[SimonPStevens]

I mostly agree this way of looking at it, but find 2 things distort this nice clear explanation.

1. Lack of clarity. I've no problems paying a fee I want and use. But when the fees are hidden at point of sale, and then added later it makes comparisons hard or fees I don't want getting added because I didn't know about them in advance so couldn't change behaviour to avoid them.

2. Fees that don't accurately capture the benefit Vs the cost, and are gamed. Things like "2 peices of hand luggage" with no weight specified. I once had an attendant tell my wife her hat she was carrying counted as one peice, so she had to put in her bag to walk past the check-in desk to avoid being charged a fee for extra hand luggage. And then you get the opposite with schemes like wearing vests to carry extra items without it counting in your hand luggage allowance. I once had to move ~2kg from my hold luggage to my hand luggage because one was over and the other under. Why not literally charge a per kg fee regardless where you store it that way everyone pays for exactly what they use, no gaming. The current fee structure tends to incentivise maxing out on hand luggage to avoid hold fees, which means overhead storage gets crammed full. Charging per kg would shift a portion of this to the hold and make the cabin less cramped and better for everyone.

[doix]

A lot of airlines do have max weight limits on hand luggage, around 8-10kg. They almost never check, but I did get caught out once.

I travel with a laptop, portable monitor, iPad pro, switch, GoPro, moonlander keyboard, mouse, bunch of plug adapters and a multiway extension. All of that adds up to 9kg when you include the bag base weight.

One time when I was flying from Istanbul to Mauritius, they weighed the bag and it was a big headache. Eventually someone else came along and just let me on since it was all battery powered stuff that couldn't go in the hold.

Charging by weight doesn't make more room in the overhead storage though. Going by volume does, and many airlines do check volume. Especially in Europe, I've seen Ryanair and easyJet stop people many times.

If you look on Amazon, you'll see entire ranges of bags optimized for Ryanair free carry-on limits.

[crazygringo]

What are examples of hidden fees? Tickets are generally extremely clear on luggage policy, and these days you know you're paying for food on domestic flights. I haven't encountered hidden fees but maybe it depends on the country?

[more_corn]

Seat picking fee.

[crazygringo]

But you never have to pay that, and it's also always shown as part of the checkout process. It's not hidden at all.

[ruined]

the checked baggage weight limit isn't for takeoff weight, it's for the handlers