Ban carry-on fees?

Governments should fight wars and collect taxes. Its the only things they can do well. Otherwise let free enterprise, that survives by meeting the needs of the public, do its thing without interference. Interesting that the same proposal includes legislating the size of a carryon, but not at the current most popular size but smaller so many of us will have to buy new luggage.

Wizzair and Ryan offer fare structures that reduce the number of carry on bags and force flyers to use the underseat instead of filling the bins with things that should be underseat. And, essentially, their customers pay for the ability to have a carryon bag. They either pay buy buying it individually or by upgrading to a budle that includes it. I like only having to buy what I want. I've never had trouble finding room in the overhead of either airline so it must be working.

Science: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. There’s always blow back somehow, somewhere.

I like to see long term predictability and stability. Tinkering always creates some confusion and stress.

In the USA, each airline sets its own fees and protocols and are subject to immediate changes.

The EU should not micromanage anything. When have EU council members worked on airlines and understand the specifics of each airline? Let the airplane companies, workers, and customers do what needs to be done.

If you are going to travel successfully in this day and age, you need to understand the "TT&L" that is a part of your ticket. Most tickets are now a basic price plus fees even sometimes in business class. When booking you need to sit down with your yellow tablet and see exactly what the fare entails. If a person doesn't like the price they can look into alternatives.

Government regulations can be a burden or they can help improve markets. According to the Potsdam Institute of Airtravel Rating and Internet Travel Forum Rankings, this idea does indeed warrant more study since a lack of standards exists and pricing transparency is often a complaint.

What we all want is competitive, more efficient and fair markets and governments can play a role. the world needs refs!

Happy travels!

It is reasonable to expect that an airline ticket should include a baggage allowance.

I do think it is a ridiculous proposition to believe that when one does not want or does not take advantage of all of the available features of a ticket, that they're somehow subsidizing those that do.

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But let's not forget how the EU saved European culture by outlawing the Apple charging cable.

Airlines make a lot of money from baggage fees. Combined it's well into the billions of dollars annually.

If the EU passes this law, all it will mean is that airfares will go up. The size and weight allowance is low so most people will have to check a bag or pay extra to take a larger carry on.

Although some airlines are giving in somewhat. Ryanair increased the "free" bag size from 40 x 25 x 20 cm to 40 x 30 x 20 cm. The EU standard is 40 x 30 x 15.

Personally, I'd rather see free checked bags like in the past. Most people are not Rick Steves travelers and would prefer to check a bag if it didn't cost too much. With free checked bags, fewer people will take larger carry on bags meaning more room for those of us who do carry on only.

But the politicians have gotten involved which means nothing good will come from this.

Otherwise let free enterprise, that survives by meeting the needs of the public

Note that I cannot buy toilet paper rolls that fit my 1960s era wall-mounted toilet paper dispensers at the supermarket or at Target. The only rolls that fit my dispensers that are for sale locally are at Costco. Free enterprise it NOT meeting my toilet paper roll size needs!

Toby,
On the contrary, Costco is. Monopoly situation for your toilet paper requirements.

BBC article from June:

The days of being charged additional fees for your hand luggage on
flights could soon be a thing of the past – at least in the European
Union. On 24 June, lawmakers voted in favour of a proposal allowing
passengers to bring a small carry-on bag weighing up to 7kg (15.4lbs)
on board their flight free of charge, even on budget airlines.

Under the new rule, travellers would be allowed to bring one cabin bag
measuring up to 100cm on board their flight, as well as an
under-the-seat personal item with a maximum size of 40x30x15cm at no
additional cost. The proposed law still requires approval from 55% of
EU member states, but if adopted following negotiations starting in
July 2025, the new rules would extend to all flights within the EU, as
well as routes to and from the EU.

"Today's vote marks an important step toward fairer and more
transparent travel," vice-chair of the EU Committee on Transport and
Tourism (TRAN) Matteo Ricci said in a press statement. "[It
introduces] concrete measures such as the clear definition of free
hand luggage … a fundamental right to avoid unjustified extra costs."

