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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Can't Help You
ChrisCrossings · May 13, 1999

Q: How do I get help with my luggage? I want to get my bag into the compartment above, but the airline employees told me it's not their job.

- Sue Eagan

A: It isn't. Maybe years ago -- when flight attendants were also registered nurses and before deregulation destroyed the airline business -- you could count on some help with your bags. But not today.

Flight attendants may choose to assist you, but they don't have to. There are many reasons for the seemingly unhelpful behavior. Today's planes are more likely to be oversold, with fewer crewmembers looking after more travelers than ever. Imagine if they had to offer everyone a lift with their luggage? You'd probably never get off the ground.

Why else? Well, when airline employees try to help you with your bag, they frequently get hurt. I talked with Cynthia Kane at the Association of Flight Attendants, and she told me that despite the union rules absolving them from doubling as porters, cabin attendants do help passengers -- and they get injured in the process.

In fact, flight attendants end up with 15 percent of the injuries caused by carry-ons. Its gotten so bad that the AFA is asking the Federal Aviation Administration to limit carry-ons to 13 pounds and no more than 45 inches of height, width and depth. (So far the FAA hasn't done anything, but House aviation subcommittee chairman John Duncan, R-Tenn., is planning a hearing late this spring to get more information.)

All of which brings me to a question: why do you need help with your carry-on? If you're disabled, then you should contact your airline before traveling, and you'll be taken care of. If, however, you insist on dragging a heavy bag onto the flight rather than checking it in, then you should be ashamed of yourself.

Heavy carry-ons are a serious problem. They prevent flights from leaving on schedule. They consume every inch of available overhead space. And they turn your flight into a deathtrap. (In practically every plane crash, the overhead bins pop open and their contents fall to the ground. At best, they slow your path to the emergency exit; at worst, the luggage falls on your head and knocks you unconscious.)

My advice is to pack light and don't carry anything on the plane that you can't lift. Leave the flight attendants out of this.

(See a response to this column.)

Christopher Elliott can be reached at christopher@elliott.org. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.