I just hope they don't start a trend with this stunt!

I personally think it is a great idea because the overhead storage is getting out of hand. Southwest allows 1 carry on besides a purse or computer per ticket individual. The carry on is limited to 10x16x24 inches. So that means that a mom with 3 kids can legally carry on 4 honking carry on bags plus use the 2 free checked bags per person. I have flown twice in the last month and since the recession has cut air travel, airlines are running fewer flights and packing the planes out. It only makes sense finanacially. The two time I have flown in the past month, I noticed how long it takes passengers to find storage for the carryons and retrieve them to deplane. It is really frustrating.

I think they should reduce the size of the carry on if they are going to jam pack the planes. Then more items would fit in the bins.

I thought American and Continental would back down and match Southwest on the carry on rules. They didn't, so it gives choices. I like choices.

I see no reason for more than one carry-on per person. And a purse, computer, backpack or the like should each be counted as a carry-on. Put your purse and fanny pack in the suitcase if you don't want to pay extra.

I don't fly a lot but it always annoyed me seeing people line up to be first on with 4 or 5 bags and take up all the overhead space. The one time I pulled the guy's stuff out and put mine up there. Boy did he throw a tantrum! But the flight attendant said yes, I'm entitled to first claim on the overhead above my seat. Then others started tossing his bags out!

People go so overboard with luggage anyway. Most people pack four times what they need for a trip. Fuel is expensive, the extra weight costs fuel. I like the guy who just wore everything for his trip! Didn't have to pay a bag check. LOL

And I recall them having a little frame that you'd have to to put your bag into to see if it would fit. One guy had a backpack at least 2-3 times as thick and 1.5 times as long but they let him take it on anyway. I was annoyed when they made me put my little pack into the stupid frame. But I was so glad to get out of Arizona I wasn't going to do anything to delay it!

They're thinking they want to get out of the flying business would be my first guess.

Bravo, Cynic! I'll bet the people on your plane were cheering you. I would have been.

I do think that *some* amount of baggage should be included with a ticket (one suitcase and one carry-on seems reasonable to me - that's enough for a trip of any length, I think), but I agree that weight and size limits should be strictly enforced. I also agree that people take *way* too much for trips. However, if I were someone who liked to take a lot of stuff, I think I'd ship the stuff ahead by UPS.

There "are" reasons for more than one carry on.....camera or video equipment! We do underwater photography. If our camera housing doesn't arrive when we do, we can't board the boat and we have nothing to do once we get to our destination.......so we carry it on. We condense the set up, it fits in a small gym bag. Then we have the lap top, to down load photos onto, then our dive computer & regulator set up, it's titanium, expensive and necessary. That also fits in a small bag. We manage to have 3 carry ons between the two of us.:0)

We book whomevers cheapest.....never flown "this" airline. I'm sure others will start charging also.

"So that means that a mom with 3 kids can legally carry on 4 honking carry on bags plus use the 2 free checked bags per person."

Do children fly free??? I'm just curious. I've never flown with my kids but I figure they wouldn't be any cheaper to buy a ticket for since they are taking up a seat the same as anyone. And if they were paying the same, wouldn't they be entitled to have a carry-on bag and checked luggage, same as anyone else?

I'm going to enter the fray and say that I think it's a GREAT idea. It will help with getting people on and off the plane much quicker. I've spent too many times running through an airport to catch my next flight & sometimes missing it, due to how slow it is to get people off a plane.

If it's important enough to carry with you, it should be important enough for you to pay for that privilege.

I understand that some things regardless of size must be carried on board. However, the airlines need to restrict the size of other bags brought on board. My problem is with people who try to stuff much bigger "than allowed" bags in the overhead compartments. The airlines have a size policy in effect but, from what I've witnessed it is not enforced. I'm sure there are exceptions. I flew last week and it took forever to get off the plane because people were struggling to get bags that were way too big to be in the overhead compartment out. These people should be made to keep their seats until the passengers with no carry ons have left the plane. I don't think that's too much to ask.

How many times have you heard flight attendants pleading over the intercom, "Please close the overhead bins and take your seats. The plane cannot depart until all passengers are seated." This, when we're already 20 minutes late leaving the gate. Some of this has to be related to the way nobody boards a bus and walks to the rear! Duh. Who? Me?

I'm a little surprised they aren't making the overhead bins smaller. Island Air (Hawaii) has a carry-on standard that is only slightly larger than the proverbial breadbox. You start boarding with something too big and it's whisked away and put in with the other luggage. You get it back on the tarmac when you land. Those planes board FAST.

I will never fly Spirit. I sure hope other airlines don't follow them. I never check in luggage. I put everything I need in a carry on. That way I don't have to worry about picking up my luggage, stolen or lost luggage.
I'm used to vacationing on the motorcycle, so I accustomed to packing light. :0)

I wish airlines would take into consideration destination(s) and how long you're going to be traveling.

