I agree with this. Mostly because I had a poor experience with one of their gate agents recently. They forced me to check my hand luggage because it was 2kg overweight. They don't uniformly enforce the hand luggage weight limit, their employees get to pick and choose passengers at the gate. The gate agent scoffed at me putting an AirTag in the bag that they were making me check.
Because it’s a scam. They pick “enforcement” targets by guessing who seems likely to pay.
I’ve never been charged when traveling solo. But with family or co-workers they have a shot at the “oh, just pay it, we have a plane to catch” gambit. I know their tricks and always refuse. Then I lay the bag down and start rifling through it like Yoda in Luke’s lunchbox.
The long line of passengers who think they will miss their flight are staring daggers at me. My travel companions are attempting to activate their invisibility cloaks. I give not one f because it is a scam.
I am helping everyone by showing it is a scam. Half the time the agent backs down. The other times I can usually throw a few heavier things into a spare duffel bag. F that s.
OK, I guess I'll...move a few things from there into another bag that is going onto the same flight, possibly the bag of someone I'm traveling with. Now you have reduced the flying weight of the plane by exactly 0 grams and made everyone a few percent more angry / delayed / stressed out.
It's not just about the weight on the plane. It's about the equipment and people who move the bags around. Clearly, people have some upper limit they need to be expected to lift as baggage handlers.
No, it was a checked bag that was barely over the limit. There’s a penalty fee and the bag is tagged “heavy” so the handlers are aware. Some high-mile fliers get an extra weight fee exemption. There’s another limit for max weight.
You can see out the window of the plane the way handlers drag and drop even much lighter bags and crates, even when tagged “fragile”, how much the weight matters and how much they give a s. I have video. The jars survived. Double-boxing ftw.
If we could produce some kind of internal memo or training guide that proved this, would that be enough to result in some consequences in a court of law?
