Planes are weird
Apr. 20th, 2019 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
primeidealLike...so the way the system usually works in my country is that for the basic/ish price you get one "carry-on bag" (small suitcase which goes in the compartment on top) and one "personal item" (backpack that goes under the seat in front of you). If you want something else, like a checked bag (larger, gets deposited at baggage claim later), you have to pay for it. Now, I tend not to need that, by this time I'm kind of an old pro at fitting lots of stuff in the backpack, yada yada. Assuming I actually make it onto the plane with my carry-on, I sometimes have trouble reaching the overhead bin, because I am small. And very often the security theater personnel will be like "...how old are you"? Spoiler alert I am old enough to travel on my own and be forced to go through all the security nonsense, I just look like a small child.
But. Very often it'll be like "oops we don't have enough space, would someone like to check their carry-on? (:" And the answer is always no, no person would like to do that, because if they didn't already pay for a checked bag they don't want the timesink of waiting for it at baggage claim. How airlines still have not figured out this basic fact of human psychology is a mystery. What they should do is
a) first, have the parties that are checking a bag anyway check their carry-on
b) if there is still a need, randomly draft people
instead of the current scenario, which is
1) guilt-trip randoms
2) just force the people boarding last to do so.
Surely they are smart enough to figure this out.
I have this gripe every few months even if I don't write it up, so a new one this week: one of my recent flights (back from an academic conference) got cancelled for weather reasons. I was able to reschedule for later that day and felt pretty good about myself when it looked like basically everything in that airport/airlines was shut down...and then they cancelled on me and there was nowhere to rebook for the next three days. Like, it's a great city and I was lucky to have great people to stay with, but...that is unusual.
But. Very often it'll be like "oops we don't have enough space, would someone like to check their carry-on? (:" And the answer is always no, no person would like to do that, because if they didn't already pay for a checked bag they don't want the timesink of waiting for it at baggage claim. How airlines still have not figured out this basic fact of human psychology is a mystery. What they should do is
a) first, have the parties that are checking a bag anyway check their carry-on
b) if there is still a need, randomly draft people
instead of the current scenario, which is
1) guilt-trip randoms
2) just force the people boarding last to do so.
Surely they are smart enough to figure this out.
I have this gripe every few months even if I don't write it up, so a new one this week: one of my recent flights (back from an academic conference) got cancelled for weather reasons. I was able to reschedule for later that day and felt pretty good about myself when it looked like basically everything in that airport/airlines was shut down...and then they cancelled on me and there was nowhere to rebook for the next three days. Like, it's a great city and I was lucky to have great people to stay with, but...that is unusual.
no subject
Date: 4/21/19 02:25 am (UTC)I also have read that the boarding method by sections is super inefficient and that airlines ought to board by seat position (further from door window seats, closer to door window seats, further from door middle seats, etc.) but people get mad if they don't board with the rest of their party or by the priority they imagine they have.
When I got shut down like you did (trying to come home) I was lucky enough that it was at the major airport that feeds my smaller airport, only a 6 hour drive, and I found other people going to my town to split a rental SUV with. Otherwise it would have been three days!