Timeline for Why are airlines so concerned with checked baggage weight?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 2019 at 3:15 | history | edited | Vikki | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Fixing spelling.
|
| Aug 17, 2018 at 8:45 | comment | added | yo' | @Therac Well, I do know, but more and more people cannot fit their luggage at their feet (I have never had one there and I never will, with almost 6" height), and with the check-in luggage restrictions (even 1st luggage becomes paid now by some standard companies), it's natural that the hand luggage gets heavier and heavier. And there is not enough space in the overhead bins for 1 luggage per seat, not even considering the weight limit. I'm afraid we'll have to wait for a first serious accident where this is a significant factor for people to start paying attention. | |
| Aug 17, 2018 at 8:42 | comment | added | Therac | @yo' That is actually a concern. Overhead bins are designed for 16g crash loads; the most g's you'll see in a normal flight is 2.5. The safety margin goes up to 4g, and up to 5-6g when low on fuel. From flight 006, It's known that 5g is where pieces start breaking off the airplane. So, even a 2x overloaded bin won't fail before the airplane does. Crashes are different - this weight could come down, and interior collapse can block evacuation routes in an otherwise survivable crash. | |
| Aug 17, 2018 at 8:21 | comment | added | yo' | @Therac I've often seen three pieces of hand luggage in my overhead bin and thought: well, if all three are as heavy as my backpack, this thing will be significantly overloaded :D I'm pretty sure I commonly overflow the 12kg hand luggage limit in most EU carriers. | |
| Aug 17, 2018 at 8:09 | comment | added | komodosp | But I'm still allowed to check in overweight luggage, I'm just charged for it - does that fee get passed onto the baggage handlers (as compensation for having to handle overweight luggage) or something? | |
| Aug 16, 2018 at 6:04 | comment | added | Anilv | While airlines do have a maxlimit per piece, the ones that are more concerned about high piece weights is actually the airport and not the airlines. Most baggage handling systems (BHS) are designed around a max 32kgs per piece. If there are heavier bags being consistently run thru the system this will result in high wear and tear on the system which may result in delay/damage to bags which the airlines usually blame the airport! | |
| Aug 16, 2018 at 4:52 | comment | added | Therac | Note that overweight carry-on is entirely not without consequences. The bins are now designed for crash deceleration, but only with carry-on within the usual limits. On the other hand, less luggage in the hold means more room for cargo, so the profit motive is for more carry-on and less-check in. | |
| Aug 15, 2018 at 22:06 | comment | added | Jörg W Mittag | I just came home and my suitcase has a big orange sticker on it saying "DANGER! HEAVY" with a hand-written "22 kg" on it. And, having schlepped it to and from the airport, I can definitely attest to the fact that handled wrongly, you can badly hurt yourself. | |
| Aug 15, 2018 at 21:50 | review | First posts | |||
| Aug 15, 2018 at 22:13 | |||||
| Aug 15, 2018 at 21:47 | history | answered | user33767 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |