A friends mother on a long awaited trip to Italy, packed 3 outfits and would wash each of them in the hotel sink after wearing it that day. 2 days later she would wear it again. Unfortunately the tours they went on were every 3 days. So ALL their photos showed her in the same outfit!!!!
Also when my kids were 10 we sent them to Space Camp for a week to be followed by a week at Disney with us. I packed their clothes in separate ziplock bags. T-shirt, shorts, undies and socks. On pick up day we noticed one of my sons was in the same clothing we dropped him off in. Yes he had not changed all week!!! He said he took his clothes off and showered then put them back on again!!!! Upside was we didn’t have to do laundry before Disney!!!
I love both these stories! I hope your mom is laughing about the bad luck that meant that she is photographed in the same outfit every time, and as for your guys, well, let’s just say that it checks out that they would wear the same clothes for a week. I think all boys secretly would do this if they could!
I prefer to check bags for longer trips, however we've also managed with one carry-on each for a two week trip to Europe.
But the way you describe the handling of lost bags doesn't fit my experience. We hosted a German opera singer. His bags, with his tux for the performance, showed up at our house after he was back in Germany, so we had to go through the hassle of getting it back to him. Since it was Air Canada and we live in New York it was not trivial for us.
When my bag was lost it showed up at the airport days later. I had to drive to Rochester to pick it up. And the lost luggage office was closed...
Oh, how frustrating! (But how exciting to host an opera singer in your home.) The airlines really should be the ones to bear the cost of the hassle they cause passengers, not us.
I used to travel a lot for business and am in the George Clooney (Up in the Air) camp. It's all about time. By only having carry-on I don't have to arrive early to check the bag, and I don't have to linger at the airport for one minute, I'm in a cab or on a train before the first bag comes down the return belt.
Back in the day when checked bags were free, this always worked, I never had to "gate check" a carry-on. That meant that I could arrive to the airport relatively late, as I didn't mind to be the last person on the plane. (Early boarding in those days made no sense to me at all.) But now getting on the plane late means you're not likely to be allowed to bring your bag.
I dream of being on any plane where the flight attendendents enforce those rules. Most of the time I see the opposite, the crew announces "bins are full!" when there are clearly many spaces left, and we take off with tons of extra room. I was told that this comes from how the crew gets paid, the earlier they close the door the more time on the pay clock. Ugh.
It must be more expensive for airlines to handle baggage than if you just do carry-on. How do I know this? Because that's what they do. I've not witnessed any flight ever being late because we couldn't get everyone on the plane quickly enough.
The easiest and probably best all-around fix would be for the U.S. to pass a law that said an airline ticket comes with one checked bag, period. Then everyone would be free to check bags or do carry-on as they wished, and the extra costs would be included in the ticket prices.
In the meantime, I've addressed the situation for each flight I take. When I traveled for business (almost always just one overnight) I could pack everything into a bag that fit under the seat, assuring I would be able to keep it. Otherwise I pay extra to get on the plane first, assuring there's room for my carry-on.
There are so many situations where life would be better if people enforced the rules! Flying is definitely one of them. I had always assumed that the flight attendants closed the bins prematurely because the airline was saving the space for “premium” (i.e. higher-status) customers, but your explanation is persuasive. So I would add to your excellent suggestion that airlines should be required to check one bag for free this idea: they should pay the flight attendants for all the time they are working. Why are the attendants expected to donate their labor to the airlines?! If you’re right, and this is a reason for the diminished compartment space (or the prematurely-closed bins), then this policy hurts customers too.
I like to check my bags because it makes travel easier for me, but I know the cost of checking luggage is an issue for some people. The way the airlines nickel and dime passengers for everything is part of what has made flying unpleasant. I agree with you that eliminating the checked baggage fee would likely make flying more pleasant for a lot of us. It's part of why I have an American Airlines credit card--1st checked bag free and I can usually get the flights I want out of Pittsburgh on American.
I agree completely. It is disgraceful that every aspect of flying that makes it bearable—not just checked bags, but aisle or window seats too—costs extra. Just tell us the price up front!
At the end of his life my husband accepted his disabilities and did not carry anything through the airport or onto the plane. So now when I do travel I check my bags at the kiosk at the entry to the airport, give person $20.00 tip and don't even have to hoist in onto the scale. I also deplane casually, stop and use the restroom if needed lollygag around and my bag is one of the last ones of the conveyor belt. I can't cope in the throng at baggage claim. I notice the same people who rushed out are usually in the ground tans area when I get there.
This is all so smart. My daughter is disabled too, and we always use the skycap so she doesn’t have to lift her bag onto the scale. And I agree about moseying to the baggage claim. Rushing there won’t make our bags arrive faster.
