View Full Version : Hand Baggage out of control ?
chief wiggum
24th Feb 2005, 02:11
Having recently paxed on our of our domestic airlines, I was amazed at the amount of carry on baggage that people take onboard!
I accept that Laptops and handbags are commonplace, and even useful. Maybe even a SMALL carry-on bag with a jumper, water bottle, book, keys, phone. But that is about it!
WHY do people need a small suitcase, packed to overfull, as well as laptop and briefcase ????
What is CASA and / or the airlines doing about it? Surely it IS a safety issue ? Surely these aircraft may be going out overweight? What happens when an overhead locker pops open inflight, dropping 40kg of "ESSENTIAL" carry-on on someones head ?
Personally, I keep my keys, wallet on phone on my person, take out a book and a bottle of water and check EVERYTHING else in! For a two week holiday, it usually comes in at around 16kg TOTAL! .... mind you, the missus's comes in at about 22kg.
Your missus must be pretty tidy to come in at 22 kg :)
outback aviator
24th Feb 2005, 03:34
Went to Japan two weeks ago and my baggage appeared 2 days after my arrival.
A change of clothes and toiletries came in very handy I can tell you!! ( You will be happy to know that my cabin baggage was weighed and checked prior to departure).
cornholeyo
24th Feb 2005, 06:48
Some people don't like to wait at the carousel for the baggage-snatchers to finish rummaging through their kit. so they drag the whole fcukin lot on-board and occupy an entire OH locker with it.
This is allowed as they are usually "important".
Buster Hyman
24th Feb 2005, 06:55
I think the Chief was referring to domestic carry on...
My only gripe, as one who takes very little onboard domestically, is when some plonker wanders down from up the front & manhandles a behemouth of a bag into the locker above me. No :mad: way pal! I've seen the result of a rough (CO) landing & a dozen stubbies falling onto a colleagues head! (Admittedly, that was funny!)
GoNorth
24th Feb 2005, 07:16
Try watching the people who throw (and I mean literally) bags. Then you'll work out why people don't trust some of their baggage going in the hold.
Orville
24th Feb 2005, 08:48
It's time to stop bashing the cabin crew and turn our eyes on the loaders, Go North is right they have no respect for someone elses luggage, who cares what's inside.
There have also been occassions when I have arrived Syd/ Mel or Mel/ Syd and had to wait almost as long as it took to travel there for my bags to come out.
Thankyou Diving Duck, I have made the corriction, it's the sexth time I have dene it this year.
divingduck
24th Feb 2005, 12:15
Hey Orville,
I've looked everywhere and still can't find what liggage is?
Everyone knows that for bagsnatchers, "fragile" means toss it underarm, everything else goes overarm!
Anyone who thinks I'm joking has never watched them in action.
planemad2
24th Feb 2005, 18:45
You have always had the same problems with baggage handlers, I think in recent years (post 9/11), it is more because a lot of pax take all their things as cabin baggage to avoid the long check in snake lines.
It makes for a much easier check in if you only have cabin baggage. ;)
VH-Cheer Up
24th Feb 2005, 22:21
The meaning of Liggage
If you've ever been to NZ, or spoken to one of the sheep-enjoyers, you should know that "liggage" is that stuff we occasionally put under the floor for the SLF because they like to find it on the rotary damage system several hours after arrival.
Some SLF eschew this service in favour of dragging their liggage all the way down the aisle themselves, then finding other SLF beat them to the space, so none of it fits any more, at which point Purser Lips will hiss at them that it's back under the floor with that, probably on anther flight sometime next week.
If you think curry-on liggage is a problem in Oz, then try flying Z-class domestic in the US, where obese septics carry on their refrigerators, wardrobes and who knows what in those monstrous 18-wheeler "Rollaboards", probably their rental cars and inflatable condominiums.
Rather be in Pakistan helping the toothless peasants carry on their goats and chickens, thanks. At least you can sit on them if the seats are all occupied.
VHCU
planemad2
24th Feb 2005, 22:26
Yes the Yanks are bad.
