Air Georgian pilot charged with assault
 

The full facts on this one will have to emerge, but you can see how such incidents happen...

Last month, I was treated to the spectacle of a pair of disinterested baggage-handlers unloading a WJ 736 at YYZ. Yes, it was late and VERY hot, but there were the usual signs of sloppy work: bags dropping off the conveyor / items being thrown into the carts etc etc etc. The baggage carts departed just as a final item came out of the hold. Even with the sign-language of distance, the FO, doing his pre-flight walk-round, clearly indicated to the handler to take the extra bag and the latter refused. A lot of pointing and hand-waving followed, ending with a jab in the chest from the handler(!) Legally, that equates to assault. As SLF in the terminal above, I have no idea what happened thereafter, but either way, I doubt the FO could have been in the best frame of mind to fly. :(

Now that airlines like WJ are charging for checked baggage, the holds will become virtually empty as these moronic passengers will attempt to ad more crap in their carry on luggage.
WD

Moronic might be a bit harsh. Nobody likes change, and instead of slowly letting people adjust to user-pay baggage charges by starting off at maybe $11.50 and raising it later, the airlines immediately hit people with $25. WJ has continually been heralded as the success story, making money while everyone else is struggling. So, suddenly charging for baggage is apparently not due to losing money, it's because they can make more by charging for baggage. They have a point when they say people without baggage are subsidizing people with, but I'm doubtful they will drop their standard fares by $25 on the day baggage charges start. All the other kids jumped off the bridge, and now WJ is following.

I cringe when I see what people bring on the aircraft and jam into bins, but I feel more anger toward the airlines for not enforcing their own policies. There will always be pax trying to bring too much carry-on, and the ability to manage them should not be too difficult for an organization capable of administering a complex user-pay baggage policy. Unfortunately that probably won't happen until they figure out a way to charge for excess carry-on, which is probably not too far off in the future.

The amount and date for the baggage charges were both moved up to help cover the four cents a litre extra fuel tax imposed by the stupid b---that the equally stupid voters of Ontario put back in office! Fuel sales at Ontario airports are crashing as those who can are "tankering" fuel, I can now fill our twin cheaper in Quebec than Ontario and will do so when the present fuel at our home field is all used., when this happens it will cost me $68 more to fill up in Ontario before heading North, not a lot but another expense passed on to aviation which gets nothing in return, all the money going into generall revenues, this in spite of all services being covered by Nav Canada fees!