May Even Monitor Security Lines To Catch Passengers

Those hoping to avoid paying to check luggage onboard commercial airline flights are about to see the other side of the coin, as it were... as carriers prepare to start cracking down on oversized carry-on bags.

The Associated Press reports most US carriers -- and especially US Airways, American, and United, which all charge $15 for the first checked bag -- also plan to keep a careful eye on how much carry-on baggage passengers try to bring onboard, with the intent of making passengers pay for bags the airline believes are big to fit in an overhead bin.

"We're planning on having extra staff where possible, especially at peak times at busy airports," US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant said.

The move comes as good news for those passengers who DO obey the rules, and only bring onboard luggage with dimensions approved by the carriers, at behest of the FAA (yes, the FAA, not airlines, set the maximum size for carry-on baggage.) Those passengers who for years have skirted the rules, however -- you know who they (you?) are -- may be forced to shell out money at the ticket counter to check the bag.

Airlines may even post employees to watch security lines, hoping to catch people with oversize carry-on bags. The Transportation Security Administration pointedly notes it isn't a screener's job to dictate the size of carry-on luggage, only to determine whether the contents of those bags meet security regs.

"It's up to us to get to them before they get too far in line and say 'Ma'am or sir, you need to check that bag,'" said Mark Dupont, American's senior vice president of airport services planning.

News of the crackdown came as good news to businessman Dan Weisberg, who says he's been concerned new fees for luggage will mean ever-larger carry-on luggage as passengers cram in all they can. "This is going to create bedlam in the overhead compartments," Weisberg, who travels a couple times each month, said of that scenario.

Honor Guthrie, 45, says she'll probably use a smaller bag than the large black roller carry-on she took with here on a recent trip from Phoenix to Chicago onboard American.

"They're in such trouble," she said of the current state of affairs for most airlines. Next time, she said, "I'll wear the same pants a couple of days, same shirt, same skirt. I'll probably do some laundry wherever I go," to cut down on the size of her luggage.

On the other side of the fence, US Airways flight attendant and union leader Mike Flores fears the new fees will only serve to further anger an already disgruntled traveling public... and potentially create conflicts between passengers.

"They really haven't thought this thing out," Flores said, adding passengers who paid the fee are going to say "'Wait a minute, I paid $15 to have my bag checked, and this guy is getting them checked for free.'"

"We're very reluctant to be separated from our bags," added Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. "I imagine that that reluctance for passengers will grow into sheer horror now that they not only have their bag taken away, but they now have to pay for that."

FMI: www.usairways.com, www.united.com, www.aa.com