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Opinion: No More Carry On Bags

Dear Travelers,
Air travel sucks nowadays. This is not news to anyone, and it didn’t just start sucking last week, it’s been gradually getting worse. This is not the main reason for this post. There are many aspects to flying that make it miserable that cannot be changed no matter how much people think they can be. There are fortunately, I think, a few areas that you can actually change to make things a little more tolerable.

  1. Waiting in the endless security line. This is your first or second step upon arriving at the airport, and often one of the worst experiences. Poor treatment, rude people, and de-humanizing acts. The only way around this is to get a Known Traveler Number which gets you into the TSA Pre Check line. Basically this is what it was like to fly in the 1990’s. It does feel a bit like extortion, but it is well worth the money in my mind. Also if you fly internationally, you can go through the process of joining the Global Entry program which is basically Pre Check for international travel. Getting Global Entry will also get you Pre Check for US travel.

  2. Stop bringing your giant “carry on” bags on the plane. That bag is huge, not a carry on, and you know it. Check the damn thing and make everyone’s life easier. Pay the baggage check fee, or join an airline program that gives you free checked bags. The entire flight should not suffer and wait while you find a place to fit your bag that takes up the entire overhead bin, plus your overstuffed backpack, and miscellaneous bag of tourist stuff, because you didn’t want to check your bags like you should.

  3. Learn some manners and be respectful of others. An airplane is small, cramped, and you are no worse off than everyone else. It’s an airplane, not your house. Clean up your stuff, be quiet, and quit bothering people. Every action you take is magnified by 100 because you are in a small, loud, smelly tube with 175 other people.

The last thing I want to say is that I know “all airlines suck”, and of course there are definitely some scenarios where they REALLY do, but I wonder how much of it is directly related to the passengers. Be cognizant of your actions when you are at the airport and on the plane. If everyone can just think about their actions, we may be able to get this process moving a bit smoother to our next destination.

For what it’s worth, I fly Southwest for the most part, and find them to be generally good.