Previously, EU-based budget airlines like EasyJet, RyanAir, Wizz and
others often charged substantial fees for hand luggage, depending on
its size and weight. As a result, Spain's Consumer Rights Ministry
fined five budget airlines €179m (£149m) for what it deemed "abusive
practices" in November 2024. The Spanish ruling, along with pressure
from consumer rights associations and passengers, has paved the way
for the EU to push for what it considers fairer and more consistent
hand luggage rules.

The carry-on proposal is part of a larger effort by the European
Parliament to increase protections and rights for travellers. To
ensure that families can sit together without incurring additional
costs, lawmakers also voted to prohibit airlines from imposing seat
selection charges for children aged 12 and under.

One more reason to just take a train.

They should be allowed to split the spaces into section(s)....

If you mean putting a divider in the overhead bins, I doubt this is is a good solution, Dividers would actually decrease the space available and add weight, which is the last thing you want for an airplane.

On a side note, Toby, how are the Costco toilet paper rolls different than 'everything else' that they are the only ones that fit your holders?

Mr. E, I seldom watch the NFL so I don't know if their refs are more competent than the college ones. But the ones I see in college are often as incompetent as our politicians.(Just ask the whiney Auburn fans)

If you mean putting a divider in the overhead bins

Sorry - I wasn't clear. No - I mean that e.g. the first 6 seat rows and the space above them is a section, so you would have to use a space near your seat (or use a seat near your space).

This would - hopefully - reduce the problem with passengers putting their bag in the first avaliable space (e.g. over first row) and then go to their seat in the back. Then when the last passenger in first row arrives, she must go to the back of the plane to find a space for her bag, resulting in chaos - especially at deboarding time. I have seen that a few times.

I do think it is a ridiculous proposition

Each to his own. The space has a cost. It is either spread out on 100 bags or 200 passengers - only half of whom actually uses it.

Some years ago I flew every Wednesday Copenhagen-London and return same evening with only a laptop bag, which I placed under the seat in front of me. No checked bag and no carry-on bag.

Today on vacation we always check our bags (and pay for it). We would still each pay for 1/200 part of the cost of carry-on space.

I think people are misinterpreting what is being proposed. This is not banning fees for your carry-on sized bag like many of us travel with, crammed to the gussets and weighing a ton. This is just covering what is typically called a "personal" item, up to 7 kilos (~15 lbs) with measurements (L+W+H) totaling 100 cm. This would be your day bag or purse, or other similar item.

To be honest, most all airlines, even Ryanair, allows some type of personal item on with you for free. This proposal simply standardizes the size and weight of that item, as some airlines specify something smaller (For example, Ryanair specifies a bag totaling 90 cm, but no weight).

Under this proposal, airlines can still charge to "Carry on" a bag if it exceeds those limits, like most of our "carry-on" bags do, or if you have more than one item, like most of us do.

I believe you are 100% correct Paul. The airlines are not going to give up any fees. This has been the new way of pricing for a very long time.

If the airlines could figure out a way to get bags more quickly to the luggage area in the terminal or not lose the damn things, I think most people would rather check a bag.

The size requirements of carry-on bags keep shrinking to a point you can't fit anything in them and quite honestly, needing to do laundry on a 3 week vacation is pretty ridiculous. I am considering going to a slightly larger wheeled bag and check it, but pack a day bag with two days worth of survival stuff as a carry on and just roll the dice.

It seems the RS way of carry-on traveling is not acceptable to the airlines any longer. To each his own.

My last couple of flights, Air Canada asked a number of people to check their biggish carry-on luggage free of charge.

"Personally, I'd rather see free checked bags like in the past." - ah, the good old days.

If the EU does indeed impose a ban on carry-on fees, I welcome it, obviously......bravo! I fly Basic and will end up boarding last anyway with all the disadvantages as well as discomforts