Bashed by bags: Anyone else fed up with the carry-on mess?

Carry-on luggage is on my mind. I’m taking a flight today and I’m really hoping I don’t get battered by someone’s bag.

Travelers, some with big carry-on bags, walk in a terminal at California’s John Wayne Airport. (Photo by Orange County Register)

That’s what happened recently to both my daughter and sister. A bag fell out of the overhead bin on an Air Canada flight and hit my daughter hard on the head. My sister was bashed in the shoulder by a Delta passenger who lost control of a too-heavy bag as he swung it out of the bin.

Is anyone else tired of the carry-on mess? Too many people are lugging too many big bags onto planes. The overhead bins are overflowing. And it takes forever to get off the plane if you’re seated in the back, as everyone struggles to maneuver their bags.

Most U.S. airlines seem to be shrugging their shoulders. (Some European airlines, on the other hand, particularly the budget airlines, have strict rules on carry-on size and number that they enforce.)

So what’s the solution? Vote here on your choice. Or add a comment. When I’m back from vacation, hopefully unbruised by carry-on, I’ll check out what you’ve said and check in with some airline representatives.

Comments | More in airlines | Topics: Airlines, carry-ons, luggage rules

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Kristin Jackson, travel editor at The Seattle Times, grew up in Italy, went to university in Britain, and worked as a journalist in London and Vancouver, B.C., before migrating back to Seattle where she’s happy at her desk but way happier on the road.

Brian J. Cantwell, Outdoors editor at The Seattle Times, is a Seattle native who chose not to leave -- except for every chance he gets to go someplace interesting or adventurous. He lives on his sailboat at Shilshole Bay Marina.