Last week´s headlines in aviation magazines:
¨The top 20 airlines made over $33 billion in baggage fees last year, the highest one by American Airlines. Baggage charges have steadily increased over the last 10-15 years. The total also includes fines for overweight or extra large checked bags, which contributed to making up more than 4,1% of global airline revenue in 2023.¨
Passengers might not be happy to read all this…
I could not care less! The last time I checked in luggage was in 2001, but only because I moved to another part of the world. Ever since I travel only with a small tote bag, less than the dimensions of low-cost carriers allow for handbags. No matter how long my trip lasts, or how many countries I visit. And often, I return home and have not even used all the contents of my small bag.
How Do I Do This?
There are laundry services everywhere, some hotels even have washing machines to use, and Airbnb often too.
If I really need a certain piece of clothing, I could purchase one. But that never happened so far. I roll all my clothing to save space and also take the smallest items of hand cream, toothpaste, etc. that I can find. Staying longer in one place, I can buy these items at my destination.
Why Airlines Charge These Fees:
However, it is more than greed and making extra money that airlines are charging these fees. Why are airlines so concerned with checked baggage weight? And do not weigh customers? Only Air Samoa currently weighs each passenger and tickets them by weight. In the West, an assumed average is used for passengers.
Weight costs money to carry, and not just in fuel burn. Less luggage in the hold means more room for cargo, so the profit motive is for more carry-on and less check-in luggage. However, heavy carry-on has its issues too: It’s also weight and it takes time for passengers to stow their suitcases in the overhead. In case of a crash, interior collapse can block evacuation routes in an otherwise survivable crash. Airlines do care about the weight of your carry-on baggage - this is the main reason why they limit the number and size of your carryons.
For pax and carry-on, airlines can assume a standard adult passenger weight of 190 lbs in summer and 195 in winter. Carry-on bags are assumed to be 16 lbs. (this is in North America). The average pax weight being too low and lots of heavy baggage contributed to the crash of Air Midwest flight 5481. The aircraft was found to be actually 580 lb (264 kg) above its maximum allowable take-off weight, with its center of gravity 5% to the rear of the allowable limit.
As a result of the weight issues discovered, the FAA planned to investigate and potentially revise estimated weight values, which had not been done since 1936. Air Midwest used an average weight of 200 lb (90.7 kg) per passenger after the accident, but the NTSB suggests that airlines use actual weights instead of average. About 70% of small air carriers still use average passenger weights. Some mainline carriers do have weight limits for carry-on, but they're typically generous and often not enforced.
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Real People Have to Carry Your Suitcases...
Checked luggage is handled by employees, who often lug bags all day long. A weight limit is important to preserve their health and safety. Most baggage handling systems (BHS) are designed around a maximum of 32 kg per piece. If heavier bags are being consistently run through the system this will result in high wear and tear on people and the system - which may result in delay/damage to bags for which the airlines usually blame the airport!
Read more:
https://simpleflying.com/global-baggage-revenue-topped-33-billion-in-2023
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