Airlines Won't Dare Use the Fastest Way to Board Planes (wired.com) 310
An anonymous reader writes: You've arrived at the airport early. You have already selected the perfect seat. You've employed all possible tricks for making the check-in and security processes zoom by. But there's still some blood-pressure-raising chaos you can't avoid: boarding. From impatient fellow travelers who are determined to beat you onto the plane to passengers who insist on jamming their too-big carry-ons into overhead bins, making your way to your seat can be straight-up hellish -- and Wired's Alex Davies offers up a cheery explanation of why the situation is unlikely to improve any time soon. It's not that airlines aren't trying. In fact, United is in the middle of a months-long test at LAX that involves splitting its five groups of passengers into two lines, instead of five, to see whether that will make boarding less painful. But there are some basic measures that airlines could be taking to speed things up -- offering free baggage check, for instance, or cutting down on early boarding perks -- if they weren't so worried about their bottom lines. "The question for the airlines, then, is not how to get everyone onto a plane as quickly as possible," Davies writes. "It's how to get everyone onto a plane as quickly as possible while still charging them extra for bags, doting on the regular customers, and maintaining the system that, like all class structures, serves whoever built it."
Who wants to get on first? (Score:5, Insightful)
Honestly, except for needing to stuff an oversize bag in the overhead no one should want to be crammed into the stuffy airborne-infection-enabling metal tube any sooner than absolutely necessary to take off on time. Yet so many seem to treat it like trying to grab a seat on the subway.
Re:Who wants to get on first? (Score:4, Informative)
Honestly, except for needing to stuff an oversize bag in the overhead no one should want to be crammed into the stuffy airborne-infection-enabling metal tube any sooner than absolutely necessary to take off on time. Yet so many seem to treat it like trying to grab a seat on the subway.
That's the only reason I want to board quicker.
If I'm first on, I get to place my bag close to me. If I'm last on, I have to place my bag frequently far from my seat. I always carry my luggage carry on. I'm rarely gone for more than a week (and I can get a week's clothes in carry on). I don't want to pay extra to check luggage, so I get the maximum carryon size allowed (I do check), and I stuff it full.
Usually though, routes I fly, they check my "carry on" free at the gate because flights are always overcrowded and they give free checking to people at the gate. I don't remember the last flight I had where they didn't check for free at the gate. I laugh at the suckers who paid to check their baggage. :)
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Well,
seems to bbe either an american or a white men problem.
Where ever I was flying people put their hand luggage over their head.
Why would Input my $2k somewhere in the fromt rows luggafe compartment and sit myself in the rear of the plane?
How one can be so stupid not to put his own luggafe above his own head is beyond me.
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It's all about the overhead space! ...or occasionally not stewing in the icky terminal. Especially if you're flying business or first.
Re:Who wants to get on first? (Score:5, Insightful)
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The people without an oversized still want to put their normal sized bag overhead rather than taking up their tiny leg room - and thus are racing with the oversized bag carriers (who need to get it overhead since it won't fit under the seat in front).
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Basically, a lot of the problem co
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This probably depends a lot on the airport, but I traveled over 100k miles last year, but checking vs not checking can be the difference of an hour+ in your total travel time. I have been forced to gate check going to Newark and literally waited an hour for the carousel to start moving. This is not insignifcant. This is (another) missed dinner with your family, or an hour of lost sleep or decompression time. This is an hour later to the office, which may be a big problem depending on whether you have an imp
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If you travel a lot, you want to be able to get to your seat and wind down before takeoff. It is true for parents with screaming kids and business travelers with noise cancelling headphones because of the screaming kids alike. You want your bag stowed, any of your own seat shuffling to be done, and start relaxing just a little bit.
When you are in first, the incentives can also include the pre-departure drink, not waiting in a long line, etc.
I'm not sure if the fastest boarding is the most efficient or max
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I guess I don't understand it. I'm a pretty bug guy so why would I want to race to get on a plane just to sit in a cramped seat for longer? I wait around the gate until final boarding call just because that is less stressful and more comfortable. All the yahoos have already fought over whatever it is they do and I can just walk in, sit down and have the shortest wait until takeoff.
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No, let a parent get on and settled faster so the kid can get their food and go to sleep.
Every airline I've ever flown already does this. Parents with kids get to board before anyone else, including first class.
Re:Who wants to get on first? Parents (Score:4, Interesting)
I used to think this was standard as well. Then, two years ago, I had the misfortune of trying to bring my two-year-old to Hawaii. United Airlines does not let parents with small children board first! I recommend not flying with them.
