I am constantly amazed, as SLF myself, at how much hand baggage folks bring into the cabin! I know when travelling to some destinations in Eastern parts of Europe it is recommended to have a roll-on suitcase that is acceptable for hand-baggage to avoid suitcases being pilfered (almost as a national tradition) but for the most part it surely must be unnecessary for people to bring more than one bag on board? Sure if folks still wish to buy presents or alcohol or other items in the tax-free shops, then bring your bag half empty and fill it. Vacation destinations seem to bring out the worst in people - not only have I seen people with plastic bags containing airport purchases but giant boxes of fragile vases and other items that have been bought. Surely if someone wants to ship a fragile item it can be done from the place of purchase or at check-in clerks should insist that additional items are weighed and paid for!
I think that there should be a gross weight for each passenger comprising their checked luggage, their hand baggage and themselves! If, as a large person (which I am these days) I am required to pay more or to carry less then FINE!!! When I was skinny I used to marvel at fat folks and how they occupy more space, now I am fat I find it fascinating how superior thin folks think themselves to be but...when it comes to air safety and weight/balance, surely there has to be a limit to the individual "weight" to be checked in to a cabin. Then skinny folks can buy more junk and us more Botticelliesque types (yeah, so I flatter myself) have to curtail our spending!!
Not a bad ideah huh? If there could be an international rule it would prevent the total bedlam at check in for many destinations!!!
I know for a fact now that airline seats are not designed for us larger folk, when i was skinny I was always comfortable, now comfort is what occurs when I get to sit on a flight-deck seat!! So..if the seats are designed for a "standard" then there must be a standard weight of passenger too..lets enforce it!
