3 ms·

My favorite but of airport-ese that emerged post-9/11 is that on most US airlines you can now have 1 carry-on and 1 personal item. As far as I can tell the dif

My favorite but of airport-ese that emerged post-9/11 is that on most US airlines you can now have 1 carry-on and 1 personal item. As far as I can tell the difference between them is that a personal item can't have wheels.

ceejayoz 1mo ago
My last four flights have each made me gate-check my carry-on at the jetway. They could've saved a lot of time and labor by just letting me check it like I would have before they started charging $30-50 each way for it.
- mbreese 1mo ago
  That is the most counter-intuitive thing for me while flying. Why make me pay to check my bag? Make people pay to carry on a bag. Most of the time boarding and leaving a plane is taken up with people dealing with overhead bags. Checking a bag should be the cheapest option to incentivize people to be more efficient.
  - Ekaros 1mo ago
    My best guess is that at least some airports will charge the airlines per checked in bag. Thus to save money if possible people carrying them inside is most profitable.
  - orev 1mo ago
    If checking the bag is free, everyone would do it, leaving the overhead space empty. That overhead space is flying to the destination anyway, so it’s better to make sure it’s full. The. If there’s free space in the hold underneath, they can transport other things like cargo (which makes them money).
    - ceejayoz 1mo ago
      > If checking the bag is free, everyone would do it, leaving the overhead space empty. Checking the bag used to be free, and this was not the case.
  - sandmn 1mo ago
    But then air companies will have to hire more workers to move luggage.
- jameshart 1mo ago
  Most flights on busy, small planes, where most passengers are wheeling chunky rollboards up, will offer complementary gate check for larger carry on bags. Often you can actually check such a bag for free at the bag check counter before security - even if your ticket does not include any checked baggage.
  - ceejayoz 1mo ago
    Yes, I know, that's what I described. So why not a fee for carry-on - the actual limited resource on such a plane - and a free small checked bag to be efficiently and cheaply shepherded from the entrance all the way to the destination by staff and machines specialized to that? This also allows me to actually plan for what I need on the plane versus what I don't, instead of an at-gate shuffle of medications and charger blocks from one bag to another.
    - jameshart 1mo ago
      My point is that that is the service you are getting from regional/express airlines these days. Some of them offer ‘personal item only’ basic tickets which means ‘carry ons’ are extra; and de facto ’carry ons’ are actually checked bags, because everyone knows they are going to offer complementary gate check – and it turns out you can in fact often just check the bag for free at check in. And of course this allows you to pack things in that bag that can go in the hold, but that you wouldn’t be allowed to take through security, like standard size toiletry bottles. What’s weird is, I agree, the way it’s described and marketed. Carry on add-ons should be sold as ‘small checked bag’. As it is, if you know your carry on is going to be gate checked it’s easy to plan where you pack your lithium battery devices; if you don’t you’ll be doing the gate check shuffle.
      - ceejayoz 1mo ago
        > My point is that that is the service you are getting from regional/express airlines these days. But it's unnecessarily implemented in a costly, inefficient, annoying way that makes the entire experience worse to no one's benefit.
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dooglius 1mo ago
The personal item has to fit under the seat in front of you
gabrielhidasy 1mo ago
Usually the rule is that the personal item must fit under the seat in front of you, the carry-on may be a bit larger. I have boarded with a wheeled carry-on + wheeled personal item (a backpack with wheels) in the past, but every time the gate agent tested the personal item for size.
- mikeocool 1mo ago
  I'm sure that's technically true -- but as long as your personal item doesn't have wheels they seem completely unconcerned with the size. I frequently travel with a duffel bag carry-on that goes in the overhead. On most flights they let me waltz onto the plane with it and a backpack long after they start forcing everyone to gate check their rollerboards. They could also just say "only one carry-on can go in the overhead bin."
  - mrguyorama 1mo ago
    The specific rule is that a personal item must be able to fit under the seat in front of you, in that space, without any sort of extension into the aisle. At most gates, I've seen the little boxes that are used to size test carry on luggage to also have a section to size test personal items. My experience is that it barely fits a large backpack with some books, snacks, and at least one 15 inch laptop. Carry on luggage can be much, much larger. > I frequently travel with a duffel bag carry-on that goes in the overhead Yes, that is one carry on luggage item, and one personal item. >They could also just say "only one carry-on can go in the overhead bin." No because you are not afforded two carry on luggage items. One item has to be small enough to fit under the seat in front of you.
leetrout 1mo ago
One of the best investments I ever made was the original Patagonia MLC wheelie. It stands for Maximum Legal Carry-on. They have a black hole version now which I am not familiar with but I assume is the same quality / usefulness. I had a few jobs where I commuted regularly on CRJ 200's and this bag fits in the overhead with no issue. The ability to pop out the straps and wear it like a backpack makes the gate agents much less concerned about the size.
malshe 1mo ago
A couple of weeks back I was flying out of Chicago O'Hare. The guy in front of me had a carryon suitcase, a laptop bag, and a fanny pack attached to the carryon. The employee checking us in told him that the fanny pack was considered a second personal item. He had to remove it from the bag and wear it on him. Then it became part of his attire and that was A-OK.
deleted 1mo ago
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ceejayoz 1mo ago

