Since the airlines have instituted charges for checked luggage, there is now a focus on carry-on material. The concern is that people will try to avoid the checked luggage fees by over extending the carry-on limitations:

“…American Airlines is the first airline to acknowledge starting a carry-on crackdown. According to spokesperson Tim Wagner, American usually adds extra staff during summers. This season, some of those “high-season” employees have already been tasked with monitoring the size of carry-on bags at checkpoints. “We’d rather catch it there than have to deal with taking away bags at the gate or on the airplane,” Wagner said.”

link: Airlines cracking down on carry-ons

It seems that the concept of “the friendly skies” is long gone. It is a matter of finding ways to generate more capital and reacting to a baby that says “Bye, bye, plane”. Even a toddler is suspect now.

Catherine Forsythe