When I went to Antarctica, I spent a week in Buenos Aires on the way home since you have to fly through and spend the night there anyhow.

I had to pack big bulky jackets, knee high boots, formal wear, cameras and other assorted items for the Antarctic. And because you can only visit Antarctica in summer, you have to pack for 80+ degrees temps in Buenos Aires. The cruise line I traveled with gave everyone on board a huge red jacket for shore excursions. I had not planned for that and between souvenirs in BA and the jacket from the ship had to buy a third suitcase before I climbed on a plane. I'd have gone broke just getting home if I had to deal with all the charges that are being levied these days.

Jodi-

As a frustrated passenger who flew Spirit from Ft. Myers to Atlantic City two weeks ago, I can only say that I am also thrilled with this news.

It takes entirely too long to board lately; and people are trying to avoid paying for luggage by dragging it all on with them. They stand in the aisles shoving all kinds of things in the overhead. I saw more than one teenager with laptops, games, carry-ons, and full-size pillows!!

Like everything else, it's going to cost more to fly. If you cannot pack lightly, then you are going to have to pay more.

Thx for letting me vent!

I once was on a plane that was over an hour late leaving--not because there was a back up on the runway or bad weather, but because so many people had brought so many carry-ons, (and so many refused to unhand them) that it took forever to get the excess luggage collected and stored below--where it belonged in the first place.

According to the reports I heard on the news, Spirit is NOT charging extra for the carryon you can stow under the seat, just the 'above' compartments. I don't know if that's true or not, but it at least gives someone with a small carryon a free pass, if it is

I agree with all of the posters who are frustrated with the people who cram huge bags into the overheads (how did they get on with them - I am lucky to get on with my "regulation" size) - and then continually get up and open the compartment which results in items falling on the heads of passengers who are sitting under said compartments and who have had to put their bags at the end of the plane because their space has been taken over by an "unauthorized" user. The other problem is that there are various sizes of planes. I have been on a 5 hour flight in a seat that could not accommodate my purse - a regular size purse under the seat in front of me. There isn't a woman in the world who doesn't know what size a regular purse is - despite the women trying to carry on purses the size of a garment bag. And this was on Air Canada - not a discount airline, so I can only imagine what will happen. We were recently in New York and my husband was lucky to get on with his small carry-on and laptop just in its sleeve, whereas others were being zipped through with huge bags. I have found it best to make sure your carry-on weighs less on your home scales. I know what our bags weigh empty - and once packed - and I leave a 2 or 3 lb. window to allow for the airport's scales weighing high - and it happens. In New York I bought a 6 lb. carry-on at Brookstone and could have sold it 3 times over during the walk back to the hotel (without the box). I then found my husband happily putting his laptop in it - get your own! There was another bag - bigger - and of course $40 cheaper. The sales associate told me that it would weigh in at 7 lbs. - I suggested 10 lbs. So out came her scale - 9.9 - so she told me she was right. Well, I had to point out that I was "more right" than she was! She then tried to sell me a scale so that I could prove to security/check-in that my bag was not overweight - as if that is ever going to happen. Clearing customs in Toronto for the U.S. was something else this go round. What I hate - even though I do understand the rationale - is that if my husband and I are travelling together, we could each check 2 bags of the allowable weight - but not one bag that is 2 lbs. over without incurring a charge. A money-maker for the airlines for sure. I also bought him 3 Brooks Brothers no-iron cotton dress shirts that he will use only for travelling. It was like a revolving door at BB - Canadians and Europeans all buying the same 3 shirt deal - in the same white and pale blue shades. I am careful - my plastic bag was held up as an example to all at Heathrow as to how to back a plastic bag - but I still seem to always end up as the random person to be checked.

I heard on the news that Spirit Airlines actually decreased their fees by around $40.00, so passengers won't in actuality be paying more. Not only that, but what can fit under your seat will not count.

It makes sense to me. Check those suitcases you feel you need to carry with you and spare everyone the hassle of putting it in the overhead bins.

Well, I never heard of Spirit Airlines and think it is a clever publicity gimmik

It is a gimmick. Spirit is advertising that the flight ticket costs only 1 cent. Then they are piling on fees for things like bags that more than equal the normal price of the flight.

1¢ for airline tickets? I'll fly naked for that price. LOL

Take your portapotty too. They're probably going to charge to use the loo too.

Ryanair, which is based in Dublin, Ireland, and bills itself as "Europe's first and largest low fares airline," is mulling a plan that would require travelers to pay either 1 euro or 1 British pound (about $1.33 or $1.52) for using the bathroom on flights lasting one hour or less.

I usually travel with just a carryon, no checked luggage. When I board the plane I am usually told "we will put that in the cargo hold for you as the overhead is filled". Now that just defeats my purpose of a carryon if I have to wait for the luggage when I get to my destination.