Pretty much the whole thing of cabin baggage, certainly to the volumes we see today, came about when the low cost carriers started charging an excess for checked-in hold luggage.
Reading thru many of these threads one could be led to believe that the only way to travel is by low cost, that all carriers charge for checked-in baggage, but not so ... and reading suggestion that all bags should be carried on board in to the cabin, well!
Just one example, that springs to mind, of when I travelled BHX/AMS/KBP, I had my laptop in case and I had a 25kg suitcase, I couldn't wait to check the suitcase in at BHX and I was quite happy to wait for it on the carousel in KBP.
At BHX it was likely that I went to the bar for a beer and a cigarette, up the escalator etc., on the transit it AMS walk a long distance to the Murphy's Irish Pub for another beer and a cigarette, then de-planing in KBP on a coaching stand and getting on to a packed bus to head off to the terminal, I simply dread the thought of completing such a journey whilst attached to a 25kg suitcase!