Came across an interesting article about airline carryon limits.
To me, the fundamental problem is that you can’t trust the airlines to safely handle checked baggage, and they won’t guarantee the safety of your items in checked baggage (at least, without ridiculous charges). Airline baggage handlers seem to have sticky fingers, which is absolutely intolerable. Probably the only way to ensure the security of checked baggage would be to:
1) Increase airline liability to some “safe” amount that would cover, say, a bag of professional photographic equipment. That’d probably be $25,000. In the state that the baggage-handling world is today, that would probably cost the TSA and the airlines billions of dollars a year. right now, I think you get ~$2,000 on domestic flights, with no coverage for “valuables” like electronics, and you still get hassled if you make a claim. I’m not going to check a camera on vacation if there’s a chance I would be without it. About the only thing electronic that goes in my checked baggage are chargers.
2) Your bag would need to be under constant surveillance, and you would have the unquestioned right to personally review the surveillance of your bag with the airline/TSA in case of loss/damage. Unfortunately, this requires a video surveillance system like on “Las Vegas” – that is to say, totally unrealistic.
3) Anyone who touches baggage or has access to the baggage areas gets all of their personal belongings inspected every time they enter/leave the airport, like UPS does at their handling facilities. They also have a “1-strike” policy on theft, and are additionaly subject to criminal penalties if caught.
Of course, some of the fault lies with travelers. Some business folks will take their standard 21″ rollaboard bag as well as a wheeled laptop bag, which is usually 2/3 the size of the rollaboard. That should get them dinged. A shoulder-style laptop bag ahould be the upper limit for us. For the non-frequent travelers at the back of the bus, charge them for the oddly-shaped items that disrupt the nice orderly row of rollaboards.
Maybe only frequent travelers (Premier/Gold types) get 1+1 allowances. The infrequent flyers get 1 bag, or 2 bags that conform to the stricter European-type carryon allowances (8 kg / 18 lbs).
Ok…we now return you to your regularly scheduled useless information…
(sorry, Krafties!)