Worst I have ever seen were Russians returning to Moscow. :uhoh:
Romeo Tango Alpha
24th Feb 2005, 23:16
A mate and I recently travelled to Canberra during my last holidays (on DJ, of COURSE!), to go over the War Memorial .
So, he rocks upo at the airport with a RUDDY big knapsack - I mean the type you see German back-packers with. And it was FULL. Asked if he was checking it in. Nope... He asked if I had checked my bag in, as all I had was a SMALL pack over my shoulder - about the size of one of those school kid's ones.
Nope, I had my stuff I needed in the pack - 2 changes of clothes, a razor, toothbrush and paste, deodorant, and camera. It was all I needed.
He had 4 changes (for a 2 day stay is interesting...), a six pack of VB (security loved that), 4 pairs of shoes, a full cleaning kit yada yada yada... bloody thing BARELY fit the locker.
I could have put mine in the seat pocket in front of me...
Some people are just plain ODD when they travel. I go bare essentials, and if need be, buy it when you get there and leave it behind if not valuable!
sinala1
25th Feb 2005, 15:37
If you've ever been to NZ, or spoken to one of the sheep-enjoyers, you should know that "liggage" is that stuff we occasionally put under the floor for the SLF because they like to find it on the rotary damage system several hours after arrival. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
:ok: :ok:
Spotlight
25th Feb 2005, 20:56
Marvelous post VH cheer up.
spittingimage
1st Mar 2005, 13:55
Only just seen this one as have been in parts foreign.
I too am continually amazed at what some pax manage to carry onto scheduled and proceed to stuff into the overhead lockers. However, I recently travelled Northwest on a domestic flight out of Detroit where it was announced at the gate that any baggage with wheels would have to be in the hold. About time too, I thought and chuckled (inwardly) at the general discontent round about.
Mind you, one large gentleman carrying what turned out to be a television camera about the size of a machine gun got away with said item occupying even its own aisle seat ... presumably because it did not have wheels !
Is this a new sensible ruling in the making ? Please say yes someone.
Go North et al,
Agree that some guys are a bit rough in the way that the handle baggage. What needs to be remembered though is that some pax squeeze a fair bit into their luggage and the weight is sometimes beyond the pale. This puts the Loaders at risk and that is one of the reasons why they do not lift it for any longer than necessary. Yes it may be thumped around as a result. However, the purpose of a suitcase is to protect the contents. Fragile items, like medicines and valuables etc, should not be packed in them.
wishtobflying
1st Mar 2005, 15:05
No baggage "with wheels" as carry-on?
You've gotta be kidding! Most of the kids in Grade 1 these days have backpacks with built-in handles and H-frames with wheels at the bottom so they don't have to hoik bags onto their backs that weigh as much as they do!
Most luggage designs that I've seen in luggage shops (you know, the one where you can get the whole matching set from the "makeup case" all the way up to "refrigerator crate" size) specifically design the hand-luggage size bags with the handles and wheels at the bottom.
Lodown
1st Mar 2005, 18:15
In some ways I feel the airlines haven't helped their cause. They published the accepted maximum length, breadth and width of a carry-on suitcase. Lo and behold, the suitcase manufacturers built precisely to size and it is now a major selling point to have a bag that meets carry-on requirements. Almost everyone has one. And to make matters worse, (which is quite understandable I might add) airlines are stuffing as many people as they can on flights so there seems to be less and less room underneath the seat in front and the adjacent seat is inevitably occupied. International flights are longer than they used to be as well and pax are bringing on a range of things to keep occupied - especially if they have kids. Stories about thefts from checked luggage don't help either.
If anyone out there remembers then they'll know EXACTLY who we are and just how dogmatic we were when it came to hand luggage.
Me and a former colleague were Manch check-in chicks way back when and did all the usual "you can't take that on" and "that's WAY overlimits"... anyone who disagreed was immediately marched off to the out-of-gauge!
