The checked in bag system is not broken!!
It IS broken - tell me which airline is prepared to guarantee that it will replace whatever is checked in, regardless of it's value, if it's delayed lost damaged or stolen whilst it's in their care (i.e. from checkin to reclaim). No airline will. Why? Because they know the process isn't 100% robust, reliable and secure, and they won't carry the financial risk of guaranteeing that any loss or damange will be fully compensated. Don't try hiding behind some archaic convention limiting baggage loss compensation - that's just a useful excuse airlines use to avoid having to tackle or the issue head on. And don't tell me about insurance either - when it's the airline's fault it shouldn't be at the passenger's expense to have insurance coverage, and in the case of professionals travelling with valuable equipment insurance won't kick in quickly enough to replace items needed whilst the traveller is working away.
Carry on luggage is very rarely weighed, do any of you know that overhead lockers have a weight limit?
Yes... And again, if the airlines fixed the checked baggage problems such that passengers could be more confident their valuable checked items arrived quickly, safely, without loss damage or pilferage then a lot more of it would be checked. I'd far rather check my heavy carry on, but I can't - there's too much risk of loss or damage. You've obviously not watched airline baggage handling Jarvy - I have, during my time in the industry. Leaving aside it going missing for a moment, just on the grounds of how checked bags can be THROWN AROUND by handlers, there's no way I'm going to check in a £6k camera lens - those things need to be handled with kid gloves and airline baggage handling simply doesn't work in that way right now.
Also with more and more people filling the overhead lockers with bigger and heavier bags does this affect the c of g?
Overhead locker baggage weight will have no effect on CofG unless that weight is distributed unevenly throughout the cabin. If you're suggesting first and business class carry ons weigh more than economy carry ons, maybe CofG will be moved forwards - but the lower density of seating up front compared to the back in all likelihood cancels any effect like that out.
As was said earlier until there is a major incident nothing will get done.
Maybe, but that's the airlines fault, not the passengers fault. If the airlines made the checked baggage more robust, reliable and safe, far more passengers would check baggage and reduce what they drag into aeroplane cabins.
Andy