🔗 The Carry-On Baggage Bubble Is About To Pop - The Atlantic:
“Maybe we don’t need carry-ons at all,” Young went on. He was whispering, almost, as if his secret made him sound bananas, which it somewhat did. “Someone needs to step out and say, ‘We’re not doing this anymore. This isn’t the right experience for air travel.’” What if the overhead were instead restored to its original purpose, as a modest rack for hats, coats, shoulder bags, and briefcases? Already planning for this possible, if still unthinkable, future, Teague has started designing all of its interiors to include an option without any overhead bins at all. Imagine how light you’d feel up at cruising altitude with no bags encumbering you, and a stretch of empty space above your head.
I am not and never have been a carry-on baggage person. It has always struck me as a silly attempt at optimization, all these people who read lifehacks and feel like they’ve saved themselves seven minutes of waiting for their suitcase to come down the chute at baggage claim.
And I will admit to taking a small amount of pleasure in watching them all mill about the gate in agitation, trying to get on board the plane sooner. At least half of these people end up having to gate-check their carry-ons anyway, so the they end up having to stand around waiting anyway.
And honestly, if you want cheaper plane tickets, it kind of make sense that you’re going to end up paying more incrementals like baggage fees. Airfare is probably too cheap already, given the environmental impacts of air travel; cheap, all-inclusive plane tickets seem like an ureasonable expectation.
I have been kind of amazed that the carry-on scheme has lasted as long as it already has, but I can only imagine the shreiking and rending of garments that will ensue when airlines eventually decide to close this loophole.