Woe be tied anyone who was subsequently seen at the gate, after we'd mentally machine-gunned them down over the size/weight/colour/state of their hand luggage - and especially the Russians, in fact, no, it was the Vnokova that was the worst... trying to take tellies and washers on as HAND luggage... I arsk yer!
We always did best with 393-seat Tristars... we were called the Cally Kings (bit of a hint of an operator there maybe?!?) Nobody got away from us, not when it was OUR flight. And after a fashion I guess some people listened... they certainly didn't like having their hand luggage HOLD luggaged.
Jesting aside, the practice was deadly serious for most of the reasons already promulgated on this thread.
It's high time the hand luggage thing was addressed and sorted... there is NO GOOD REASON - except within reason - to have hand luggage with you.
I know that comment's bound to rack SOMEBODY off, but anyone who's tried late-trimming pax when it's all messed up with 10 minutes to run and a slot to keep will know precisely where I'm coming from.
Sunfish
1st Mar 2005, 20:45
Satco, there is NO WAY I am putting a laptop, or camera gear, or my diving regulator, or my $1200 David Clarks in the hold. One it may get broken. Two it may get stolen.
Animalclub
2nd Mar 2005, 00:38
Sunfish
If it's too heavy or too big it's too bad sunshine... into the hold.
Going Boeing
2nd Mar 2005, 04:16
Some of the worst offenders on QF domestic mainline services are QF cabin crew. They often have 3 bags (2 being the prescribed limit) and usually at least one of the bags is well outside the dimensions allowed for use in the cabin. The operating cabin crew usually don't enforce the rules on their peers which then makes it difficult to insist that commercial pax comply with the prescribed in cabin baggage limits.
As far as I'm concerned, staff should be setting the standard for the commercial pax. I know that the cabin crew just want to save time in not having to queue to check-in bags and wait for the bags to arrive on the carousel at the other end but they are paid to be on display to the public at all times and thus should abide by the rules.
(GB carefully steps down off his soapbox)
Sunfish... don't think me an COMPLETE y'know what... I did say "there is NO GOOD REASON - except within reason - to have hand luggage with you."
I agree, top notch kit don't go in the hold... qualifier: "within reason".
Sunfish
3rd Mar 2005, 08:50
Sorry for the rant. My stuff always meets the maximum dimensions...errr even if the weight is a bit high.
Worst confession - coming back from LHR many many years ago with some yacht fittings (read winches) Brother in law held them while I checked in, just in case hand baggage was weighed. Then repacked hand luggage.
It was really a strain making it look like there was no weight in the hand luggage under the eagle eye of BA watchers.
GB - The Qantas cabin crew were all issued with new QF hand luggage when the Morrissey uniform was launched. This is the only hand luggage to be carried. The bags are poor quality, very heavy and constantly break. As it is QF policy to only use these bags there is also an exemption to the passenger limits, as they are operating crew with multi sectors and a/c changes per day. Don't blame the crew, they are only complying with the uniform policy.
surfside6
3rd Mar 2005, 18:40
GB,
You have an important meeting...you must be on time.Your aircraft is held up because the crew are waiting for their luggage.I would imagine you would be a little upset.Quite often crew arrive into one airport(Domestic)and then operate out of another(international).The geniuses who build our patterns don't provide enough transit time.Many of us don't bring hold luggage for this reason.I recently did an 8 day trip without a suitcase so I wouldn't delay any A/C(as did the rest of the crew).Try to squeeze 8 days worth of clothes including uniform shirts into 2 pieces of carry on...It ain't easy.If you don't mind being late and having your aircraft delayed I am more than happy to bring a suitcase.
BTW we are well aware we are under public scrutiny and attempt to comform to the publics expectation at all times.
Going Boeing
4th Mar 2005, 04:09
Bundy & S6
Agree with and understand your comments - I did fly domestically for a number of years and experienced all those problems. The point that I was trying to make is that it is now very hard for cabin crew to enforce company baggage limitations when QF staff are not complying. The problem does become critical on fully loaded B737's.