A friends mother on a long awaited trip to Italy, packed 3 outfits and would wash each of them in the hotel sink after wearing it that day. 2 days later she would wear it again. Unfortunately the tours they went on were every 3 days. So ALL their photos showed her in the same outfit!!!!
Also when my kids were 10 we sent them to Space Camp for a week to be followed by a week at Disney with us. I packed their clothes in separate ziplock bags. T-shirt, shorts, undies and socks. On pick up day we noticed one of my sons was in the same clothing we dropped him off in. Yes he had not changed all week!!! He said he took his clothes off and showered then put them back on again!!!! Upside was we didn’t have to do laundry before Disney!!!
I love both these stories! I hope your mom is laughing about the bad luck that meant that she is photographed in the same outfit every time, and as for your guys, well, let’s just say that it checks out that they would wear the same clothes for a week. I think all boys secretly would do this if they could!
Hi Mari.
I prefer to check bags for longer trips, however we've also managed with one carry-on each for a two week trip to Europe.
But the way you describe the handling of lost bags doesn't fit my experience. We hosted a German opera singer. His bags, with his tux for the performance, showed up at our house after he was back in Germany, so we had to go through the hassle of getting it back to him. Since it was Air Canada and we live in New York it was not trivial for us.
When my bag was lost it showed up at the airport days later. I had to drive to Rochester to pick it up. And the lost luggage office was closed...
Oh, how frustrating! (But how exciting to host an opera singer in your home.) The airlines really should be the ones to bear the cost of the hassle they cause passengers, not us.
I used to travel a lot for business and am in the George Clooney (Up in the Air) camp. It's all about time. By only having carry-on I don't have to arrive early to check the bag, and I don't have to linger at the airport for one minute, I'm in a cab or on a train before the first bag comes down the return belt.
Back in the day when checked bags were free, this always worked, I never had to "gate check" a carry-on. That meant that I could arrive to the airport relatively late, as I didn't mind to be the last person on the plane. (Early boarding in those days made no sense to me at all.) But now getting on the plane late means you're not likely to be allowed to bring your bag.
I dream of being on any plane where the flight attendendents enforce those rules. Most of the time I see the opposite, the crew announces "bins are full!" when there are clearly many spaces left, and we take off with tons of extra room. I was told that this comes from how the crew gets paid, the earlier they close the door the more time on the pay clock. Ugh.
It must be more expensive for airlines to handle baggage than if you just do carry-on. How do I know this? Because that's what they do. I've not witnessed any flight ever being late because we couldn't get everyone on the plane quickly enough.
The easiest and probably best all-around fix would be for the U.S. to pass a law that said an airline ticket comes with one checked bag, period. Then everyone would be free to check bags or do carry-on as they wished, and the extra costs would be included in the ticket prices.
In the meantime, I've addressed the situation for each flight I take. When I traveled for business (almost always just one overnight) I could pack everything into a bag that fit under the seat, assuring I would be able to keep it. Otherwise I pay extra to get on the plane first, assuring there's room for my carry-on.
There are so many situations where life would be better if people enforced the rules! Flying is definitely one of them. I had always assumed that the flight attendants closed the bins prematurely because the airline was saving the space for “premium” (i.e. higher-status) customers, but your explanation is persuasive. So I would add to your excellent suggestion that airlines should be required to check one bag for free this idea: they should pay the flight attendants for all the time they are working. Why are the attendants expected to donate their labor to the airlines?! If you’re right, and this is a reason for the diminished compartment space (or the prematurely-closed bins), then this policy hurts customers too.
I like to check my bags because it makes travel easier for me, but I know the cost of checking luggage is an issue for some people. The way the airlines nickel and dime passengers for everything is part of what has made flying unpleasant. I agree with you that eliminating the checked baggage fee would likely make flying more pleasant for a lot of us. It's part of why I have an American Airlines credit card--1st checked bag free and I can usually get the flights I want out of Pittsburgh on American.
I agree completely. It is disgraceful that every aspect of flying that makes it bearable—not just checked bags, but aisle or window seats too—costs extra. Just tell us the price up front!
At the end of his life my husband accepted his disabilities and did not carry anything through the airport or onto the plane. So now when I do travel I check my bags at the kiosk at the entry to the airport, give person $20.00 tip and don't even have to hoist in onto the scale. I also deplane casually, stop and use the restroom if needed lollygag around and my bag is one of the last ones of the conveyor belt. I can't cope in the throng at baggage claim. I notice the same people who rushed out are usually in the ground tans area when I get there.
This is all so smart. My daughter is disabled too, and we always use the skycap so she doesn’t have to lift her bag onto the scale. And I agree about moseying to the baggage claim. Rushing there won’t make our bags arrive faster.