Jim Eagles: Boo, hiss for swine

Okay, we've had our collective grumble about the selfish swine who clog up our aircraft with mountains of oversized baggage - over the past two weeks I've received a torrent of emails on the topic - but what can be done about it?

Unfortunately there's no easy answer.

Many airlines are now taking a tougher line. Air New Zealand, for instance, says that because of growing customer irritation it "is now more strongly enforcing its carry-on baggage policy."

Airlines do like to keep their policies flexible, so as not to upset customers unnecessarily, but Air NZ says "if a passenger arrives at an international departure gate carrying hand luggage obviously in excess of the limit they can expect to have the baggage placed in the main hold of the aircraft."

In addition, if the baggage placed in the hold tips them over the limit for checked-in baggage "they will be charged excess baggage".

This is definitely happening because I've seen it on recent transtasman flights and just last week a colleague watched a passenger on a domestic flight have his bag - which was 13kg, nearly double the limit - taken from him to be put in the hold.

It's a measure of how irritated people feel about luggage gluttons that the watching passengers smirked.

But the realities of modern aviation - and the trickiness of some customers - mean it is difficult for airlines on their own to solve the problem.

For instance, Colin McMurray was one of several readers to suggest what seems like an easy solution. "Travellers should have to present all the bags they intend to take on the plane at check-in for weighing and measuring; the one or two bags that fit inside the cabin bag restrictions are returned to them to carry on, and everything else goes in the hold. Or is that too simplistic?"

Sadly, it seems it is too simplistic. Air NZ says it has trialled checking and tagging carry-on baggage at check-in and it didn't work.

"We quickly found that many customers were then putting extra items in their tagged carry-on baggage after check-in, while others were transferring the tags to heavier bags that they would try and take on board the aircraft. Needless to say, this was unacceptable and had the potential to compromise customer and staff safety [because] it is extremely important the aircraft weights are accurately known."

Amanda Forsyth suggested people turning up at the gate with excessive amounts of cabin baggage should be sent back to check-in again "and left behind if they take too long. You wouldn't have to do it very often before they got the message."

Alas that too is evidently unworkable. If, for whatever reason, a passenger doesn't board the aircraft then, says Air NZ, "we would have to locate their baggage in the main hold of the aircraft and offload it" - with the consequent huge delay - "because regulations state that a customer and their baggage must travel together".

Another option suggested by several readers is for passengers to apply a bit of psychological pressure to the luggage gluttons.

Stuart Day has a friend who "has one interesting solution to the overhead hoggers. If he finds the space above his seat is full, he will ask passengers sitting immediately around if any of the items belong to them.

"Most passengers readily identify what items are theirs and even assist to make room. Any items not identified are taken out of the locker and placed in the aisle. Problem solved for friend."

Of course that does then create a problem for the flight attendants. But, as Day notes, it also embarrasses the luggage gluttons who will have to claim ownership or risk seeing their belongings taken off the plane for security reasons.

Christie Robinson suggests a slightly less direct method of making these pests uncomfortable.

"Maybe if every time a luggage glutton lumbers down the aisle, other passengers give them the eye and mumble disapprovingly they would get the message. Maybe we could even join in a collective hiss of disapproval to underline the fact that their selfish behaviour is at the expense of the safety and comfort of everyone else."

I rather like that idea.

Collective disapproval rather than belated legislation has been the biggest factor in reducing the horror of drunken driving and stopping the charming habit of smoking in restaurants.

If luggage gluttons are treated as social pariahs by fellow passengers (as well as being clamped down on by the airlines), they might reform their selfish ways.