Competing for Overhead Space Over the Holidays
People who prioritize finding cheap travel options, such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, discount travel deals, and cheap vacation packages, can get frustrated when flying over the holidays and trying to find space for their carry-on.
Fliers determined to avoid checked baggage fees are bringing ever more and/or larger carry-ons with them, creating increasing demand for limited overhead bin space on planes. Over the holidays the carry-on madness rises to a new level because of full flights and passengers carrying gifts.
Carry-on madness commenced when U.S. airlines started charging passengers to check bags five years ago. Baggage fees have become a revenue bonanza for airlines, with domestic airlines collecting about $3.5 billion in baggage fees in 2012.
One of the things which makes the carry-on madness all the more intense is the strategies select passengers are willing to employ to ensure that their baggage remains in the cabin:
€ Lining up before the boarding process starts makes it more difficult for other passengers to enter the plane when their boarding zones are called.
€ Some fliers try to break the rules and board before their zone is called.
€ Passengers have been known to bring as many as five carry-ons although airlines usually allow only two: a small bag plus one personal item, such as a purse.
€ Another strategy is to cram an obviously too large bag into an overhead bin and then walking away, fully knowing that the bin will never shut.
€ Some passengers sitting in the back of the plane leave their bags in forward bins so they do not have to carry them all the way to the back.
€ Yet another approach when flights are full and no overhead space is available is for passengers to hide bags underneath their legs and then throw their coats on top of their laps to try to hide them. Airlines require any carry-on left on the floor to fully slide beneath the seat in front of the passenger.
The following are some suggestions as to how best to deal with carry-ons:
€ Consider paying a little more to qualify for early boarding. If you fly more than a few times a year, look into signing up for an airline branded credit card that offers priority boarding.
€ Look into shipping your luggage ahead of time. By doing so, you will get a tracking number which will make it more likely that your luggage will arrive on time.
€ Do not believe that the overhead space right above your seat belongs to you. Filling overhead space is strictly on a first come first serve basis.
€ Be prepared to check your bag if overhead space is not available. Make certain that you pack your medications, necessities, and any valuables in a carry-on that will fit underneath the seat in front of you, because this is the only guaranteed space you will have on a plane.
http://www.cheapfares.com
Fliers determined to avoid checked baggage fees are bringing ever more and/or larger carry-ons with them, creating increasing demand for limited overhead bin space on planes. Over the holidays the carry-on madness rises to a new level because of full flights and passengers carrying gifts.
Carry-on madness commenced when U.S. airlines started charging passengers to check bags five years ago. Baggage fees have become a revenue bonanza for airlines, with domestic airlines collecting about $3.5 billion in baggage fees in 2012.
One of the things which makes the carry-on madness all the more intense is the strategies select passengers are willing to employ to ensure that their baggage remains in the cabin:
€ Lining up before the boarding process starts makes it more difficult for other passengers to enter the plane when their boarding zones are called.
€ Some fliers try to break the rules and board before their zone is called.
€ Passengers have been known to bring as many as five carry-ons although airlines usually allow only two: a small bag plus one personal item, such as a purse.
€ Another strategy is to cram an obviously too large bag into an overhead bin and then walking away, fully knowing that the bin will never shut.
€ Some passengers sitting in the back of the plane leave their bags in forward bins so they do not have to carry them all the way to the back.
€ Yet another approach when flights are full and no overhead space is available is for passengers to hide bags underneath their legs and then throw their coats on top of their laps to try to hide them. Airlines require any carry-on left on the floor to fully slide beneath the seat in front of the passenger.
The following are some suggestions as to how best to deal with carry-ons:
€ Consider paying a little more to qualify for early boarding. If you fly more than a few times a year, look into signing up for an airline branded credit card that offers priority boarding.
€ Look into shipping your luggage ahead of time. By doing so, you will get a tracking number which will make it more likely that your luggage will arrive on time.
€ Do not believe that the overhead space right above your seat belongs to you. Filling overhead space is strictly on a first come first serve basis.
€ Be prepared to check your bag if overhead space is not available. Make certain that you pack your medications, necessities, and any valuables in a carry-on that will fit underneath the seat in front of you, because this is the only guaranteed space you will have on a plane.
http://www.cheapfares.com
