May Even Monitor Security Lines To Catch Passengers
Those hoping to avoid paying to check luggage onboard
commercial airline flights are about to see the other side of the
coin, as it were... as carriers prepare to start cracking down on
oversized carry-on bags.
The Associated Press reports most US carriers -- and especially
US Airways, American, and United, which all charge $15 for the
first checked bag -- also plan to keep a careful eye on how much
carry-on baggage passengers try to bring onboard, with the intent
of making passengers pay for bags the airline believes are big to
fit in an overhead bin.
"We're planning on having extra staff where possible, especially
at peak times at busy airports," US Airways spokesman Morgan
Durrant said.
The move comes as good news for those passengers who DO obey the
rules, and only bring onboard luggage with dimensions approved by
the carriers, at behest of the FAA (yes, the FAA, not airlines, set
the maximum size for carry-on baggage.) Those passengers who for
years have skirted the rules, however -- you know who they (you?)
are -- may be forced to shell out money at the ticket counter to
check the bag.
Airlines may even post employees to watch security lines, hoping
to catch people with oversize carry-on bags. The Transportation
Security Administration pointedly notes it isn't a screener's job
to dictate the size of carry-on luggage, only to determine whether
the contents of those bags meet security regs.
"It's up to us to get to them before they get too far in line
and say 'Ma'am or sir, you need to check that bag,'" said Mark
Dupont, American's senior vice president of airport services
planning.
News of the crackdown came as good news to businessman Dan
Weisberg, who says he's been concerned new fees for luggage will
mean ever-larger carry-on luggage as passengers cram in all they
can. "This is going to create bedlam in the overhead compartments,"
Weisberg, who travels a couple times each month, said of that
scenario.
Honor Guthrie, 45, says she'll probably use a smaller bag than
the large black roller carry-on she took with here on a recent trip
from Phoenix to Chicago onboard American.
"They're in such trouble," she said of the current state of
affairs for most airlines. Next time, she said, "I'll wear the same
pants a couple of days, same shirt, same skirt. I'll probably do
some laundry wherever I go," to cut down on the size of her
luggage.
On the other side of the fence, US Airways flight attendant and
union leader Mike Flores fears the new fees will only serve to
further anger an already disgruntled traveling public... and
potentially create conflicts between passengers.
"They really haven't thought this thing out," Flores said,
adding passengers who paid the fee are going to say "'Wait a
minute, I paid $15 to have my bag checked, and this guy is getting
them checked for free.'"
"We're very reluctant to be separated from our bags," added
Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight
Attendants. "I imagine that that reluctance for passengers will
grow into sheer horror now that they not only have their bag taken
away, but they now have to pay for that."
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