Oct. 22, 2009 (United Press International) -- U.S. airlines' overhead bins are bulging as passengers slip aboard with more than the two allowed items to avoid checked-bag fees, flight attendants say.
It's "the worst we've seen in the past couple of decades," Association of Flight Attendants spokeswoman Corey Caldwell tells USA Today.
With the number of U.S. domestic flights down and planes flying fuller, and with major U.S. carriers except Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) and JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ:JBLU) charging $15 and up to check a bag, "the bins are filling up faster than before," Caldwell says.
"It's a fight for the overheads," says veteran flight attendant Gailen David, who answers questions about "jetiquette" on the dearskysteward.com Web site.
By the time the last boarding group races for space in the compartments on a typically packed flight, "everyone has started to panic," David tells the newspaper. Some passengers are left standing in the aisle with no place to put their belongings.
The problem has become so pressing -- especially since major airlines began imposing fees for the first checked bag on domestic flights in mid-2008 -- that Congress is considering legislation to limit and standardize carry-on size and ensure enforcement at U.S. Transportation Security Administration airport checkpoints.
