Yesterday evening I was on a train back from NYC which, because of the impending snow storm, was pretty chaotic. In a crowded train, folks are chatty, and the table conversation on the Acela was fabulous. One of my travelling companions, Theresa Podrebarac, suggested during the conversation that the airlines should not charge for checked baggage but instead for carry-on baggage.
We all agreed this was a great idea … the convenience is in the carry-on bags, and because of the checked-bags charge, more people are bringing overstuffed carry-on bags, making the entire experience less pleasant than ever. By charging for the carry-ons (probably for anything over a specified size) you would provide an incentive to check bags, and make the cabin less cluttered, boarding and exiting easier, and the airlines could probably charge more, too.
I tweeted this from my trusty Droid and within an hour or so I had five retweets, and by now I am up to a dozen (see live search results).
Perhaps I am on to something. Airlines, listen up!