My last four flights have each made me gate-check my carry-on at the jetway. They could've saved a lot of time and labor by just letting me check it like I would have before they started charging $30-50 each way for it.

mbreese 1mo ago
That is the most counter-intuitive thing for me while flying. Why make me pay to check my bag? Make people pay to carry on a bag. Most of the time boarding and leaving a plane is taken up with people dealing with overhead bags. Checking a bag should be the cheapest option to incentivize people to be more efficient.
- Ekaros 1mo ago
  My best guess is that at least some airports will charge the airlines per checked in bag. Thus to save money if possible people carrying them inside is most profitable.
- orev 1mo ago
  If checking the bag is free, everyone would do it, leaving the overhead space empty. That overhead space is flying to the destination anyway, so it’s better to make sure it’s full. The. If there’s free space in the hold underneath, they can transport other things like cargo (which makes them money).
  - ceejayoz 1mo ago
    > If checking the bag is free, everyone would do it, leaving the overhead space empty. Checking the bag used to be free, and this was not the case.
- sandmn 1mo ago
  But then air companies will have to hire more workers to move luggage.
jameshart 1mo ago
Most flights on busy, small planes, where most passengers are wheeling chunky rollboards up, will offer complementary gate check for larger carry on bags. Often you can actually check such a bag for free at the bag check counter before security - even if your ticket does not include any checked baggage.
- ceejayoz 1mo ago
  Yes, I know, that's what I described. So why not a fee for carry-on - the actual limited resource on such a plane - and a free small checked bag to be efficiently and cheaply shepherded from the entrance all the way to the destination by staff and machines specialized to that? This also allows me to actually plan for what I need on the plane versus what I don't, instead of an at-gate shuffle of medications and charger blocks from one bag to another.
  - jameshart 1mo ago
    My point is that that is the service you are getting from regional/express airlines these days. Some of them offer ‘personal item only’ basic tickets which means ‘carry ons’ are extra; and de facto ’carry ons’ are actually checked bags, because everyone knows they are going to offer complementary gate check – and it turns out you can in fact often just check the bag for free at check in. And of course this allows you to pack things in that bag that can go in the hold, but that you wouldn’t be allowed to take through security, like standard size toiletry bottles. What’s weird is, I agree, the way it’s described and marketed. Carry on add-ons should be sold as ‘small checked bag’. As it is, if you know your carry on is going to be gate checked it’s easy to plan where you pack your lithium battery devices; if you don’t you’ll be doing the gate check shuffle.
    - ceejayoz 1mo ago
      > My point is that that is the service you are getting from regional/express airlines these days. But it's unnecessarily implemented in a costly, inefficient, annoying way that makes the entire experience worse to no one's benefit.

deleted 1mo ago

[deleted]

dooglius 1mo ago

The personal item has to fit under the seat in front of you

gabrielhidasy 1mo ago

Usually the rule is that the personal item must fit under the seat in front of you, the carry-on may be a bit larger. I have boarded with a wheeled carry-on + wheeled personal item (a backpack with wheels) in the past, but every time the gate agent tested the personal item for size.

mikeocool 1mo ago
I'm sure that's technically true -- but as long as your personal item doesn't have wheels they seem completely unconcerned with the size. I frequently travel with a duffel bag carry-on that goes in the overhead. On most flights they let me waltz onto the plane with it and a backpack long after they start forcing everyone to gate check their rollerboards. They could also just say "only one carry-on can go in the overhead bin."
- mrguyorama 1mo ago
  The specific rule is that a personal item must be able to fit under the seat in front of you, in that space, without any sort of extension into the aisle. At most gates, I've seen the little boxes that are used to size test carry on luggage to also have a section to size test personal items. My experience is that it barely fits a large backpack with some books, snacks, and at least one 15 inch laptop. Carry on luggage can be much, much larger. > I frequently travel with a duffel bag carry-on that goes in the overhead Yes, that is one carry on luggage item, and one personal item. >They could also just say "only one carry-on can go in the overhead bin." No because you are not afforded two carry on luggage items. One item has to be small enough to fit under the seat in front of you.

leetrout 1mo ago

One of the best investments I ever made was the original Patagonia MLC wheelie. It stands for Maximum Legal Carry-on. They have a black hole version now which I am not familiar with but I assume is the same quality / usefulness. I had a few jobs where I commuted regularly on CRJ 200's and this bag fits in the overhead with no issue. The ability to pop out the straps and wear it like a backpack makes the gate agents much less concerned about the size.

malshe 1mo ago

A couple of weeks back I was flying out of Chicago O'Hare. The guy in front of me had a carryon suitcase, a laptop bag, and a fanny pack attached to the carryon. The employee checking us in told him that the fanny pack was considered a second personal item. He had to remove it from the bag and wear it on him. Then it became part of his attire and that was A-OK.

deleted 1mo ago

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