Traveller letters: Beware the excess cabin baggage police

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This was published 6 years ago

Traveller letters: Beware the excess cabin baggage police

It seems unfair to quibble over a few kilos of excess cabin baggage, when the weight of people varies so much, one reader writes.

It seems unfair to quibble over a few kilos of excess cabin baggage, when the weight of people varies so much, one reader writes.

LETTER OF THE WEEK: WEIGHTY MATTERS

Having recently flown domestically we encountered the cabin-baggage-excess-weight police for the first time during our Adelaide stopover. Airline staff were moving along the aircraft boarding queues investigating every item, large or small, that people were carrying.

We were slightly over the seven kilogram limit each but were allowed on board. Some people had to frantically try and rearrange possessions between them to try and get by.

I don't know what happened to those who were a lot over. All this is very stressful for both passengers and staff who have to enforce these rules. How fair is it when the person sitting in the next seat to you is enormous and weighs in at least 30 kilograms heavier than me and 60 kilograms heavier than my wife?

This is blatant discrimination when somebody is penalised for their carry-on being a couple of kilos over when there is such a weight variation between nearly everybody. Obviously this is a new money-grabbing exercise and the airlines just don't care about customer relations.

Rob May, Melbourne, VIC

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

I have to agree with the letter by John Hickey in which he says he has bumped into people with his suitcases at the carousel because they are standing so close.

We had the experience last year at Dubai Airport where my husband was standing completely alone (as in no one else there) at the carousel. A woman came up and grabbed her suitcase just where he was standing and hit him. The carousel area seems to bring out the stupid in people.

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And as for his comment that there should be a line drawn, there is, and people still stand there! Well, at Melbourne anyway that I can remember and I'm sure at lots of airports.

Debby Myers, Barwon Heads, VIC

TOP TIP

The letter from Sriyani Perera (Rants & raves, May 20) about accessing Cape York via Thursday Island was most interesting. However, the term "Top End" refers to the northern part of the Northern Territory.

Patrick O'Callaghan, Bray Park QLD

LEANERS NOT LIFTERS

Hear, hear, Patricia Dewey (Rants & raves, May 13). All airlines need to make an announcement about the reclining of seats at the beginning of all flights. On two recent flights the same thing happened to us. My wife was hit in a similar fashion. To add insult to injury, the passenger in front, once aware of what they had done, didn't offer an apology.

It gets worse. On another flight, while still boarding, the passenger in front of me reclined into my hip as I was still standing, knocking me sideways. I alerted said passenger to what they had done. Their response; nothing but a blank stare.

Stephen Bulmer, Coburg, VIC

For those who agree with Patricia Dewey (Rants & raves, May 13), I can suggest a remedy that I have used successfully. Turn your air vent on fully and direct the flow towards the head of the offender. He will soon find the chill uncomfortable and either move to a more upright seating position or ask you to turn the vent off.

In the latter case, my response is to refuse on the grounds that I suffer from claustrophobia and need the extra air in order to avoid having a panic attack. In my book it's a justifiable white lie.

Ken Chapman, Hampton, VIC

Like Bob Mitchell (Rants & raves, May 20), I have back issues and fully reclined aircraft seats are a real problem for me. If the polite request is ignored, frequently "inadvertently" knocking the seat in front in order to stretch usually results in a very happy compromise.

Elizabeth Kroon, Randwick, NSW

While I sympathise with Bob Mitchell and his neck injury, I really can't agree that the rest of us should be confined to a one or two position recline just so Bob is more comfy. And what happens to those nice people who comply with his requests to restrict their recline when the person in front of them fully reclines?

They're in the same position as Bob with a full recliner! Does he care about them? Sorry Bob, I'm afraid your injury is your problem, not the rest of ours.

Leslie Jolley, Bowral, NSW

PITCH IMPERFECT

I read with much confusion Patricia Dewey's letter about the "heaviest" passenger on the aircraft reclining their seat. As a male, six foot and five inches, tall and let's say on the heavy side, delicately sliding into a 31-inch pitch seat on Qantas, I do recline my seat when the opportunity presents itself but not necessarily all the way.

A person's weight has nothing to do with the recline of the seat. My 14-year-old is six foot tall and hitting a bantam weight of 58 kilograms is quite capable of reclining his seat as well with weight having nothing to do with it.

I think Patricia Dewey should have directed her letter just to the passenger that reclined his seat as the seat belt sign went off. Big, small short or tall, the 31-inch pitch is going to be tight on Qantas and any other airline with that pitch or below.

Jason Deacon, Ropes Crossing, NSW

WARNING: BUMP AHEAD

I remember being bumped on a connecting flight between Dublin and Heathrow en route to Adelaide and again on a domestic flight with Jetstar. Credit to both of these carriers as they warned me before I boarded the flight.

However, it does seem fit for some American domestic carriers to bump passengers after they boarded their flight. No wonder one passenger had to be dragged off the flight in protest, rightly causing a public relations nightmare for the carrier.

Lino Corradin, Brooklyn Park, SA

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Letters may be edited for space, legal or other reasons. Preference will be given to letters of 50-100 words or less. Email us at travellerletters@fairfaxmedia.com.au and, importantly, include your name, address and phone number.

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