Will Airlines Charge Us a Fee for Carry-On Baggage?

Aug. 26, 2009 — -- You know you want to, airlines. You're dying to do it. So which one of you will go first?

I'm talking about charging passengers a fee for toting a carry-on bag.

I know, it sounds crazy -- and I have no specific insider info -- but it's all the buzz with air travelers and you have to admit it's a logical progression: First the airlines charged a fee for a second checked bag, then for a first and, well, what's left?

At the very least, there will be some sort of overhaul of the "carry-on bag system" because, changes are overdue -- and, why wouldn't the airlines like to make some money off of it?

So, it could happen and, surprise -- some of you might actually like it, if or when it does. At the very least, you'll probably get used to it.

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Let's face it, cokes and carry-ons are pretty much all we have left in terms of airline freebies (and for a while there, US Airways was even denying us our sodas).

And we didn't always have bin space, either. You have to remember that carry-ons are mostly a late 20th century phenomenon -- spawned by cheap air travel, a growing distaste for lost bags, and our penchant for toting our livelihoods around with us -- think laptops and such.

Before that, according to Boeing, "overhead stowage bins were never designed to replace the checking of baggage"; in fact, the storage units on early 727s and 737s were referred to as "hat racks" because that's pretty much what they were, bins for hats and coats.