What's the End Result?

As I sit in an airport I really wonder what the goals of some of the airlines policies are. For example, why do I need to pay an extra fee to check a bag? It seems to me that because of the extra fee more and more people are carrying more and more stuff onto the plane.

I know that the airlines do have a chance of losing a bag here and there, however based on the number of bags people are caring onto the planes, the baggage handlers shouldn’t have as much luggage as they use to. I don’t travel as much as some people but I do travel a fair amount and I have only had a few instances where my bag has been lost. Actually misplaced would be a better term since it is usually in my possession the next day at the latest. But I digress, with more people caring on luggage, do we have room on the plan to stow the luggage? Looking at the luggage that my fellow flyers took on to the plane this last trip I really wonder if overhead luggage bins can hold the weight. So is the goal to have more weight in the plane as appose to the luggage bay?

The policy for carrying-on luggage is one bag (of a specific size) and one personal item (like a purse or brief case). These bags must fit either above the seat or under the seat in front of you. Plus you feet must be clear. My do people insist on bringing in larger than the size listed size bags and then get upset because it won’t fit? Or there isn’t room in the overhead bend so they try to but it on the floor and hide the fact that their feet aren’t clear? (I’ve seen so very cleaver people who hide the fact that their feet are straddling bags.) Now the flight attendants have to police the feet of passages. Of course most people do not understand why their feet have to be clear of baggage so they are very rude to the flight attendants.

Then there is the policy for the weight of the bags. Some airlines charge if the bags weigh over a targeted number. I am not sure how they determined the number, especially with the size of some of the bags. One trip my bag seemed to gain weight during the trip. This was odd since I did not add or subtract anything other than changing clothes. But since my bag now weighed 51 pounds (the limit was 50 pounds) I had to pay a fee. Now I should mention that I could have checked 2 bags that could have weighed 100 pounds collectively at no additional charge, but my one bag of 51 pound ended up costing me $25. So is the goal to get more luggage on the plane?

So as you look at your processes first determined what is the end result? Not the desired path but what is it that you really want to occur (lighter baggage, more on the plane luggage, etc.). Once you have determined the end result then find the number of ways that you can get there. And finally which of the possible solutions will get you the result that you are looking for.