Coach, baggage, and whine

If you don’t want to read my whine about the inefficiency of airlines and the entitlement of many passengers, please don’t read today’s blog. As I’m about to embark on another flight, I felt the need to get my miseries off my chest first and to play the role of Miss Manners of the air.

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My carry-ons fit nicely under my seat / Photo by Deborah Lynch

How can I complain when I have more trips this summer than many people enjoy in a lifetime? With my third trip by airplane in three weeks beginning tonight, I am preparing myself to practice self-control. On my two previous trips and many trips in recent years, I found it hard to sit quietly in the chaos that surrounds me during boarding of flights.It begins after I’ve checked my bag when I get to my gate with only my purse and small carry-on, take a seat, pull out a book, and prepare to relax. As the flight time grows closer, more and more of my fellow passengers begin to get anxious. They get up and hover around the ticket counter and begin to queue near the door to the walkway. Then, the gate agent gets on the intercom calling Priority, Special Needs, Families with small children, and Veterans to board. Many more than those called get up and move closer to the already forming lines. Soon, the entire area is packed with people standing with very few remaining in seats, even though only those first special passengers have been summoned. People seem want to cram into those tiny airplane seats before anyone else, even knowing that the plane will not leave until everyone has been loaded. Perhaps it is their desire to snag the overhead cargo space with their big bags before the holes become too small to fit them in. I’d rather recline in the roomier seats at the Gate as long as I can.By the time my Group 2 (of four Groups) has been called, it’s no longer clear who is in line and who is guarding the line impatiently waiting for his or her group to be called. I don’t know where to go to get into the line even though my group has been called. Before I get to the front, the last two Groups have been called, and we are all mingled together with everyone looking suspiciously at one another.Finally, I am walking the ramp towards the plane with my one pocketbook and small backpack. Nearly everyone around me is dragging the largest suitcases accepted as carry-ons and extra bags that they will either “gate check” for free or huff and heave into a too-small space in the overhead compartment. I paid $25 to check my similarly sized bag at the ticket counter. Everyone used to be able to check one bag for free. Gate checks were reserved for strollers and car seats. That changed in 2008 when airlines began charging to check bags; carry-ons grew in size and everyone started gate-checking those big bags.Those of us who pay the $25 fee now have to wait behind the hoards as they get the tags for the bags before entering the plane or as they clog the aisles trying to force their huge cargo into tight spaces. It takes longer to load and unload an airplane than ever. “Checked bag fees definitely are causing logjams,” Benet Wilson wrote at AviationQueen.com. “Space is tight and people are fighting for every inch of space.”Because airlines’ on-time performance improved significantly in 2012 (84 percent of domestic flights arrived within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival), it’s hard to argue that people dragging large carry-ons onto planes is slowing traffic down. Yet, those gains in on-time percentages were credited to fewer flights due to a weaker economy and better weather in 2012. Other factors that helped airlines improve on-time rates include better technology to track passengers and baggage, more realistic schedules, timely delivery of food and fuel, and boarding passengers by groups. Still, one in six flights was late.The figures for 2015 look similar with Hawaiian and Alaska airlines having the best on-time performances. Maybe my problem is the carriers I travel. Compared to Hawaiian’s 87.3 percent on-time rate, United is at 78.2 and American at 75.4. The number of passenger complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation rose 55 percent in 2015. The most common source of complaint, of course? Flight delays. Perhaps airlines could do even better if they got more people to check bags at ticketing rather than at the gate.Why do airlines continue to charge and inconvenience the passengers who are helping them to run more efficiently? By checking my bags when I check in at the ticket counter to go underneath in the cargo hold, I allow the cargo to be loaded prior to boarding. By walking down skinny aisles with just a small pocketbook and backpack, both of which can be stored under my seat, I speed up the time that airplanes can be loaded.Allowing people to drag large bags to the gates for free encourages and perpetuates competitive and entitled behavior by passengers. I know that I, too, could drag my gigantic carry-on to the gate, avoid that extra $25, and stop feeling so taken advantage of. But really, I hate being that person who makes everyone else wait, who will endure any inconvenience to self or others to avoid paying more. I flew back when everyone checked bags and experienced how much more efficient that method was.It is surprising that more hasn’t been written about this problem. Southwest Airlines remains the only carrier that doesn’t charge for the first bag. The CCO Bob Jordan told CNN that shareholders were pushing the airlines to institute the bag fees to collect the money that all the other airlines were making (billions extra). His response to shareholders: “If we were to add fees, particularly the bag and change fees, the loss of the revenue from customer defections would be higher than the fee revenue we'd gain.” He noted the same issues I have – people bringing too much luggage that can’t fit onboard leading to arguments and more.Please airlines. Consider rewarding the passengers who help you to run more efficiently rather than the ones who are hurting your on-time performance. Give us back one free bag to check prior to boarding and help to eliminate this poor behavior at the gates. You could disguise this quite easily, you know, much like the last remaining airline without a baggage fee does. Southwest doesn’t charge for bags, but industry insiders note that the fees are included in the price of the ticket, asking, “how else to pay the baggage checkers and handlers who help transport your bag. Or the gas for the extra baggage weight the planes must carry?” Southwest’s fares aren’t always the cheapest in all markets, but add that $25 baggage fee to other carriers and the prices often compare.For more efficient flying and friendlier skies, it is time to resort to trickery.

Works Consulted

Associated Press business staff. “Now arriving on time: Your flight and suitcase.” Cleveland.com. Cleveland.com. 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 13 July 2016.Hetter, Katia. “Airline fees we love to hate.” CNN. Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System. 1 July 2015. Web. 13 July 2016.Sherter, Alain. “How do airlines rank in on-time performance?” CBS Money Watch. CBSNews.com. 11 May 2015. Web. 13 July 2016.

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