UKC

Whilst waiting for my flight from Geneva to Manchester (easyJet) there was a request over the pa asking passenger to come forward to allow cabin bags to be placed in the hold due to the flight being busy.
My cabin bag had fitted very easily into the "gauge" for cabin bags however I volunteered for it to be placed in the hold. About ten other passengers did likewise and it was obvious that their bags were of a similar size to mine.
Subsequently, the majority ofthe "cabin bags" being crammed into the overhead lockers were easily in excess of the stipulated size.
Flying seems to bring out a streak of selfishness in many people.

In reply to mypyrex:

What outcome do you hope to get from this thread?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

What outcome do you hope to get from your post on this thread?

In reply to mypyrex:

I don't blame the people, I blame the airline for letting them take such big bags on as cabin luggage.

In reply to mypyrex:

Yes, many people are selfish bastards.
In other news ...
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/cat-fking-livid-after-human-mana...










(I've been waiting weeks to randomly shoehorn that into a thread )

In reply to Dax H:
I think people take the p*ss re 'hand luggage'. A great stack of luggage carefully just within limit with wheels on the bottom.
The airlines allow it. I can see the attraction in fast exit the other end but it should be in hold full stop.

In reply to Blue Straggler:


A bit of chat? It's a forum after all.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

A straight answer from mypyrex. It is a bemusing OP, titled with a question but really just being a piece of rhetoric - and also bemusing as it's on a forum where elsewhere we have countless threads about how to sneak all your gear for a climbing trip in as cabin baggage.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I blame the airlines and convenience pricing for making bags so eye wateringly expensive. So yes, it is selfish of the airlines that are responsible for this.

In reply to duchessofmalfi:

I didn't pay any extra for hold baggage on a recent BA flight.
Nor on recent flights with Peruvian Airlines or Boliviana de Aviacion
I paid $8 extra on a cheap Viva Air flight.

In reply to duchessofmalfi:

It'sthe budget airlines business model to discourage hold baggage so they don't incur baggage handling charges from the airport. Maybe planes for budget airlines should be re designed with hatches under every seat leading to a suitcase sized pod set into the hold?

In reply to mypyrex:

Do what works best for you.
If I have cabin baggage AND hold luggage and the cabin baggage does not contain anything really valuable, then I prefer to have my cabin bag put in the hold. It just makes the flight easier.

If I only have a cabin bag, then I don't, because it slows me down on arrival.

Nothing to do with the size of the bag.

In reply to Andy Hardy:


Maybe you need to look at the width of aisles and the space between seats on budget airlines' planes, and look at the size of cases that people typically haul on holiday, and look at how poorly disciplined the average passenger is, and really just rethink that whole concept.

In reply to mypyrex:

I only take a cabin bag if I know it's small enough to fit under the seat in front of me. That way I don't have to wait for luggage reclaim but I am not inconveniencing others. I travel a lot for work and can carry enough for 3 days in a bag this small.

In reply to Dax H:


I blame the airline and I judge the people.

In reply to mypyrex:

Yes you are being selfish flying for your own benefit despite its known contribution to climate change.

In reply to mypyrex:

Go and entertain yourself here (or maybe you are already there given that you are not responding to your own thread)

https://twitter.com/carryonshame?lang=en

In reply to spartacus:


If it's within limits then that's fine. Why is it taking the piss?

In reply to mypyrex:

On the bright side, they didn't cancel your flight on short notice...

As someone who puts in an effort to get through security quickly and to fit within my luggage allowances I despise almost all flying.

The BA newcaslte/London hops are the exception as they are full of likeminded people, although they're all suited, tied and briefcased.

In reply to mypyrex:

The general attitude of the majority of flyers annoys me, but what really gets to me is seeing people evacuating an aircraft clutching their life possessions. So help me God if I ever find myself in an emergency on an aircraft, surrounded by people trying to retrieve their bloody oversized bags...

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed today?

In reply to mypyrex:

Easyjet should simply have examined some of the oversize bags and directed them into hold. They could charge extra for this too.

In reply to mypyrex:

Laptop/iPad/breakables etc in hand luggage?
Valuables in hand luggage with no lock?
In a rush to see a loved one upon landing?
In a rush in general upon landing
Connecting flight, so cannot risk a delay upon landing?

