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Excess Baggage
Feb. 8th, 2008 07:20 pmAll the travel press has been up in arms this week about United's announcement that they will now charge $25 for people to check a second bag. And the first bag is limited to 50 pounds.
Admittedly, I have checked more than 1 bag exactly once in my life (when I moved to Berkeley to go to grad school and I checked both a suitcase and my accordion). And this wouldn't affect me anyway, since it doesn't apply to people who have elite status with them.
But what I noticed is that the thing that people are getting most worked over is the 50 pounds part. Do people have lead suitcases nowadays? I can't imagine how you can possibly come up with 50 pounds of stuff to take with you on a trip, except possibly for some sort of technical gear. Wouldn't most, say, professional photographers travel enough to have elite status and be exempt from the fee? Or just add it on to their fees for the job?
I'll note that when I do check a bag, which is usually because a vacation demands carrying either winter clothes or camping gear or both, I've never had it weigh in at over 22 pounds. Which is handy because 10 kilograms (=22 pounds) is a typical limit on what you're allowed to bring on a light aircraft.
Admittedly, I have checked more than 1 bag exactly once in my life (when I moved to Berkeley to go to grad school and I checked both a suitcase and my accordion). And this wouldn't affect me anyway, since it doesn't apply to people who have elite status with them.
But what I noticed is that the thing that people are getting most worked over is the 50 pounds part. Do people have lead suitcases nowadays? I can't imagine how you can possibly come up with 50 pounds of stuff to take with you on a trip, except possibly for some sort of technical gear. Wouldn't most, say, professional photographers travel enough to have elite status and be exempt from the fee? Or just add it on to their fees for the job?
I'll note that when I do check a bag, which is usually because a vacation demands carrying either winter clothes or camping gear or both, I've never had it weigh in at over 22 pounds. Which is handy because 10 kilograms (=22 pounds) is a typical limit on what you're allowed to bring on a light aircraft.
