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Comment by amelius | Hacker News Reader

Given all the dark patterns used by airlines, I wonder why airlines haven't made a business out of it yet: pay $X extra, and be assured that your luggage actually arrives at your destination.

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Because then they'd have an obvious interest to lose your baggage and such an idea would quickly get squashed by the numerous lawsuits from upset travelers.

They do, it’s called cabin luggage.

That would be true if they didn't sometimes take your cabin bag away from you and put it in the hold.

(The last time I flew with United Airlines, they did that. Then they cancelled flights so I had to stay in Chicago overnight, and wouldn't give me back my cabin bag with clean clothes and things in it. Then they lost that bag and I didn't get it back for another three days. That was about a decade ago and I have never flown with United since then, nor will I ever again.)

American/Delta/Jetblue/Southwest/Alaska/Hawaiian are no different. They're all the same, unless you have status. Alaska/Jetblue might be slightly better, but at the end of the day they have limited cabin space, and have no choice but to check in luggage, and I doubt their propensity to lose luggage is any different either.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-airlines-have-the-mo...

Airlines made a business of that, too: with 'priority boarding' you get into the plane first, when the overhead compartments still have enough space. And some airlines (Ryanair) only allow so small bags in the cabin with a standard ticket that the overhead compartments don't get full nearly as often.

Not really, there is a size limit on what you can carry on that is smaller than the checked in size.

Although I'd argue that a lot more people could manage with carry-on if they just brought what they need for a trip rather than everything they think of.

It also helps to:

- Ditch the standard rollaboard designs (especially hard-sided), which give the impression of being efficient but usually waste a significant amount of space. A bag (as opposed to suitcase-style luggage with stiff walls) has major advantages in maneuverability and simply taking up less space with its own material.

- Learn some of the rolled/bundled packing techniques to minimize wasted space and wrinkling.

>Ditch the standard rollaboard designs

Absolutely. They lead to a lot of the overhead space issues because they're relatively bulky and take up a lot of space even if someone has only packed for a single day trip. I get that some people have physical issues but, big a fan as I am on wheels for check-in luggage for the relatively rare occasions I need it, IMO it's mostly unnecessary for carry-on.

Absolutely. This is what I do. I travel every second week and for a long time I just have a carry on.

Every now and then I need to check luggage--mostly because I need gear for some longer active vacation. But it's definitely the exception and I run into problems of some sort on a fairly regular basis when I do. (Usually due to flight changes/cancellations because of weather, etc.

Looking at some fellow passengers I sometimes have the feeling that you could board the plane with a mid-sized SUV, if only you were able to lift it above your head to put it in the bin.

Some try to avoid bags in the hold (because of costs, time, risk) by cramming everything their cabin bag. And overpacking is pretty common.

I wonder what the statistics look like for first class vs coach.

I my experience (back in the nineties when lost baggage was much more common) - no difference. I wouldn't normally fly first class, mind. But I would fly business now and then, and I was upgraded to first a number of times. I never noticed any difference in how often my case was lost. Big red "Priority" sticker never made any difference. Back then the case was lost so often that I can't give you any number, but it was so often that I got quite used to it. But it definitely made no difference on which class I was flying, or with a gold card or not, etc. Only the airport and other conditions made a difference.

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