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Comment by pjc50 | Hacker News Reader

The only reason people store so much hand luggage is that the airlines charge for checked baggage. This wasn't always the case.

> offer a discount if you show up without hand luggage

Realistically, how many such people are there going to be who are travelling without a change of clothes?

And if they win on this one, where's next on the slippery slope? Differential pricing for handbags and laptop bags? Could they maybe start charging based on the contents of the bags?

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No.

A lot of everhead luggage space issues are caused by the ubiquitous roll-aboards that so many business travelers in particular use. And business travelers typically don’t pay for checked luggage either because it’s free because of their airline status or because they expense it. They just don’t want to wait for luggage or deal with the hassle of delayed luggage.

I almost never check luggage. (I also use soft bags without wheels for carryon.) But I get 2 checked bags for free on my primary airline.

The only reason people store so much hand luggage is that the airlines charge for checked baggage

I try to fly with only hand luggage even when checking in luggage is free since it makes the the check in process slightly faster, saves me having to spend half an hour waiting for my luggage at the other end, means I have my luggage if my connecting flight gets re-routed or cancelled and makes it much more unlikely that my luggage gets lost along the way.

>Realistically, how many such people are there going to be who are travelling without a change of clothes?

A typical Ryanair customer would book a flight from Frankfurt to London for $20. It's not unusual to fly Ryanair to see a musical or a concert somewhere in Europe and fly back immediately after. Lots of potential to fly ultralight.

> The only reason people store so much hand luggage is that the airlines charge for checked baggage.

I don't think this is true. Frequent flyers always tell me the purpose of a large carry-on is so you don't waste time at the baggage reclaim at the destination. This makes sense to me because that can often be 30+ minutes.

I assume those people either fly to and back in the same day, have an already established "base" with clothes & cosmetics on the other end, or just buy everything at their destination. Personally, even for business trips longer than 2-3 days I end up having to use checked luggage.

I'm leaving today for a 4-day trip with just a backpack (I'm a guy without contact lenses or other medical issues so I need minimal cosmetics) (admittedly I'm taking a bit of a risk by trusting the weather forecast).

A few years ago I went for 10-day trip to Cuba (i.e. you can't really buy stuff there) with a 40L backpack.

> A few years ago I went for 10-day trip to Cuba (i.e. you can't really buy stuff there) with a 40L backpack.

Nice. But how did that fit in the usual size & weight limits of hand luggage? Or did you fly with a decent airline instead of a cheap one?

A ~40L travel backpack like [1] is legal carryon (and is probably actually a bit more adaptable for overhead space than a typical rollaboard) along with a small laptop bag or other "personal item." It's what I mostly use to travel all over the world for weeks at a time. This is on a regular airline--typically United. I get free checked luggage but rarely take advantage.

[1] https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/porter-46-PORTER46.html

To my way of thinking you’re taking too much stuff. I once carried more because I needed suits and the like. These days I’ll go in a 3 week trip with just carry-on.

Might be because on the flights I took, trying to stuff all my electronics (a laptop, a Kindle, power cables) and clothes&cosmetics for 3+ days in the same bag would make me exceed either weight or size limit of hand luggage.

The simple and most reasonable way to differentiate is that anything stored under the seat in front of you is free. Anything that goes into the overhead locker you have to pay for (but still cheaper than checking in luggage)

I’d occasionally fly Dublin to London for one night (even once or twice over and back in a day, but I try to avoid that because it’s awful). I’d only take a bag that fits under the seat.

You aren't going without any luggage, but just what you can fit behind the seat in front - and you can fit multiple change of clothes there, I assure you.

Some of us have pants the size of boat covers.

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