Charge 'Em For Carry On Chaos!!!

    Finally!!!! An airline that is doing something right for a change!!!
    The recent news of Spirit Air charging passengers for carry on luggage, I'm sure, is being welcomed with open arms from flight attendants across America! Ask any cabin crew member what is the worst part of their job, and they will tell you it is boarding and finding space for passengers' carry on chaos. The problem only continues growing in size, just like suitcases passengers try to roll on board.
    I've seen countless flight attendants and passengers injured from over sized suitcases being tossed into the overhead bins. Passengers with too heavy bags who complain they can't lift their suitcases into the overhead bins ask crew members to stow the bags for them. That's where a large number of crew injuries occur. Thankfully, at my airline, we are not required to lift bags for passengers for that reason.
    Then I've seen the injuries to passengers sitting in their aisle seats when someone opens the overhead bin and a piece of luggage crammed unsafely inside comes falling out and striking the unsuspecting passenger on the head. I've seen some ugly bloody head injuries because of this.
   Or there are the passengers who struggle to get their suitcase in the bin and drop it on the passengers sitting there ready their book.
   Then there are the arguments that ensue over no more room for the bags. Passengers who board last become irate because there is no space for their bag. They yell at the flight attendants to try and find space for their items. They try and flaunt their airline flying status or how much they paid for their ticket.
    What clueless passengers don't get, is that there is only so much space inside an airplane to accommodate bags. Once that space is full, then bags have to checked into the belly of the aircraft and picked up at baggage claim. Believe it or not, us flight attendants don't have this magical power, where we snap our fingers, and extra space appears for bags!
   I've heard passengers tell my crew members, "Isn't it your job to find space for my bags?"....Or, "Can't you take out someone else's bag to fit mine in?"
    And what always surprises me, is passengers never get the concept, that their guaranteed, primary personal stowage space is under that seat in front of them, the same place everyone refuses to use for their bags. Overhead bins are shared with EVERYONE on the airplane. 
    And don't expect flight attendants to begin rearranging suitcases in overhead bins. I can't tell you  how many times I've done that, only to be yelled at by other passengers upset because we were "touching" their bags. So now I've just stop doing that too. It's really not worth it.
    Come departure time, if the bins are full, I ask customer service to step in and start checking bags in the belly of the plane.     
    Overall, it's just an ugly picture.
    So Spirit Air's announcement is GREAT NEWS!!! I only hope all other airlines follow suit.
    Spirit Air is clever in its approach. Beginning August 1, it will begin to charge passengers $45 each way for each carry on item. But wait, the charge is only $30 if you book your bag ahead. The airline will not charge for anything that will fit underneath the seat in front of you.
    I only wish my airline would do the same. I can only imagine all the trouble it would save us flight attendants.
    From a consumer standpoint, I can only hear the arguments and complaints now. But what the consumer doesn't understand is that airlines are a business. They are here to make money just like any other company in the United States. The times of a "free ride" are over folks. Accept it, move on or travel Greyhound. It's that simple.
    The unfortunate fact of charging for carry ons will probably not be a popular thing among some airlines. They don't want to "scare off" passengers.
    The only solution is for the Federal Aviation Administration to step in and order all US airlines to remove overhead bins from their aircraft, leaving the only stowable space under the seat in front of you. Think of the money airlines would save. Taking off the overhead bins would create less weight, thus the aircraft eating up less fuel.
    Just an idea!