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Air Canada to remove free carry-on from basic economy
- Eddy_Viscosity2 2y agoAirlines could also make it policy that you have to go through a secondary non-security screening where if they see anything of yours they like they can just keep it. After people get used to that, then if you fly then you sign of TOS that allows the airline to come directly access your bank account and make whatever charges they want to your credit cards. De-regulation is awesome.
- School-Cotton 2y agoAir travel is much cheaper because of deregulation. If you want a similar experience to pre-deregulation air travel at a similar price, business class is available to you. By demanding that all air travel be more luxurious than most people care about you are advocating for poorer people to be excluded from flying.
- Eddy_Viscosity2 2y agoI didn't demand anything. I extrapolated on the current rate of enshittification in the industry. It won't be long before poor people are excluded from flying even with the shittiest experience possible.
- School-Cotton 2y agoWhy do you think so? Flying keeps getting cheaper and cheaper in real terms and part of the reason for that is the “enshittification” you decry.
- Eddy_Viscosity2 2y agoOur experiences on airline prices seems to differ. I see them going up.
- alsetmusic 2y agoSo they’re gonna charge to bring a handbag? A backpack? A laptop? We’re living in the worst aspects of capitalism as it eats itself and any fake vague promise of a decent system is flying right out the window. It’s only going to keep getting worse and worse until we’re crushed by it.
- mcmcmc 2y agoPersonal item != carry-on luggage
- technothrasher 2y agoThe first paragraph of the article mentions that handbags, laptops, etc are still allowed on this discount fare. It’s the rollers for the overhead bins that they’re talking about.
- tonyarkles 2y agoYeah, I've been travelling a fair bit for work lately and I kind of get it. The majority of the flights I'm on are full and if they're not a Max 8 with the "rollers can sit vertically in the overhead bin" there's almost always a handful of people that have to gate check their carry-on. By offering an even lower fare class that doesn't allow carry-on at all, they eliminate the need to randomly choose/offer gate checking. It's kind of a... you've made the bed and now you have to lay in it situation though. I usually have an underseat bag with my tech stuff in it and a (regulation-sized) Pelican case with clothes or tools or both. I bring the Pelican case onboard with me because both Air Canada and WestJet have done an atrocious job of having my checked bags arrive on time. They've gotten better in the last few months but earlier this year I was keeping a tally: Air Canada had successfully gotten my bags to my destination and back 3/9 times and WestJet 1/4 times. On one trip I flew out on Sunday, my bags arrived at the hotel on Wednesday, I flew home on Thursday, and my bags arrived back home on Monday. I don't want to drag that case through 3-4 airports, but I also want to have clean underwear when I go to work on Monday...
- SoftTalker 2y ago
- polishdude20 2y agoWestJet already does this. Free personal item but must pay for carry on
- paxys 2y agoSame with United
- TheRealPomax 2y agoWhich is presumably why AC went "if they can do it, so can we, what are people going to do, complain?" Because they can't. That's how lock-in works. Don't like it, fly someone else. Oh, you can't? Guess that makes this a "lol" then.
- proee 2y agoWhat else can they take away from economy class at this point?
- paxys 2y agoFly any European airline and you'll see.
- koyote 2y agoWhat are you referring to? Air France, Lufthansa and BA all have carry-on included in the fare. If by "any European airline" you specifically mean Ryanair, then yes. We can expect people to pay if they did not print their boarding pass themselves.
- stirlo 2y agoThe majority of airlines operating in Europe and the majority of flights taken are on low cost carriers where this is the norm. It’s not just RyanAir there’s dozens of them.
- koyote 2y agoSo maybe the OP should have specified 'any low cost European airline'. But that's also true in North America. Last I checked, Air Canada was not advertising themselves as low cost.
- subarctic 2y agoI guess they mean any flight within Europe. Most transcontinental flights still have a lot included
- koyote 2y agoI was referring to flights within Europe. (Btw, transcontinental is an American term that confusingly means from one side of the US to the other, and not 'between two continents')
- __turbobrew__ 2y agoEvery air canada flight I have been on in the past few years always has the overhead bins full. I absolutely refuse to check in carry on because they have lost my bags or I have had to wait 2 hours for the bags to get on the carrousel. I was thinking if we can somehow redesign air planes to have less under cargo space and more carry on space? I have never heard of the cargo store being full.
- tonyarkles 2y agoThe new airframes (e.g. Max 8) have much larger overhead bins where the roller bags can sit vertically but it's going to take a long time for AC to retire the old fleet. Last week I was on an AC A321 that was old enough to have no WiFi, no IFE, and no plugs. It was a late flight so I just slept but it was kind of jarring to remember that it wasn't too long ago that none of those features were standard (I looked it up, I believe the airframe was made in 1997)
- Mountain_Skies 2y agoDelta wing passenger aircraft should have more cabin space and less under-cabin cargo space but there are many other issues with that design.
- shiroiushi 2y ago>I absolutely refuse to check in carry on because they have lost my bags or I have had to wait 2 hours for the bags to get on the carrousel. I've never had this problem. But I've also never flown with Air Canada; is this a problem you've had with Air Canada specifically, or air travel in general? I have read in recent years a lot of negative stuff about Air Canada from unhappy passengers. It sounds like it's even worse now than the worst American carriers.
- dismalaf 2y agoIt's Air Canada specifically. As a Canadian, I avoid them at all costs. Actually, I just avoid flying within Canada as much as possible (and especially avoid any transit through Toronto Pearson). I fly to and from Europe regularly (4x or so per year) and to the US now and then to visit family, and there's no hell like dealing with Air Canada or Canadian airports.
- vouaobrasil 2y agoNot surprised. It's the people with the roller bags.
- ghxst 2y agoAre roller bags really an issue if they are still within the dimensions that are allowed? They are great utility wise especially when you're already carrying a backpack. Also please assume good faith, I'm not talking about the people bringing a backpack larger than their carry-on.
- Schiendelman 2y agoTry putting a roller bag in the sizer. It doesn't fit. They are basically never within the size that is allowed.
- blast 2y agoIt's the sizers that aren't accurate. Most roller bags fit in the bins. Airlines don't enforce the sizer limits, do they? I can't remember the last time I saw this happen.
- Schiendelman 2y agoThe sizes are accurate to the rules. Whether something physically fits in the bin on a particular aircraft isn't aligned with the rules.
- impish9208 2y agoI have a few other ideas for the airlines to drive growth: - discounted standing room only tickets (pending FAA approval) on short flights - frequent 60 second ads on the seat-back monitors and in the bathrooms. You can pay extra for an ad-free experience - help load and unload the checked luggage for extra loyalty points - “no-rush” shipping for your checked luggage - a Premium Elite Sky Safety ™®© program where you get more oxygen and priority assistance in the unlikely event of loss of cabin pressure or crash. Editing to add: You get 2 free restroom passes with a frequent flier account. A Medallion, Star Alliance, Gold Preferred, or a close personal relationship with an active-duty servicemember or honorably discharged veteran entitles you to an additional one free pass. Timed usage fees apply afterwards. Terms and conditions apply. Void where prohibited by law. Consult your doctor if restroom usage during travel is appropriate for you.
- tim333 2y agoThe Onion is ahead of you https://theonion.com/united-airlines-exploring-viability-of-stacking-them-li-1819571115/ https://theonion.com/united-airlines-exploring-viability-of-...
- recursivedoubts 2y agoa per use toilet fee seems like an obvious way to boost profits
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- hiatus 2y agoExcept when someone doesn't want to pay and you are trapped in an aluminum can with them for a few hours.
- recursivedoubts 2y agoeasy: a prohibitive cleanup fee also: make the bathroom more expensive as the flight goes on they'll break
- rainsford 2y agoIn theory this type of price differentiation is good since it allows extremely budget conscious folks to travel for very cheap with no-frills options while allowing others to travel with the same amenities for the same price except certain things are add-ons rather than built in to the price of the ticket. The problem is that the universal implementation is that the "no-frills" tickets end up being the same price as they were before when they included things like carry on bags while tickets that include such "luxuries" end up even more expensive, leaving every single passenger feeling ripped off. I feel like I'm missing something in this space since every airline is doing it but it makes no real sense from a consumer perspective. Price differentiation on extremely low-cost options makes sense, but only if it actually feels like a deal rather than paying the same price for a worse product, which is almost always what seems to happen.
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- goodluckchuck 2y agoCompanies are people. People need to do stuff to justify their jobs. If they’re doing the same as everyone else, then it’s a safe change. Nobody thinks the changes are good for business, but they think they’re good for their own careers.
- School-Cotton 2y ago> The problem is that the universal implementation is that the "no-frills" tickets end up being the same price as they were before when they included things like carry on bags while tickets that include such "luxuries" end up even more expensive, leaving every single passenger feeling ripped off. Do you have any evidence for this or is it just vibes? Given that airlines have low profit margins and customers are extremely price sensitive it seems unlikely to be true.
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- mslate 2y agoI would be happy to pay for carry-on if it meant guaranteed space. On the other hand, checked bags should be free/at a discount. I have not understood why the pricing was inverse.
- SoftTalker 2y agoYes I always thought that airlines wanted to encourage checked bags because people having to stow their carry-on bags dramatically slows down the time needed for boarding.
- SilasX 2y agoThis. Not to mention deplaning and more expense time screening for security.
- ghxst 2y agoExactly my thoughts, the current pricing model incentives people to cram as much as possible into their carry-on and stretch the definition of their extra "personal item" (not sure if all airlines allow those), leading to all kinds of shenanigans especially on full flights. I think the situation would improve a lot if you were always given 1 free bag to check in and a paid option for a carry-on, especially if they can guarantee the space.
- Schiendelman 2y agoChecked bags require the airline to pay humans to move them.
- CalRobert 2y agoAer lingus started doing this and it’s… fine. It makes sense really, carrying a bag on is nicer than checking one. IIRC you can now check a carryon sized bag for free, which is useful if you have liquids, etc.
- ArtemZ 2y agoI am back to Cleveland from my vacation in Florida and this is the first time I refused to fly there, decided to spend 2 days driving with a night in Charlotte NC (didn't realize it is such a modern and vibrant city) instead. It ended up cheaper even taking into account a night in Sheraton than economy tickets + baggage for 3 people. Plus we got to see so much more, experience something else rather standing in line, insane charges for baggage, security etc.
- nimos 2y agoI love this. I fly a decent amount in Canada/USA on economy and almost every single time there is a massive line of gate humpers who haven't been called to board and are trying to get their oversized luggage into the overhead bins. My greatest hope for airlines is someone starts a company focused on banning people. Bag too big for carry on? Banned. Wearing too much perfume? Banned. Got in line before your group was called. Guess what. Yeah. Banned.
- bagels 2y agoIs that why people crowd the gate three boarding groups too soon? It's super annoying. I don't want to cut people in line, but it's hard to tell whose turn it is when everyone is crushed up at the front.
- subarctic 2y agoThat's why I started doing it. I used to wait until the end to board but then one time I had a hard time finding a spot for my bag and now I try to board as early as possible
- ghxst 2y agoI feel the last paragraph is a little harsh especially on those that are wearing perfume because they know they have bad body odor for example, additionally people that fly for the first time might have no clue when the right time to get in line is, especially when you don't have a zone or seat assigned. With your line of thinking the parents with a crying baby are next to be banned, not that I don't understand your frustrations but my advice would be to assume good faith even where it is unlikely and maybe it will be less frustrating.
- mgraczyk 2y agoThe real price of airline fare has been going down for decades, and aside from the Covid dip it is the lowest it has ever been. In part thanks to changes like this I almost never bring a carry on and it bothers me that I have to pay for it anyway on some airlines.
- switch007 2y ago> The real price of airline fare has been going down for decades Are they comparing like for like? An economy fare on eg BA 30 years ago is very different to an economy (or is that "economy basic") fare these days. As were the seats, staff, service etc
- mgraczyk 2y agoNo but I don't care, and business class now is cheaper than basic fare 30 years ago If there were a less uncomfortable and cheaper option, many more people would fly
- switch007 2y agoOh fair enough. Eating out has also become 50% cheaper the last 3 years* *(I now define eating out as ordering a side of fries as that's all I care about)
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- amanaplanacanal 2y agoI suspect most people don't fly for the experience, they fly because they need to get from point A to point B. So it's still the same basic service, just with shittier add-ons.
- jwiz 2y agoThey should allow people with no carryon to board and deboard with priority.
- msds 2y agoIf we're "unbundling"/giving into "free market" nonsense in a highly regulated area, I just want to be able to pay reasonably proportional fee for musical instruments and get a guarantee that they'll be carry-ons, and not destroyed in the cargo hold. My only other alternatives are buying first class tickets or flirting with the gate agent (...works remarkably well...).
- xnx 2y agoDimensional weight is the rational endpoint for this
- theyknowitsxmas 2y agoSolution: get your stuff thru security and stuff it into a hollowed out jacket.
- crooked-v 2y agoSCOTTeVEST (https://www.scottevest.com https://www.scottevest.com) make a bunch of jackets and vests specifically for that kind of thing, with internal engineering to comfortably fit an immense amount of stuff. They're great for touristy stuff and airline travel.
- switch007 2y agoThe general perception, and often true, checking a bag means losing it or waiting two hours. So it makes you wonder if the airlines are even putting any pressure on airport operators to improve baggage operations when it allows such commercial opportunities for the airline. Seems like a win win
- beached_whale 2y agoI do wonder when these restrictions will run into discrimination against those with disabilities. Many assistive devices and medications cannot be separated from the person and go in luggage because of temperature issues.