Not all selfish reasons, but reasons enough to not offer?

In reply to martinturner:



NOT when the bag is blatantly oversized

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Fair enough- just came over as a bit abrupt.

And to be fair you've gone on to add more to the thread than the OP has...! Looks like he just wanted a bit of a public moan. (not that there's anything wrong with that...)

In reply to Andy Hardy:

No, I just don't suffer inane posts gladly.

In reply to mypyrex:

How do you know? If it fits in the overhead locker, it's not oversized is it?

There are expansion pockets on a lot of bags, these can squash down when put into the sizing cage? If they can squash down into that, they can squash into overhead locker.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:




That was my intention! To contribute more, without making a song or dance about it. Someone needed to kick-start the thread, and it wasn't going to be that inane "plea for validation and agreement" of an OP

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:


Nothing wrong with a public moan, but the "Is This Selfish" thread title thus remains out of place and makes him look a right nincompoop

In reply to Andy Hardy:

As for your "hatches and suitcase-sized pods", I am just right.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

My OP was intended as an observation about the apparent selfish attitude adopted by a number of airline passengers.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Judging by the tone of some of your comments, maybe I have touched a raw nerve.

In reply to martinturner:


Not when it fills the space designed for 3 peoples bags, and their spouse has another which fills the space for another 3 !!!

In reply to Blue Straggler:
OK in future I'll make sure I include a winky face, and I'll avoid posting if you've got there first. I'd hate to think I'd caused you to spend a second or two on something inane
edied to add:

Overhead lockers could be divided into pods the same size as the jig at check in, one pod per seat.

In reply to martinturner:


Next time you're on a flight have a look inside one of the lockers. You will see - certainly on easyJet - that the size limits are printed on the inside of the lockers. I do not process to know whose benefit this serves however - cabin crew or pax.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

FFS.

Go back to bed.
Go get a coffee.
Do something, FFS; whatever it takes to stop you being such a miserable whinging bastard.

In reply to captain paranoia:

Whingeing bastard I may be, but I am far, far from miserable with it! I'm positively delighted!

In reply to mypyrex:


If you are accusing me of being an "oversized cabin baggage" culprit (which can really be the only way in which you could be "touching a raw nerve"), you are in the wrong

Have a smiley face

:-D

In reply to Blue Straggler:


pot meet kettle ...

In reply to mypyrex:

If you saw an elderly and "weak" gentleman struggling to remove his baggage from an overhead locker because it was massively oversized and overweight, would it be selfish to leave him to it?

In reply to spartacus:



I very carefully purchased a bag that was optimised for hand luggage use only to find that half the people on the flight had bags anything up to twice the size.

In reply to mypyrex:

56x45x25cm is quite big, I bet bigger than you think.

In reply to mypyrex:

To be honest, and it does pain me to say this but you have been naive. The Airline has traded on your good nature, as they would do bugger all for you for free. They have also faciliated the other people who are selfish, in taking advantage of your good nature.

But good Karma flows, so I assume its flowed from your airport driving neighbour and it will flow onwards from you So you keep on being nice as maybe it will catch on, but don`t hold your breath.

In reply to Neil Williams:


Yes, it is surprisingly big. I recently bought a cheap bag to exactly the BA maximum allowed dimensions so that I know I can absolutely stuff it full for a climbing trip and that it will be allowed - much more efficient than trying to judge squashing another bag and hoping it's ok.

In reply to mypyrex:

The size limit for carry on should be the space available for every seat on the plane to take one and for it all to fit in the lockers - no bigger.

In reply to Robert Durran:


The clue is in the phrase 'hand luggage' if it's so big and heavy it needs wheels it's not in your hand and not hand luggage.

Within limits = rules.
'Rules are for the adherence of fools and for the guidance of wise men'.

In reply to spartacus:


It might be perfectly well carried by hand but the wheels might be convenient at times.


It is clearly ridiculous to have rules but then complain when people stick to them. If the airline specifies dimensions and weight, how do you suggest we are "guided" by them. And if the rules don't work then the airline should change them.

In reply to Robert Durran:
Life is to short for internet arguments.

