The Anonymous Widower

Cabin Baggage

Apparently, an airline is going to cut down the amount of cabin baggage, we can take on a airliner.

It took me about forty years to moderate C, my late wife’s packing for holidays.  In the last year of her life, we had seven holidays and by that time we could do a weekend with a small bag between us.

Sadly she died of cancer in 2007 and I doubt at 65, I have enough time to find or train another lady.

I would solve the problem in another way. Some of the things we take are quite bulky, like hair rollers, laptops and books, but they could easily be picked up or even rented at the other end.

If we were really seriously about cutting the weight on flights, which of course is the way to better fuel efficiency and lower fares, then all passengers should be weighed and charged accordingly.

Since C died, I did meet one lady, who had an obsession about buying the largest case, that she could use as hand baggage.

On the subject of weight with aircraft, there’s always the story of the charter pilot, who used to fly the flat jockeys around in a Piper Seneca.  Brimful with jockeys and a few saddles, he could fill the fuel tanks completely and not exceed the maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft. After a summer flying jockeys around the UK and Europe, he then had a job to fly a group of businessmen to a meeting. He followed the habit of the last few months and filled the tanks, only to realise that with his passengers, the plane was too heavy.  So he had to drain some fuel out of the plane! He never made the same mistake again!

October 12, 2012 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Flying, Weight