February 20, 200818 yr and their thinking on overweight luggage.:confused: Flew to Utah from Cincy and had 5 pieces of luggage. Everything was fine. No problem, no weight issues, just loaded up the bags and off we went. Coming home was a different story. Pull up to the Sky Cap at Salt Lake Airport and he informs us that we have 2 suitcases that are approximately 5 pounds overweight and it was going to cost us $100 dollars to send them ($50 each) or we could repack them. Well there we are on the sidewalk in front of the airport with people hurrying around us to get to their flights and we have our suitcases open pulling out shoes and clothes and , well, after spending all morning packing them up, it was just a mess. We got the suitcases evened out and didn't have to pay. However, the same 5 cases still weighed the same it's is just dispursed differently so why do we have to shift a pound here and a pound there? Is this just another way the airlines can make more money or is there really a legitimate reason behind this? I could understand if the cases were maybe 20 or 30 pounds over but does 5 or even 10 pounds really make a difference per suitcase? As it ended, when we picked up our suitcases in Cincy, all 5 had "Heavy" tags on them. :confused:
February 20, 200818 yr The excuse I'm hearing is the ever rising cost of fuel. With that said, your situation shows just how ridiculous any rule can be at times.
February 20, 200818 yr Author The excuse I'm hearing is the ever rising cost of fuel. With that said, your situation shows just how ridiculous any rule can be at times. :lol: Exactly, If you took the 5 bags and weighed them when I arrived at the airport and then weighed the bags when I got home they would still weigh the same no matter how much I shifted stuff around. So the plane isn't saving on fuel.
February 20, 200818 yr Did you draw a crowd watching you repack your dirty underwear and socks? :lol: I can imagine that being an uncomfortable situation in a crowded airport.
February 20, 200818 yr Author Did you draw a crowd watching you repack your dirty underwear and socks? :lol: I can imagine that being an uncomfortable situation in a crowded airport. :lol::lol: The little Sky Cap guy was actually pulling stuff out like shoes and weighing them and then trying to tell us which bag to put it in. The weird thing was, that my one son's bag was the lightest but we couldn't have squeezed a toothpick in it. Mine on the other hand had plenty of room but was right at the limit, which happends to be 50 pounds if anyone is wondering.
February 20, 200818 yr Maybe it's so they don't have to weigh every single bag when they load it on the plane and figure out on the fly how to dispurse the weight. If all bags are 50 lbs or less, they can go on the right or left side. If all the bags are on the right and weigh 100 lbs each, and the same amount of bags are on the left and weigh 50 lbs each, there'd be a problem... After thinking about it, it's a money maker...
February 20, 200818 yr Reminds me of the stand-up comic that was talking about flying puddle-jumpers in the Caribbean. The ticket agent asked him how much he weighed. He asked why the airline needed to know. The agent said they had to know how much the passengers weighed so they could make sure that there was enough fuel. The comic's response to that - "Fill it up!" (I think he didn't want to risk his life on account of some vain, possibly female passengers who weren't willing to divulge their weight.)
February 20, 200818 yr The reasoning I have heard was for the safety of the crew who handle your bags. 5 bags @ 50 pounds each is much easier on a worker than 4 bags @ 25 pounds and 1 bag @ 150 pounds. Granted, plus or minus 5 pounds doesn't add up to much, but airline policies and workmen's comp policies require that bags be under a certain weight. The extra charge for higher weights is only there to keep people from overloading their baggage. It forces you to keep baggage at a minimum unless you are absolutely required to pack heavy, in which case there is a penalty. Think of it like speeding tickets. Some cities will let you go 5-10 mph over the limit, while others won't. It all depends on who you are working with and on when you travel.
February 20, 200818 yr This drives me crazy Henry! Have done the same thing of re-org the bags cause I refuse to give the airline another dime after I have paid for a ticket!
February 20, 200818 yr From my past experiences as a ramper, I know I appreciated lighter bags. I've also worked in reservations and I know when I left they were getting a bit more stringent with the policy. I hated when people would call and state why they got away with it before but were charged "this time".
February 20, 200818 yr Maybe it's so they don't have to weigh every single bag when they load it on the plane and figure out on the fly how to dispurse the weight. If all bags are 50 lbs or less, they can go on the right or left side. If all the bags are on the right and weigh 100 lbs each, and the same amount of bags are on the left and weigh 50 lbs each, there'd be a problem...Anyone who is saying it's just a money-maker, quite frankly, doesn't know what they're talking about. What you've said here is closer to the truth. Weight distribution and loading is critical to flight safety. There are specialists assigned to each flight whose sole purpose is to complete the complex calculations necessary to properly load the plane, position the cargo, and determine the maximum fuel capacity. There are countless variables involved, including passenger weight, cargo, luggage, fuel, travel distance, O & D airport congestion, temperature, and much more. A few pounds may not seem like much; but multiply that by three bags per person. Now multiply that by a few hundred passengers. It adds up to a lot of extra weight that must be compensated for in either fuel load reduction, or passenger load reduction. These weight limits are most critical on smaller planes; but have to be taken into account on even the largest. It's a complex science getting several tons of aluminum to fly off the ground; and every pound has to be accounted for. Trust me, I know the airlines charge for a lot of things. I used to be one of the people doing the charging. A little of it is about money; but mostly it's about encouraging people to pay attention to the rules. When everyone follows the regulations, it makes the travel experience quicker and more pleasant for everyone. :thumb:
February 20, 200818 yr I hated when people would call and state why they got away with it before but were charged "this time".Didn't you love having to explain the baggage limits 500 times a day? Or trying to arrange for them to get their little Foo Foo all the way to Hawaii with them. And then you were solely responsible when their bags got lost.
February 20, 200818 yr Author Anyone who is saying it's just a money-maker, quite frankly, doesn't know what they're talking about. What you've said here is closer to the truth. Weight distribution and loading is critical to flight safety. There are specialists assigned to each flight whose sole purpose is to complete the complex calculations necessary to properly load the plane, position the cargo, and determine the maximum fuel capacity. There are countless variables involved, including passenger weight, cargo, luggage, fuel, travel distance, O & D airport congestion, temperature, and much more. A few pounds may not seem like much; but multiply that by three bags per person. Now multiply that by a few hundred passengers. It adds up to a lot of extra weight that must be compensated for in either fuel load reduction, or passenger load reduction. These weight limits are most critical on smaller planes; but have to be taken into account on even the largest. It's a complex science getting several tons of aluminum to fly off the ground; and every pound has to be accounted for. Trust me, I know the airlines charge for a lot of things. I used to be one of the people doing the charging. A little of it is about money; but mostly it's about encouraging people to pay attention to the rules. When everyone follows the regulations, it makes the travel experience quicker and more pleasant for everyone. :thumb: So what would they do if you had 50 contestants from the Miss America contest on the plane and all their seats were together on the left side of the plane. And on the same flight they had a group from the Sumo Wrestling federation and their seats where grouped on the right side of the plane. Would they just end up flying in one big circle because the weight distribution was off?
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.