Columnist Muriel Stevens: Airlines weight for charges

Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002 | 8:37 a.m.

So what's new in the ever-changing world of air travel? Not much, unless you're too young to remember that some years ago airlines charged passengers for excess baggage weight, especially on overseas flights. And now, some airlines are planning to renew the practice.

It was during one of my first trips to Europe that I learned about this. My friends and I were going to Switzerland. I checked in first. My usual two bags, one small, one medium size, passed inspection. My friends weren't so lucky. They had the right number of bags -- two. But they were oversized and heavy. After a bit of negotiation they were able to have the extra tariff reduced slightly (it was a sizeable sum) and we were on our way.

The reduced fee came about when my friend complained that none of our travel information from the airline (it was a charter flight) included baggage penalties for overweight. Fortunately the ticket agent was a reasonable man and the charge was adjusted.

There were so many complaints from passengers that eventually this unpopular fee was dropped. Of course, by this time most travelers have become more savvy and have learned that less luggage is better. Now they divvy up their belongings into smaller bags and overload the overhead bins. Many's the time I've been conked on the head by a passenger laden like a bearer on safari.

I surmise that enough travelers are still traveling with their entire wardrobe, so the charge for excess baggage has returned. And it is not a reasonable fee. The number mentioned on the news was $80 per pound! This is not going to gain many new friends for the airlines, most of whom are struggling to survive. And as airline rules keep changing, enforcement seems to be random.

The cutback of onboard services (particularly food service) is just one of many complaints I hear from readers.

Excess baggage fees can be justified, but what about the company baggage handlers who are brazenly looting passenger luggage? This shocking looting was shown on TV from airports in Italy and Spain. Thousands of items were retrieved from the homes of some of the crooks.

Even more shocking was the number of passengers who check through fine jewelry and such necessities as medications. These should be carried onboard with you, tucked safely inside a secure bag.

More old is new: Long before plastic wrap, stores sold plastic bowl covers with elastic edging that resembled shower caps. They were okay, but hardly hygienic. And if the covers were washed and not rinsed properly the food covered sometimes smelled like soap.

Then came the cure-all, Saran Wrap, and its many imitators. Plastic covers disappeared. And now they're back. And who brought them back? The company who caused them to disappear; the makers of Saran Wrap.

Saran Quick Covers are cuter than the ones I remember, are more pricey and are more durable. They still have to be washed, but these are dishwasher-safe (top rack only).

Of course, catalogs such as the Vermont Country Store, which stock such nostalgic items as plastic bowl covers, have always carried them. The company has a knack for finding watchamacallits and doohickeys of the past. They do not offer plastic wrap.