. Maybe they’ll lay some off...
How much does passengers wearing clothing cost them?
I travel for work 35+ trips per year, and invariably, regardless of the airport, there are too many TSO's standing around doing next to nothing watching their co-workers. I'd say 1 in 10 TSO's knows if his or her ass is drilled or punched. The other 9 have no idea. This entire organization can be accurately characterized as extremely expensive taxpayer-funded security theater.
When I have $6000 of stuff in my carry-on bags I’m not gonna check them.
This Xmas, I walked away from an alternate flight (one of those Brazzilion mini-planes) and waited for the next one because I would have had to check my carri-on. Not just a gate check, but a full check that would have to be picked up, with any luck, at the destination carousel.
I have long wondered how travelers with ultra-expensive things that they can’t possibly carry on (full pro photo or video gear, atomic clock, etc.) manage to avoid thievery—especially when traveling to and from foreign places—which would be a bit more disastrous to them than losing some underwear and cologne.
You see those big fiberglass cases on carousels and you know they have expensive stuff in them. I presume every pro traveling with expensive checkable gear has full insurance, but that wouldn’t save their gig. They must spend a lot of effort creating backup plans to quickly obtain replacement gear at their destination. I have also read that some of them ship their gear (at great expense) ahead of time through a comparatively reliable firm like FedEx.
Hmmm, I can check a bag which costs me money, or I can carry it on costing a government agency I don’t respect money... wait let me think about this one.
How about this? FedEx/UPS or another entrepreneur focus on serving airline customers. Everybody who wants to ships their luggage separately, where it can either be picked up by the customer or delivered to an address at the destination.
Some people do this already. It is not expensive and saves some hassles. Also, sometimes luggage goes on another (passenger) plane anyway.
If airlines carried only passengers and cargo planes carried the cargo, maybe this would provide some opportunities to make air travel both less expensive and easier for people.
For me the massive carry on bags are a potential menace to passengers. I have personally seen overhead bins literally bulging from massive carry on bags being jammed into them. It is only a matter of time when one of these overstuffed bins gives way and kills those passengers unlucky enough to be seated below. I shudder to think how these carry on bags would become a lethal shower in a crash or even severe turbulence. I have seen passengers bring near steamer trunk sized bags on board clearly in excess of size limits and have yet to see airline personnel make them check those bags.
Last time I flew my things went on a belt with an xray machine over it. I didn’t see them do anything but watch the screen. I hardly call that work.
Nobody’s forcing them to search our luggage.