In reply to spartacus:


Only when you're losing........

In reply to Robert Durran:

Good point, well made...

In reply to Blue Straggler:

you sound like my GP!

In reply to wercat:

you sound like my GP!

He thinks his finger is on the pulse, but he is in fact as welcome as a finger up the arse...

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Hmmm........you may just have stumbled across the wrong forum fella....

In reply to mypyrex:

Flying back from the US a few weeks ago they were weighing hand luggage and enforcing the weight limits.
It was worth standing in the long queue just to watch people franticaly trying to redistribute the contents of their carry on bags.
All airlines should do this.

In reply to mypyrex:


Including yourself

In reply to Lion Bakes:

I blame Bear Grylls and top roping. It's a slippery slope once you start drinking your own piss

In reply to Blue Straggler:


There really is no need for this.

In reply to J1234:

I let them check in my hand luggage and they gave me and the rest of my family queue jumping privileges in return. This upset the people who pointlessly queued up for half an hour to get on a form of transport with enough seats to go around. Well worth it

In reply to marsbar:


It's all about getting the window seats; not all seats are equal.

In reply to Lion Bakes:


You really must be desparate for an argument to suggest that there was anything selfish in my attitude outlined in my op.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

If that is true you have successfully hijacked the OPs thread: it currently seems to say more about you than it does about him.

In reply to baron:

Flew to Egypt with either Turkish or Pegasus last Christmas, and they did this. To the nearest 100g.

In reply to deepsoup:

A pathetic attempt at 'Look at me, look at all the places I've flown to recently' !

Oooh, Egypt, there's another one!

In reply to Lusk:



Good grief. Get a grip.

The amount of times people have (usually quite aggressively) asked for qualifiers, references or links when folk try to be coy about such stuff, made me think "oh well I might as well specify airlines and destinations, save people the bother".

I am not in any way proud of the amount of flying that I do, and it's hardly as if South America and Egypt are that exotic.

Feel free to criticise me for being mean to mypyrex's OP but you don't need to make up additional spurious attack points.

In reply to Robert Durran:

I should have also mentioned that the seats on easyJet are allocated on check in now. I really can't understand ridiculous queues for pre allocated seats.

In reply to mypyrex:

I can't see that it is being selfish if one sticks exactly to the rules and dimensions stipulated by the airline. I keep different size cabin bags for different airlines, because there are many different allowed sizes out there. I always check the allowed dimensions before every flight, because the airlines occasionally change them. BA has one of the most generous and peculiar cabin bag sizes there is, and they allow a second small cabin bag. One of the reasons I often fly BA.

In reply to John Stainforth:


The OP says "easily in excess of the stipulated size"

In reply to Andy Hardy:


Yes, and because they sell the hold space for freight. However, when the flight is full and it's clear that if everyone has the maximum size case they won't all fit in the overhead lockers then obviously the maximum size should be reduced.

Personally, I do kind of resent people who insist in having the full, technically permissible, case and laptop bag combination that seems almost obligatory for a certain kind of business traveller. I usually check a bag in rather than having to cart it round the airport with me, and I avoid the whole penknives and 100mL of toothpaste hassle at security.

Actually, getting caught behind the terminally clueless at security is more irritating and a lot of that could be reduced by more people checking bags.

In reply to Dax H:


Being long-legged and therefore unable to fold my feet under the seat in front of me, I always keep my baggage there instead. So my baggage must remain small and I'm not bothered by the overhead lockers.

But it does piss me right off that I'm much more restricted in the amount of stuff I can take on planes, frequently charged for excess, than those who bring over-loaded carry-on.

And while I'm in rant mode, why the feck does everyone insist on standing right next to the bloody baggage carousel?! If you all back up a metre or two, we can all see better when our baggage is arriving and retrieve it much easier. If I ran airports, there would be electric-baton wielding security enforcing a mandatory exclusion zone around the carousel.

Interesting though that your "I blame the airline, not the people" gets so many likes.
Maybe a trait in British society? If it's not policed, you can get away with it, even if you know it's not acceptable?

In reply to baron:


Even better, why not be forced to put all carry-on and hold-luggage on to the check-in scales together?