That figures (Score:2)
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If you want as much service and frills as we had back then, you can still get them by paying extra for them. The only thing that's changed is that you have the option of paying less if you're willing to give up the frills and additional service. If you choose to pay less for worse service, then that's your decision. Not the airline's.
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I don't think we want to go back there due to the disparity of costs. Airplanes costs are largely weight, at least for luggage. The limiting factor for people is the number of seats, and some people are required to buy two seats. But I have been planes where they have had to adjust
Free Baggage Checks? (Score:2)
As much as I as a consumer would prefer to not pay extra for a Baggage check, I don't think it is as much the cost that is hindering people from checking their baggage but the hassle of doing such.
Hassle 1: Waiting in line to get it checked, as now your boarding pass can often be printed from home or from a kiosk at the airport, you don't need to wait in line to check your baggage.
Hassle 2: Waiting for it to get out of the plane. After a long flight, you just want to get to your destination. Having to wait
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I didn't see much of a scientific rationale behind the article's assertions. Truth be told, the guy talking doesn't display any sort of credential--not a certification or whanot, but at least an explanation of the merits of what he's saying. All he says is airlines are doing a bunch of stuff and they're stupid and his way would be better because it would.
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I fly several times a year for my company, and I completely disagree. I think it's more perception than reality.
1) This is the most valid point, but unless you're late to the airport it's a moot point, because the plane's not leaving any sooner because you didn't have to check a bag. If you are late, then it's your own damn fault.
2) Nearly every time I've flown the bag is already there by the time I get to the carousel, or within 5 minutes or so. It depends when you get off the plane. If you rush off, p
Tarmac Time (Score:2)
"on time" is defined by the time the plane leaves the gate - even when it sits on the runway for 2 hours waiting...... so airlines are incentivized to just "push away" and sit.
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The real answer is to work within psychology (Score:3)
The fastest way possible to load would be to use Southwest's system where people can pick their own seat, with a twist - the plane always unloads from the opposite door they load in, and every landing you switch doors you dock at front to back.
Everyone wants to sit to get off as soon as possible, so under this system the first people in would flock to the back and not block up people just trying to get on.
The other thing that slows down boarding is carry-ons. I do think maybe airlines should have checked luggage free but charge for carry-on bags that go in overhead, so they'd be less common and go to those that really need carry on. If people knew they would be getting carry-on space for sure they would not be so desperate to board early.
Another system that would help a lot with checking bags is some system you could call SureCheck, that would text you when your bag(s) had entered the hold of the plane. Most people would feel more secure in checking bags if they could perhaps see what part of the airport baggage handler process the bag was in. It would involve a lot of technology but I think increased check-ins would be worth it overall...
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That's actually an interesting idea to charge for carry on but not for checked luggage. I imagine the cost of checked luggage would be an issue in the long run.
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The other thing that slows down boarding is carry-ons. I do think maybe airlines should have checked luggage free but charge for carry-on bags that go in overhead
Just let everyone without a carry-on deplane before the overheads are opened. I'd much rather wait 20 min in baggage claim if it meant I could avoid 10 minutes getting off the plane.
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That sounds good in theory but the practical reality of it is that it is too much hassle letting people out of window and center seats and shuffling everyone back out of the way so just those people can get out... unloading seems slow at times but is no-where near as slow as loading usually is. Plus again, if you enticed people not to use overhead storage they would all be out a lot faster as well as boarding faster.
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The other thing that slows down boarding is carry-ons. I do think maybe airlines should have checked luggage free but charge for carry-on bags that go in overhead, so they'd be less common and go to those that really need carry on. If people knew they would be getting carry-on space for sure they would not be so desperate to board early.
A lot of airlines use even narrow-body aircraft to carry freight in the cargo bins. Every time you fly you could very likely have a couple thousands pounds of mail, cargo, or even a human body or 2 sitting under you. Free checked bags means less room for cargo which is a pretty big money maker.
Mythbusters already solved that one. (Score:5, Interesting)
https://mythresults.com/airplane-boarding
Why should they care? (Score:2)
It was not long time ago when domestic flights allowed two free checked in bags, each 70 lb. Heck, I still have those suitcases. Then it became 50 lb and then one checked in bag, and then no checked in bag. Southwest still gives free
The United test has little to do with speed (Score:2)
As described here [travelweekly.com], it's mainly about trying to keep so many people from getting up and standing in line all at the same time and clogging up the walkways. Group 1 boards through lane 1 and group 2 through lane 2, then groups 3/4/5 board through lane 2 while group 1/2 stragglers continue through lane 1.
