IMHO it's all simple. As long as the airlines allow it, it will happen.




Time is money to Americans -- much more so than Europeans.

Huh?

I know that when I flew to Canada they carried just as much stuff as we did. It dosen't matter where you go people will be people. You can't class us as one country carries more bags than other countries that's stupid. It's the individual that decides, I've seen people who try to bring all there stuff on the plane, and I've seen people like me with a bag that can fit under the seat in front of you that just has a book or two. (Also with the obesity thing I will say that Americans are fatter, but hey European men have more bear guts than anywhere else I've been) So its like a balance.
Thanks,
Brandon  

Hey guybesti1, I agree with your what your saying there but if you've watched airline when they did the british thing with EasyJet I noticed they (british) scream and B**** just as much as we do at the airport, ahhh were not alone  
Thanks (and sorry for not including in my earlier post),
Brandon

It's not just Americans orion 737!

I wanna know where you guys are seeing this. I fly all the time and rarely do I see someone try to bring on more than allowed. And when they do they are quickly 'helped' by the crew. I know everyone has a theory too, but my reason isn't because I'm lazy, rude, fat, stupid or whatever HAS to be the reason Americans do things differently. My personal policy is if I'm faced with a connection less than an hour and a half and there the slightest risk of delay going out, I'll carry my suitcase along with my laptop. Because if there's a delay, I'm screwed. I'll make the connection, but my bag won't. Or if my meeting time is within an hour of my arrival time, I'll carry-on so I can go straight to ground transport and not risk being late for my meeting (drive time to meeting place is factored in of course). Otherwise I check. And when I do, the carousels seem more crowded than one would think reading this thread.

I think it's all about rules and whether airlines choose to enforce them or not. And not much about weight as it is about SIZE. You will always have these self-centered idiots, who supposedly want to be 10 minutes earlier out of the airport but at the same time somehow don't mind spending 20 mins having their carry-ons hand searched and wasting 10 more waiting before similar Mr./Ms. Importants deplane with these monsters. Not mention making fellow pax's life miserable during the whole flight.

Quoting Pilotaydin (reply 38): i had a delta agent misprint my bag tag from daytona on to turkey....

You did the right thing by having them retag the bag. Otherwise there is a very good chance your bag would of been mishandled. The risk would of been more of a 80% chance rather than 50/50. Of course the daily BA flight from Atlanta operates to LGW rather than LHR but this would of probably confused the situation some more. As for "Atlanta will figure it out", I can tell you they probably would but most likely after the flight is long gone.


Speedbird2155

The bag tags will print the entire itinerary in the passenger record on the bagtag, even if it is on another airline. What most likely happened was that his reservation on DL only had the the DAB-ATL segment and not the other two flights. This is the case if Pilotaydin purchased two seperate tickets. In this case, the connecting flight informnation for the bagtag would be entered manually. It sounds to me that the agent made a mistake when she did this and then when the mistake was pointed out, the bags was already on the way down and she did not want to go downstairs and look for it. I have ssen many cases of this where the agent would create a manual bagtag and put PAR instead of CDG or LON instead of LHR/LGW. This is why I always recommend paying attention to the tags on your luggage to make sure it is correct, especially on international flights with several legs on different carriers.


As for the discussion at hand, I always travel with a standard size rollaboard and expect that if the overhead space fills up I would need to check it. It is the tradeoff where I don't have to worry about my luggage getting lost or waiting for it at the carousel but there is always the chance that the overhead space will fill up and I need to check it anyway. If I travel with a second bag such as a backpack, I always put it in the seat in front of me unless the flight is less than full and there is plenty of space in the overhead. The truth is that most people do not travel smart and U.S. airlines in particular tend to be more lax on the enforcement of carry-on rules.

DAirbus

You should try doing any flight out of DXB... You see suitcases the size of some small countries, and they weigh about the same!!!!

I remember on Airline a couple flying to a funeral who wanted to carry on or check like 20 cases of booze for a funeral they were going to. I guess their funerals are more about getting drunk that remembering the dead. They didn't make it too far with their booze.

What about people who have babies and think they need to have EVERYTHING in the plane like the diaper bag, changing table, blanket, pillow. For god sakes, its a 50 minute flight. God forbid you change your baby when you get into the airport.

Well, the next time you have to wait an hour for your luggage on a one-hour flight

Gosh! How do you handle a traffic jam? Or a line at a movie?

Getting back to the point. As with a lot of people, they either play dumb or assume the rules don't apply to them due to the fact that they're "seasoned" travellers.
I once saw a guy try to carry on a "Boogie Board", basically a smaller version of a surfboard on a flight from MYR. When the gate agent made him check it, he became very rude. Some of the carry on items on the NW Asian/ DTW flights are very interesting. I think I 've seen everything but a live chicken.

Quoting NIKV69 (reply 43): Picking up your bag after a flight does not take 30 minutes either.

Since when? We must not use the same airports.

I've been on several flights to small, middle-of-nowhere, not-at-all-busy airports where it has taken over half an hour for the first bag to show up at the carousel, which is just a few feet from the plane itself!

My carryon philosophy is this: For short trips where my clothes will all fit in a single carryon, I will carry it on for the outbound trip, and usually check it on the way home. For a week-long trip I'll pack at least a change of clothes in my carryon and check the rest. But I am never without a change of clothes in my carryon, because US Airways and Delta have neither one ever gotten my baggage and me to the same place on the same day. Ever. Zero baggage success rate in my case. AA has a 50/50 record with my baggage, although they usually lose ME and not my bags (why am I in ORD? My bags went to SJC, like it says on my ticket, so why didn't I go with them?) Only United and AirTran have spotless baggage records with my stuff.

My wife complains that I tend to pack a lot. Well, we take our vacations in the spring and fall, and we often go to places where the weather can be somewhat unpredictable, such as Alberta, Nova Scotia, New England, Washington State, so I wind up packing for both warm and cool weather.

When we went to Atlanta for the Olympics, I brought short-sleeved shirts and shorts, because the temperatures never got below 70.

That's one reason why Americans carry so much luggage. We would rather be prepared for anything, rather than spend money while on the road.

I have said, though, that if the airlines knew then what they know now, would they have installed the overhead bins back in the mid 70s? The purpose of the bins, was so that people could store small items, like briefcases, large purses, and cosmetic cases overhead. Before overheads, only coats and hats could go overhead.

As an American who traveled abroad a lot when I was little my parents taught me through example, carry as little with you as possible when you travel. It's been good advice.

I've never had my bag lost and I usually only travel with a small carry-on with me in the cabin with a magazine and CD player. I just hate the hassle of manuvering that tiny aisle with even a "trolley" bag, or garment bag for that matter!

It's bad enough manuvering around a city and public transportation with a lot of crap, it is even worse on a plane.

Mt philoshophy on this matter is if you need it, take it as carry-on and hope the FA lets to take it on board. This saves you a boatload of time checking in, and if the FA does not let the bags on the plane you can do a quick gate check. I have spent too much time waiting to check-in, get my bags and calling around trying to find out if I can get reimbursed for stolen items.

If the overhead bins ain't full, most passengers are wasting valuable time at check in and arrival.

I've never had my bag lost

You need to do more travel with hub connections.

iwok