That would remove the somewhat farcical game of having to move stuff between one bag and another and ensure we all carried a fair amount of baggage.

In reply to David Martin:

Careful. Why not add the person too? If you are tall this is a dangerous line....

In reply to David Martin:



David could you clarify a couple of points please, as I am confused. This reads as if you choose not to use overhead lockers and to restrict your carry-on baggage to something small that can go under a seat, and that due to your long legs you are frequently charged for excess baggage. I am sure that this is not quite what you mean....

In reply to MG:


Indeed. Not sure where I stand on it.

I'm skinny, and Moan-Trois for today is fatties spilling over in to my seat. Because of them, I'm somewhat in favour of carry-on + hold-luggage + passenger being weighed.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Overhead lockers are not an issue for me as I:
(a) prefer to have access to my bag (I go for window seats where possible) and its a b1tch to climb over the other passengers to access the locker.
(b) have free space under the seat in front of me as I can't put my feet there (my knees touching the seat in front means, on the sorts of budget airlines where this is an issue, it is impossible).

I restrict my carry-on because I assume the airline might actually hold me to the carry-on limits they publicise. Hence, my hold-luggage is usually at (or over) weight, I often get charged for it, and thus am somewhat vexed when I see people wondering on board with what appears to be a total baggage allowance greater than my own.

In reply to David Martin:
Thanks for your answer

(I've edited this reply, as people seem to be sensitive on this thread).

In reply to David Martin:

I've decided I might be a bad person. I do smile inside when I see someone with an enormous 'hand luggage' bag and a handbag and a duty free bag and a laptop actually get pulled over for it.

Especially watching them frantically re-pack is good entertainment. The politer the ground crew are the better it is.

In reply to Andy Hardy:

Ryanair are now rearranging their charges to make hold baggage more attractive because they're having so much trouble with delays caused by people trying to carry everything in hand baggage.

The airline I have to fly with to escape the rock have a smaller than standard hand baggage size due to the small lockers on the planes they use. They've always had free hold baggage but are now going to start charging, needless to say that loads of people are whinging that their IATA standard hand baggage will be charged for (the airline never bothered enforcing the rules).

In reply to marsbar:


I think the reason is because of comedy "hand luggage" bags which means later boarders often have their bag miles down the aircraft because the lockers are packed with suitcases. I'm with whoever said they always travel with a bag that'll fit under the seat - then you can finish your beer/coffee and stroll on when the rush has died down.

There's a lot of depressingly self righteous nonsense on this thread.

Surely, as climbers, we all play the game of getting as much gear on a flight as possible without paying excess charges. Shouldn't we be sharing tips rather than preaching at each other?

For the record, I think my record is 53kg in a standard 20kg allowance plus hand luggage (not counting what I was wearing and the stuff in my pockets), though I doubt I'd ever get away with that much nowadays.

In reply to Robert Durran:




I made reference to this very early on but it was ignored in favour of an online lynching

In reply to andy:


I'm never that bothered about where the bag is. A book, a music-playing device (usually my phone), some earphones and maybe a bag of sweets and an inflatable pillow is all I need at my seat. If I get a decent tablet, then that as well. These can be removed from the bag and stuffed into the seat pocket and accessed easily during the flight.

Top tip for crowded short-haul on cheap airlines where you pay for every biscuit - put your wallet in your bag if it's going to be way away from your seat, and you'll probably get away with not paying for your snacks, as the cabin crew will be blocking the aisles with their trolleys and by the time they are clear, the seatbelt signs will be on, so you'll just have to "owe" them that 8 Euro...

In reply to mypyrex:


Not at all. But you asked if you were being selfish and I said yes you were. Seems you agree you were being selfish and it is good that you admit that.

In reply to Lion Bakes:


My question alluded to whether, as I thought they were, other passengers were being selfish.

In reply to andy:

I don't really care where my bag goes as long as it goes on the plane somehow.

I do have a large handluggage but it is within maximum size and will fit under the seats even though it's a mini suitcase type.

In reply to mypyrex:


No more than yourself

In reply to Robert Durran:

I did have one flight and return dressed mostly in kayaking kit I'm sure I looked ridiculous but I don't really care.