The only part where they're experimenting with altering boarding order according to window/middle/aisle position is people in groups 3/4/5. So query though how much this really changes things when the majori
If it *really* was a priority? More doors! (Score:2)
If you think about it, all of these airplanes have "emergency exits" in parts of the plane other than near the cockpit in front. So you could utilize at least one of those near the rear of the plane during boarding -- if you redesigned the boarding platforms at the terminal gates to work with them.
Then you could simultaneously have people board on both sides of the plane, filling in the rows in the middle first and working towards either end.
But THAT would require a lot more expense -- so I doubt you'll eve
Sedate 'em and stack 'em like cordwood (Score:3)
Hell, I'd pay a premium to be sedated in the departures lounge, stacked in a tiny coffin on the plane, and woken up at my destination. Load me in any damn order you like once I'm unconscious.
Companies seem to love inefficiency (Score:2)
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One long line that feeds into the individual checkouts would be way WAY faster. But will we see it? Nope.
Around me, Best Buy and a few other stores do exactly that.
Overhead Bins (Score:2)
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I put my bag in the first bin to my left as soon as I board. It doesn't belong to anyone.
That first bin is almost always at a bulkhead where there is no under-seat storage available. The passengers seated there have no place but the overhead to put their carry-ons, no matter how small they are. You've filled up their overhead space because "it doesn't belong to anyone" just so you don't have to spend your time looking for space near your seat, meaning they may have to spend time searching for space that is well behind them -- and slowing down the boarding for everyone while they do it. And slow
Anyone remember . . . . . (Score:2)
Standardized checked luggage (Score:5, Insightful)
I have always wondered why the airlines and plane manufacturers didn't get together to create a standard checked bag form factor. A plastic hardshell case such is currently popular, with both embedded RFID and barcodes. Normal conveniences such as 4 wheels, extending handle, etc. Designed in such a way that loading and unloading can be nearly fully automated, similar to what you see used on cargo jets. If you use one of their cases, your bags are guaranteed to be at the carousel 15 minutes after the passenger door is opened upon landing. If you so desperately need to use your calvin klein designer luggage you wait.
The RFID tags also allow them to weigh the bags and charge the passenger accordingly. If my case only weighs 20 lbs and Aunt Bee's bag weighs in at 49.9 lbs, she pays more. Personally I would actually pay the extra $10-$25 tax for a checked bag if I knew I could get it back quickly at baggage claim,
Re:Always been fucky. (Score:4, Insightful)
"Back to front, windows to aisle, and actually enforce carry on size."
And don't let idiots stop halfway to their seat, to stuff their carry-ons into someone else's space.
Re:Always been fucky. (Score:4, Insightful)
If they'd enforce carry on size, there would be no reason to put it somewhere else.
Re:Always been fucky. (Score:5, Insightful)
Not true, they do not size the overhead baggage compartments to the number of seats entirely correctly.
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And even if they did, the size requirements are generally per airline, not per aircraft model, and they don't all have the same size overhead compartments. There would have to be an international standard size that all the airlines agreed to for it to work, and it would still be another 10-15 years before the luggage sizes had standardized to match and the average traveler had compliant bags.
But nobody would even agree to the standard, all the airlines value their ability to endlessly twiddle these policies
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It also doesn't help that the official standard (or as official as that thing sitting at the ticket counter is) doesn't really match the form-factor of the bin either. We have a couple of bags that are thicker than the official standard but when placed in the overhead bin with the handle toward the outside of the plane, wheels toward the hatch and down, fit with enough room for a hat or a coat to be stuffed in on top. Once we were forced to gate-check these bags even though they fit the official width and
Re:Always been fucky. (Score:5, Insightful)
Pro-tip: Use a soft bag, and put a smaller hard case inside it for the items that need to be protected.
Also, I was in the military, and here is the proper way to load and unload a plane (or bus):
1. Put a gunnery sergeant at the front of the vessel to control the process.
2. Load back-to-front BY COLUMN. So window seats load first, back-to-front, then middle seats, then aisle seats.
3. Unload the same way: Everyone in an aisle seat on the starboard side stands up, grabs their gear and files off. Then the port side aisle. Then the starboard middle seats, etc. An entire column of passengers is getting their gear simultaneously, adding massive parallelism to the process.
