As I travel home today from college in Boston, MA to Miami, FL, I find myself in an interesting position.
In the process of checking 2 of my bags I had the pleasure of having to open both of them up and play a game of "Take out and Reweigh" as they both happened to be about 2 pounds over the 50 pound limit. With no sort of sympathy the attendant urged me to reorganize or suffer a feee for the overweight baggage. I briefly thought about paying the $100 fee for each bag to be checked at their original weights but after serious consideration I deferred to my creative ways. Somehow I managed to stuff my already plump carry on and oversize backpack to hit the limit exactly. To think that a couple of pounds can be a couple hundred dollars difference in ones bank account is astounding. Some would say a third checked bag would do the trick but the first 2 ran me 60$ and a third alone would cost $150. It is amazing to see how the airline industry can charge so much and make a killing over something so small.
This doesn't include the fact that my carry never made it on board the aircraft by my side as it was too big due to the fact that it didn't slide in like a glove to the carry on measurer ( we have all tried to wedge it in there). Whats the point of even bringing a carry on if it never makes it onboard now days as the overhead bin space is always "full" before the boarding process is even near finishing?? Not to mention the extra hour it always takes for bags to start cycling through the carousel at baggage claim at my final destination.
The baggage world is a tough one now a days that can be tedious, time consuming and expensive for many of us who find it hard to pack light or who have no other choice but to overstuff their bags. Maybe one day airlines will be more forgiving!!!