Hundreds of readers responded to our survey earlier this month asking about the need for federal regulation of carry-on luggage. Our readers clearly voted that we don’t need a federal law and, even more strongly, they don’t want TSA enforcing any such law. Respondents blame the airlines for adding to the problem with luggage fees and then not policing their own policies.
Here are the results:
Do you feel a federal law is needed to control carry-on luggage?
Yes: 34.3 percent. No: 65.7 percent.
Should TSA be responsible for enforcing carry-on luggage rules?
Yes: 26.1 percent. No: 73.9 percent
Should airlines enforce their own carry-on luggage rules?
Yes: 94.8 percent. No: 5.2 percent.
Is carry-on luggage increasing because of the airlines’ charges for checked luggage?
Yes: 97.7 percent. No: 2.3 percent.
Why don’t airlines enforce their own carry-on rules? (Check any you think are true)
• Flight attendants are afraid of upsetting passengers — 59.8 percent
• They really don’t care — 47.7 percent
• Passengers carrying on the most luggage are premium frequent fliers and businessmen — 40.2 percent
• Those baggage templates at the boarding gates are a joke since carry-on rules are based on total dimensions not a fixed length/height/width — 40.2 percent
• Airlines feel too guilty about charging checked-baggage fees — 10.6 percent
What problems do you predict should TSA be charged with enforcing a federal carry-on baggage law?
• TSA security lines will move more slowly than ever — 86.5 percent
• Repacking of baggage at TSA checkpoints will add more delays — 73.7 percent
• Security fees will increase to support increased staffing — 72.9 percent
Fights between TSA officers and passengers over luggage sizes — 68.4 percent
• Real security screening measures will be overlooked because of added duties — 63.9 percent
ConsumerTraveler.com readers are not the only ones who feel that this carry-on problem has been exacerbated by the airlines’ own rules.
With airlines now charging as much as $25 each way to check a single bag -saddling a vacationing family of four with a $200 round-trip tab – a new breed of traveler
has emerged.Call them bag-fee dodgers, passengers who are bulking up purses, computer bags and backpacks, stuffing traditional carry-ons and, at the extreme, trying to haul full-size Samsonites on board, all to reduce or avoid a baggage bill.
The bottom line:
1. We don’t want a federal regulation of carry-on luggage
2. We don’t want TSA to enforce any new regulation
3. The airlines created this problem for themselves
4. The airlines should police the problem, but they aren’t
5. Any new law would increase TSA security-check wait times
Photo:Caribb/flickr creative commons
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
