Is Letting Bag-Free Passengers Board First a Good Idea?
Leather seats with Headrests
Virgin America is testing the idea of letting passengers who are traveling without carry-on luggage board the plane first. Now, we aren’t sure of the exact details. We assume personal items wouldn’t count, and this would be limited to actual luggage. Few people travel with only the clothes on their back.
But people, as the Cranky Flier stated, tend to try to get around these things. We’re not sure, as he thinks, a large amount of people will try to sneak on. We’re more concerned about people redefining what isn’t carry-on luggage. Some women have purses the size of carry-on bags, for example. Tighten the loopholes in the plan.
The truth is, that there is a question we have to ask: What sort of behavior do airlines want to encourage? There are two options: A passenger traveling with no carry-on luggage or a passenger traveling with no checked luggage.
There are very few passengers who fall into both categories simultaneously. If you are going somewhere, you are likely carrying something. Since there is now a charge on most airlines for all checked luggage, people will try to carry on large bags, which creates a problem in the cabin. We wonder if airlines would discount checked luggage if passengers forfeited carry-on? Of course, how would they enforce such a thing without creating a different logjam?
What is the solution? Anyone?
Subscribe via RSS
Subscribe via Email
Subscribe to the Flight Wisdom Briefing(Audio)