Winston Aldworth: Carry on, air steward

'Who hasn't muttered darkly while standing in the plane's aisle waiting to get to your seat as some oaf, laden like a pack horse, shoe-horns massive suitcases into tiny alcoves?' Photo / Thinkstock

The great carry-on luggage carry on might be coming to an end.

Jetstar is trialling a scheme in Australia that will see "cabin baggage officers" busting passengers who try sneak on board planes with oversized or heavy carry-on luggage, instead of paying the extra cash to check them in.

Offenders will have their luggage incinerated, be tied to the wings for the duration of the flight and ... Hang on. Sorry. Wishful thinking.

What I meant to say was: Passengers being sneaky about the luggage rules will likely face a higher baggage fee than they would have paid back when they booked their ticket.

It's a smart move for the low-cost carrier.

Despite most of us being cheeky with the carry-on rules at some point in our flying lives, passengers will generally recognise the justice in paying for what you get on a low-cost carrier. And those of us who do board the plane with minimal kit can savour the quiet buzz of vindication. Who hasn't muttered darkly while standing in the plane's aisle waiting to get to your seat as some oaf, laden like a pack horse, shoe-horns massive suitcases into tiny alcoves?

"Limiting the amount of carry-on baggage improves crew and other passengers' safety and will also speed up the boarding process so that our flights can get away on time," the airline said in a statement.

They haven't set a start date yet, but Jetstar will trial its carry-on watchdogs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns and the Gold Coast airports. All popular spots for Kiwi flyers.

You've been warned.

Fiji special

Is that summer I can sense on the horizon? Oh hang on, it's just a warm bluster that precedes yet another of this winter's infernal squalls descending upon Auckland.

We're looking to warmer climes this week, with a Fiji special that concentrates on the best of the island paradise.

Fiji is always a big destination for Kiwi travellers and Air New Zealand told Herald Travel they plan to increase capacity on the Auckland-Nadi route by 12 per cent from March 25 to October 25, 2015, putting one of their Boeing 777 aircraft on the daily service.