So I came across this cartoon today (a friend emailed it to me).
It got me thinking about this whole airport scanner issue. Everyone goes on about privacy, invasiveness, etc. How many people really value this privacy over their own convenience?
Example... Lets say that these full body scanners become commonplace and are used at every airport. There will be those that are outraged about invasion of privacy. So, lets have 2 kinds of checkin -- you need to be there 1.5 hours before your international flight if you will submit to a full body scan, and 4 hours before your flight if prefer a manual scan and search. How many people do you think would show up to the early search?
I am betting almost zero.
The other rant that gets me going is carry on versus checked bags. Airlines have decided to start charging people for checked baggage. They are then surprised by the fact that everyone now tries to carry on everything with them. Solution? Check the 2 bags for free -- charge for the carry-on! As a business traveller I would have no problem paying $20 to carry my overnight bag on with me. When I travel for pleasure, I would rather check the bag anyways as the trip is usually longer and I bring more things with me.
This then brings me to the amount of carry-on bags. Some time ago, I was on a flight and a rather obnoxious woman boarded just ahead of me (wouldn't you know it she was sitting beside me). This woman had a massive winter coat, purse the size of a small child, notebook computer briefcase, and a rolling style carry-on. She then proceeded to put ALL of these items in the overhead bin, which filled it. I arrived at the row, took her bag out and handed it to her and placed my bag in the bin.
Suffice it to say she was not pleased.
She should not have been allowed on the plan with this much baggage, nor should she have been able to put all of it in an overhead bin.
Yep agree 100%.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't understand how this makes the airlines money. Gate turnaround time is, I understand, the key metric in the airline industry. Wouldn't the plane load faster if everyone's baggage were packed in by the pros vs hand loaded by each obnoxious passenger into tiny overhead bins?
Second part: I routinely have people ask me to help them lift their heavy luggage into the overhead bin. My answer is "No".
Why?
Its called "CARRY on". If you can't CARRY it, then check it.