Another thought experiment…. please bear with me.

Why do airlines take luggage away from passengers and store it in the hold? Check-in, baggage collection, misdirected items etc…

What about having fold up seats with a bin underneath each seat sufficient to take a standard wheelie suit case, recessed into the floor. Passengers board the plane with their suit case, find their seat, lift seat and stow the luggage, fold seat down and buckle up.

Luggage would still be scanned for bombs or drugs, and any overweight would be charged. Any oversize cargo (that does not fit into the standard bin) would be stowed in some other on-board locker.

Seems to me would save a bit of time and hassle for the airline. Less luggage getting lost, and passengers responsible for handling their own. The belly cargo space can be used for air freight.

party_pants said:

Another thought experiment…. please bear with me.

Why do airlines take luggage away from passengers and store it in the hold? Check-in, baggage collection, misdirected items etc…

What about having fold up seats with a bin underneath each seat sufficient to take a standard wheelie suit case, recessed into the floor. Passengers board the plane with their suit case, find their seat, lift seat and stow the luggage, fold seat down and buckle up.

Luggage would still be scanned for bombs or drugs, and any overweight would be charged. Any oversize cargo (that does not fit into the standard bin) would be stowed in some other on-board locker.

Seems to me would save a bit of time and hassle for the airline. Less luggage getting lost, and passengers responsible for handling their own. The belly cargo space can be used for air freight.

There’s a lot of luggage that just wont fit. So you need a hold to store it in.

more stuff to sort through, more time taken to store, luggage won’t fit hole under seat efficiently

I’m thinking the hole under the seat will project through the floor. Something like 90 × 50 × 35 cm. Floor frames will need to be built around them.

party_pants said:

I’m thinking the hole under the seat will project through the floor. Something like 90 × 50 × 35 cm. Floor frames will need to be built around them.

It would disable the ability to rearrange seating, or to remove the seats altogether for further modification of the space.

Passengers packing their own gear would take longer than a dedicated team of packers, weight distribution would not be as well managed. Probably issues with strength to stop gear flying around in an accident, cumulatively the small secure compartments would weigh more than an empty hold filled with those aluminium cargo carriers.

party_pants said:

Another thought experiment…. please bear with me.

Why do airlines take luggage away from passengers and store it in the hold? Check-in, baggage collection, misdirected items etc…

What about having fold up seats with a bin underneath each seat sufficient to take a standard wheelie suit case, recessed into the floor. Passengers board the plane with their suit case, find their seat, lift seat and stow the luggage, fold seat down and buckle up.

Luggage would still be scanned for bombs or drugs, and any overweight would be charged. Any oversize cargo (that does not fit into the standard bin) would be stowed in some other on-board locker.

Seems to me would save a bit of time and hassle for the airline. Less luggage getting lost, and passengers responsible for handling their own. The belly cargo space can be used for air freight.

Interestingly, I was thinking of this the day before yesterday, but in a slightly different context. My context is as follows.

The naming of the company “Airbus” was a triumph of marketting. But if their planes really were buses then we would see:

• carry on baggage (like the airport bus) instead of booked luggage – this could be left near the entrances to the plane
• no advance booking, just turn up and catch the first flight to your destination
• for short flights in peak period you have to stand up for the duration
• no long walk through the airport terminal
• no seat number allocation
• no life rafts

And also, slightly different,

• hammock class, for those who prefer lying down to sitting for hours.