Nuts About Southwest

Space bags (linked above) are especially helpful for the trip **home** when you have the dirty clothes to deal with. We also toss in a spare gym bag in case we get too overstuffed.

The other nice thing is that we've never had a lost or delayed bag when we've checked with Southwest, and that's been a stack of flights, even though my wife and I are non-business travelers.

BNA-BWI in two weeks! :-D

Thanks for the tip about the space-saving bags. I'm going to check them out because I usually pack FAR too many clothes because *gasp* the horror of being caught in the same outfit twice in a two-week vacation period is too great to be imagined. If these will save me ANY space they'll be worth it.

What's even funnier than passengers attempting to put their super-sized luggage into overhead racks are the same passengers attempting to carry their super-sized luggage down stairs IN THE RAIN at airports where there isn't a jetway. Like St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. It would be comical if it wasn't dangerous!

Using soft sided duffel bags as carryon helps a bunch as well. They are much more flexible as to where they will fit. They also have less of their space wasted by internal supports and structure.

Of course the downside is you have to carry them as they don't have wheels. But then, if you can't carry it - Its Not Carryon!

Why aren't the gate attendants having those passengers with bags so large they can't lift them above their head, check the bags?
My guess is the airlines can save more money by having less baggage handlers? There are samples at each gate saying that if the bag doesn't fit in it, they are to be checked. People bring everything, including the kitchen sink, on a trip and then other passengers are inconvenienced by having to put their laptops, small bags and coats on the floor at their feet. Same 'ol thing....we have rules but nobody enforces them.

I have my small roller board carryon, typically lightly packed so I can fit it into overheads with no problem. Twice on Southwest within the past 6 months I was in the unfortunate group C for cattle-call boarding. By the time I got to back of plane I was told there was no spot for my carry-on and I'd have to check it. Not so, once back there, I clearly saw several spots where mine could have fit. It was very annoying to see this. Due to the miserable cattle call conditions and above mentioned refusal by crew to even try to rearrange a couple of coats and shopping bags so more carryons would fit convinced me to never fly Southwest again. Sorry, you lost a customer. I prefer to pay $50 more to eliminate anxiety about where I'm going to sit and to ensure my bag can go with me. P.S. Having customers sprawled on airport floors to save spots in lines A, B, C is really unpleasant and a safety hazard.

There is a great way for the flight attendants to assist in overhead bin storage dilemmas.

When a flight has a high load factor, and the attendants are pretty sure that overhead bin space will fill up, as passengers board the plane, look to see what they are carrying.

Now - if an item will fit under the seat, reach out and touch the item, and ask them to please put that article under the seat. The act of touching the item removes ownership of placement from the passenger. It is a very subtle psychological thing, but it works.

If you just ask, many will not heed your request. By physically touching the item, the passenger is much more likely to follow the flight attendant's recommendation.

There is nothing more frustrating that being in the "C" boarding group and having to check your carryon because the "A" and "B" groups have misappropriated the bin space. And much of what is upstairs will fit under a seat.

Can you post twice in a row? I have completely solved the problem for you; unhappy customers due to luggage bin overcrowding can be a thing of the past starting tomorrow!

When a flight is full, you know that some bags are going to have to go downstairs and some people are going to be unhappy. So let's bribe people to volunteer to relinquish their precious carry-on. What is the currency of bribery used most often at Southwest? Drink coupons - what else?

Can't you just hear the gate attendant announcing, "Hi folks, luckily for us, this plane will be going out really, really full. That is great for us, it keeps Southwest as the only constantly profitable airline. It's also great for you, because we can continue to offer our low fares and great service as long as you all keep filling up our airplanes."

"But gosh-darn-it, Boeing just does not give us enough overhead compartment space in our beautiful airplanes. So, some of you aren't going to be so lucky, because we are going to have to check some carryon luggage today. But, there is a silver lining in this cloud, if anybody here in the gate area wants to check your carryon luggage right now, I will give you a free drink coupon."

"So come on folks, I need some Tag-The-Bag volunteers and I'll pay."

Granted, someone at SWA could come up with a better spiel, but you get the jest of the idea. If your going to tick off a few, might as well bribe them. Maybe you could even give each Tag-The-Bag volunteer a nice luggage tag with a cool "I tagged my bag" graphic for their next flight.

And the drink coupon could also be a cool Tag-The-Bag graphic. Heck, it could be the size, shape, and weight of a credit card. Those cost about a quarter, and many would rather keep their souvenir instead of trading it for a drink. If they do trade it, you get to use it again and again. If they keep it, you are out 25Â

I have been living in Melbourne, Australia for a number of years now and fly Southwest from LAX whenever I head back for visits to Phoenix. Just this past week at a dinner I met someone who travels to the US frequently and her first comment was about the insane Americans who take large bags onboard. I shared with her my last experience flying between LAX/PHX. The flight was delayed because one bag had to be checked due to lack of overhead space. This was due to lots of small bags placed above - and virtually no bags being placed under seats. I already had my larger bag under the seat in front of me, and moved my smaller backpack from the overhead bin & put it under the vacant seat beside me. I would encourage all Southwest passengers to start making wise decisions regarding carry on luggage. My experience proves that some of the flight delays are directly caused by the actions of passengers already onboard.

I think carrying on the luggage is overrated. At most airports baggage handlers get the bags out faster than I can get
over to claim them. It 's easier for me to have you take care of my bags than for me to shove them overhead far from
my seat and I love having room for my feet again. In over 100 trips, I've never lost a bag. Just enforce the size at the
gate and you will have plenty of space for bags that do fit.