Saturday, November 22, 2008

Excess luggage

Air New Zealand have recently brought in new luggage regulations; first bag is free (we are talking up to twenty-five kg), second bag is $15, third is $ 50, forth and fifth are $150. Which means if you travel with a lot of gear - you are going to be FULLY SCREWED by excess luggage charges.

I am sure this won't really make the slightest bit of difference to those who regularly travel with five suitcases jammed full of designer outfits. However for those poor clods like me who (for work) travel with, oh, about a pajillion different pieces of luggage, budgets are going to be seriously slammed by these charges.

Gone are the days when the nice Air New Zealand lady would assign your excess luggage kilos to other passengers who had already checked in.

I have always advocated that they should make the travellers jump on the scales along with their luggage and just allocate an overall amount of kilos your person and your luggage combined can be. (Obviously I only say this because I am a short arse and know where I could be saving myself some money).

And then I read here that the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada.

Which raised a lot of questions in my tiny brain. They included:

So if you're a fattie you can fly for free but if you're a workie, you can't?Could someone please explain the logic?

Would it be possible to hide excess luggage under an enormous frock and then waddle on board?

If obese people get two seats, do they get the extra meal?

What are the wider ramifications of this ruling? I.e does that mean alcoholics get an extra crack at the bar service?

Has this ruling just opened a whole can of whoopass?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bring back human discretion!

Companies have almost completely outlawed the discretion of the person in most commercial transaction/service situations mostly for legal reasons that often protect both customer and employee.

But this means that situations which can easily be resolved by a little compassion and thought escalate into full blown rows and complaints and sometimes death!

A little understanding at the point of contact goes a long long way but company bosses don't want it because it could mean loss of revenue and the almighty shareholders won't stand for that.

I despair.

laughykate said...

Discretion? That was something they had in the olden days, wasn't it?

Megan McGurk said...

I like your idea LK of alloting a set weight amount for each person. If you don't eat yourself to the limit, you should be able to carry the extra weight in luggage.

laughykate said...

Thank you Medbh. I think the idea has got legs, however I suspect Those Who Make Those Decisions wouldn't see its merits.