4. Anyone who bottlenecks the system get assigned to latrine cleaning duty.
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I believe the crew bags are a standard size and are stored in slots which only work for those bags. The idea could be extended to passenger bags too.
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Not true, they do not size the overhead baggage compartments to the number of seats entirely correctly.
Oh... the overhead baggage compartments are correct to the number of seats INTENDED for the aircraft. It's just they crammed extra seats in relative to how the plane was initially intended and didn't increase storage space.
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I can agree with this so long as additional allowed items (such as medical equipment) are exempted.
Re:Always been fucky. (Score:5, Insightful)
This is what we've been reduced to, that is, groveling over seeming "small favors" like ok, bring your CPAP, or your CGM, cane, walker, etc. Musicians can bring instruments (sometimes).
We're GROVELING for space that we should have anyway, just so airlines can please Wall Street, NOT THEIR PAYING PASSENGERS.
There are no longer clothes closets for coats. The food was never much good. The seat pitch is made for anorexics. And people, believing they're getting a "deal" (notice there are no such things as bereavement fares and the like) will swallow any humiliation no matter how undignified or simply crazy.
You have to have your naked image taken, remove very reasonable items from luggage, ensure your Papers Are In Order, then queue in to lines that are grievously long. We're like cows to slaughter.
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Assign the overhead space to the seats below it. If your bags don't fit in the space assigned to you, the airline can charge you extra, and keep them happy juicing their customers.
Of course, that would lead to reduced space utilization. But it might encourage folks to check bags that are too big and obscenely cry to be checked.
Seems like that's just going to make things worse as many more bags need to travel upstream from the rear of the plane up front where they can be gate checked... and kind of silly to do that since as the bag travels foward, it's going to pass up empty bins from passengers that didn't use their assigned space.
You must work for the airlines, you've come up with a solution that's going to make the problem worse while also charging customers more.
Re:Always been fucky. (Score:5, Insightful)
Back to front, windows to aisle, and actually enforce carry on size.
Kind of hard to sell upgrades then, though.
Exactly, boarding from front to back, as they do it now, is actually the worst way to do it. It causes blockages. The back should board first and the front should exit first. That's the most logical approach. Of course they don't want their precious first class people waiting longer though so they board first despite that being the slowest, most inconvenient way to board.
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So do what I've wanted them to do for ages.. Give their first-class passengers free access to the swanky private lounges that they maintain, give them one or two free drink coupons for the privilege, and then have the gate agent come get them when it's time to board first-class. In the meantime keep the overhead bins in first-class closed so that people flying coach don't stuff their baggage in there on their way through.
Wife used to fly a lot for work and had a membership to the US Airways Club. It was
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Except being summoned by the gate agent when it's time to board your flight after everyone else has already boarded, and where there's still room in the overhead bin...
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and then have the gate agent come get them when it's time to board first-class.
That will cost money and waste time. People near the gate can get to the gate sooner than people in a lounge halfway across the airport. Having to dedicate a person to go get them means higher costs.
In the meantime keep the overhead bins in first-class closed so that people flying coach don't stuff their baggage in there on their way through.
Interestingly enough, knowing how to open an overhead bin is a pretty common bit of information that most flyers have. They sometimes have to do it when they deplane, and just watching someone else do it is usually enough to figure out how.
What I'm trying to say is, you can close the overhead bins, but people p
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The back should board first and the front should exit first. That's the most logical approach.
I don't know if SWA still does it like that, but they did it in the 1990s, and it was a dream.
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This is so wrong it is funny. Yes, the 'traditional' airlines used to have free luggage, and meals, blah blah blah. Then 'discount' airlines, like JetBlue, came along and at the same time online booking made it MUCH easier to shop on price. The discount airlines started taking significant business away from the the traditionals. So in order to COMPETE (oddly, the exact opposite of your claim), the traditional airlines had to find ways to lower prices, and they did. To say that these changes have not re
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When I'm getting on a plane, most of the time I'm waiting is because people ahead of me are wasting time trying to cram their massive luggage into the overhead bin or are getting out of their seats into the aisle to let in someone who is sitting farther outboard.
Someone above said 'enforce carry on size'. I think we can go one further and reduce carry-on size. We have a mad rush to get on the plane because people want to get overhead bin space for their huge roller bag before everyone else fills it up with
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The back should board first...
If one types in a search engine: aircraft tail sitting, and sees the images, it would become clear that it is not a good idea.
