Re: airplane baggage

["Stephen Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

I'm surprised that those of us who fly a lot more than I do know about how 
much easier it is to redistribute weight around the hold with smaller than 
larger luggage.  Distribution of weight on the cargo level is critical, 
and 
if you think about how the guys on the tarmac just want to mindlessly 
throw 
the bags in those containers and not think about it, it's probably a good 
idea to not require them to think about How To Counterbalance The 70lb 
Trunk 
On This Flight.  In this case I would say the safety aspect was there 
before 
someone decided to make more money than they used to for excess weight.

Overheard in a minicab in St Kitts on recent vacation:
American Passenger:         "Do you know which gate US Airways takes off 
from?"
80-yr-old native Taxi Driver: "Honey, there's no gate at THIS airport..."

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Gans" <david@trufun.com>
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Saturday, 22 April, 2006 19:53 PM
Subject: Re: airplane baggage


> At 1:47 AM +0900 4/23/06, mech wrote:
>
>
>>Yeah, it would probably be best to err on the side of caution.  The 
>>airlines have evidently decided very recently that charging for 
>overweight 
>>and excess baggage can be a new revenue stream for them. And they've all 
>>pretty much fallen lockstep into the same pattern at pretty much the 
>same 
>>time too, from what I've just seen.
>
> Uh-oh.  I don't like the sound of that.
>
> I got dinged by Delta for an excess baggage charge on the return leg of 
>a 
> round trip, after being able to carry my guitar on board outbound.
>
> Coming home form Jamaica a couple of weeks ago I was required to check 
>my 
> guitar at DFW, after carrying it on board at Montego Bay with no 
>problems.
>
> Inconsistent enforcement of unstated policies can be crazy-making. If 
>it's 
> going to be uniform and punitive, I may have to change my whole strategy 
> for traveling with gear.
>
> How much does it cost to ship a road case separately?
>
>
>
>>Our whole family flew across the country out to Seattle last month. We 
>>figured it would be easier all around to have one larger bag for three 
>>people, rather than lots of smaller ones.  Our one large bag weighed in 
>at 
>>~65 pounds, and we got charged a fee at the airport for that single bag 
>>being overweight.  This was despite the fact that we could have been 
>>within our rights to take along three bags apiece, each weighing 50 
>>pounds.
>
> I got hit that way once, too, and I was not very nice about it.  My two 
> bags added up to less than the limit, but one of the bags was more than 
> the single-bag limit.  Seemed to be all about the money.
>
>
>>Oh, and in case you didn't catch it above, it looks like the max bag 
>>weight has now been lowered from 70 to 50 pounds per bag.  Another 
>hidden 
>>charge with which air carriers can gouge their customers, so watch the 
>>weight on those racks.  :P
>
> Ack.
>
>
>
> -- 
>
> David Gans - david@trufun.com or david@gdhour.com
> Truth and Fun, Inc., 484 Lake Park Ave. #102, Oakland CA 94610-2730
> Blog:  http://playback.trufun.com
>
>
>
>
>