Aircraft is not a bus. The common sense does not always work in aviation.
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First class has never been a problem in my life. By the time they allow economy in, first class is already seated and enjoy their Safeway zinfandel.
Actually I never had a problem boarding except in some routes where the shit countries are.
Won't fly! (Score:2)
1 - Let the rich - highest cast - in and start at the front, then enjoying their flight by getting spoiled with drinks comfy in lots of leg space.
2 - Economy - 2. newcomers and cheapos parade by the first class which then can show off their superiority to all the passer by's and feel proud of themselves.
3 - Losers and not getting their act together parading all their failure by the selected few at the smallest front compartment into their crowded chicken coop sized d
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Easy fix - put First Class at the back.
Then first class would be next to the toilets and last to get off... that would upset first class even more.
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Sounds like an improvement to me.
Be careful what you wish for. The first class passengers are subsidizing your ticket prices. If fewer people fly FC, you will pay more.
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No, the easy fix is to board via a Door 2 like most 757's are done. First turns left, economy turns right. The perk is maintained for first class, and late first class boarders do not impact the remainder of boarding; the flight attendants also have proper access for pre-flight coddling.
The reason this isn't done on newer planes is they eliminate the door to maximize flexibility in first class cabin size.
The *fastest* way to board is with both front and rear doors via jet bridges. This isn't done because
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Re:Always been fucky. (Score:4, Funny)
Ha, you peasants think you're smart, but I've already angled my air vent so that he who dealt it smelt it.
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Try that flying with children, does not work well.
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Also: enforce boarding order. It's adoring to see staff call the first set of passengers - the ones with seats at the rear - forward to board, then notice a somewhat larger than expected stampede. So you board the
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3) Pump the slurry into the plane as it drains from the pan
"This is your Captain, speaking . . . the meal on today's flight will be Soylent Green."
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1) Walk the customers through a propeller
2) Collect the slurry in a pan
That doesn't get customers onto the plane, that gets customer slurry onto the plane. But let me share with you my plan for using hydraulic trash compactors...
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I've never figured out why flights with assigned seats don't load back to front to speed things up. Those seated would have fewer people banging into them as they walk past and the aisles wouldn't be such a jumbled mess of waiting on people in front of you. The downside is that the first class might have less chance to cram their bags into all spaces they can, but I'll let them sacrifice for me.
They do, generally, board back to front.
Except First/premium/etc. seats that are towards the front go first...since if you paid extra you want to stand in line less. These seats generally have dedicated bag space, fewer seats to share said space and often come with free checked luggage (or those who fly first have status so same result). This mixes up the order but not horribly as it's a limited # of seats.
Except people with status who get to cut the line. Yeah, this is FUBAR. People from any seat get i
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That would make sense, except for the assholes who have seats in the rear and dump their carry-ons into the front overhead bins. Then, when the passengers in front get on, they have to find room in the back bins. Lots of back and forth in a narrow aisle.
I like how Southwest does it.
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Well
In Europe we do it like this. And use all doors available at the plane.
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So have the cabin crew close the bins over the rows that aren't boarding, and have them stop passengers that are trying to open the closed bins.
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So have the cabin crew close the bins over the rows that aren't boarding, and have them tase passengers that are trying to open the closed bins.
Better?
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people carry on to avoid the baggage pickup wait. $2 wouldn't stop them
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I believe that if you are getting any 'bonuses' on a corporate credit card, the bonuses count as ordinary income for tax purposes. That means the company should be doing withholding, paying FICA, etc. The accounting mess makes it much easier to just say 'no bonus cards'.
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You would think that strictly enforcing carry on size and weight limits and charging an $X fee for each item outside the limits would generate them more profits and remove one of the main delaying factors (people which huge bags stuffing them in the overhead bins on the miles away from their seat).
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But then you wind up with idiots arguing with the gate attendant and further clogging up the line. See recent stories about snowflakes and their 'emotional support animals' that they were stupid enough to believe they could take on the plane.
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Back on topic, I wish they would crack down universally on people who somehow manage to carry on 4-6 different items, at least one of which is oversized, when "One carry-on and one personal item" is clearly stated, and then cram it all into the overhead.
"But that's my carry-on. And my personal item is this conglomeration of a huge tote and a purse and a laptop bag and a diaper bag and a pillow and a large coat and a satchel that I'm going to shove into the overhead"
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So you're Allen Iverson?
Re:Back to Front Would Fix Half of It (Score:4, Informative)
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