site banner
PaperclipPerfector  27d ago (text post)   2278 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 22, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Other travelers fussing with their ridiculous oversized carry-on is one of the most infuriating parts of air travel.

While the size of the allowed carry-on is officially limited (and, to be fun, different for different airlines, in theory), in all my years of travel I have never seen anybody actually check that. If it fits the compartment (however much force and effort and time it'd require to make it), it's ok. Yes, delaying boarding to stuff your oversized luggage into the undersized storage compartment is an asshole move, but I have never seen anybody deboarded or even forced to check in the bag (unless it completely failed to fit) for that.

The whole concept of carry-on should be abolished.

With properly run airports, I'd go for it. In some airports, my bag got to the baggage claim the same minute I got there, so why would I object to that? My only reservations are: some airports are shit at this (among other things) and you have to wait for like 20 minutes for your bag, and b) United breaks guitars. And suitcases - it broke one of mine, and managed to put a huge dent of the size of my fist in the corner of the other (which is supposed to be the most resilient place of the whole structure, so maybe they were just flexing). But my local airport is small, so I can check in the bag literally in minutes. In some mega-airport it can turn into a hour-long adventure, so I can get why people don't want to deal with it.

Also, you are not allowed to put laptops there, but that's no big deal since I have a separate under-the-seat backpack for that.

European airlines absolutely check the size (but not weight) of carry-on bags. Full-service airlines will gate check the bag for free if it is a close call, low-cost airlines will charge you double the usual checked bag fee because you didn't pre-order.

Low-cost airlines now also charge for overhead bin space (or bundle it with speedy boarding) - if you don't pay for bin space, your carry-on has to fit under the seat in front of you.

Yeah, I don't think US has a lot of those nickel-and-dime airlines - United has some attempt at it with "Basic" but that has many exceptions.

My understanding was that Spirit was the US equivalent of Ryanair (the scuzziest and most successful of the EU low-cost airlines). Southwest were low-cost once, but last time I was in the US they generally cost more than basic economy on the crappified full-service airlines.

But the thing that makes Ryanair so successful is that the underlying hard product just works. The planes get you from A to B, on time, and cheaply if you follow the easy-to-understand rules about things like bag sizes. I prefer Easyjet, but probably only because there is something about the aesthetics of stepping onto a Ryanair plane which somehow rubs in the fact that you must be falling out of the upper-middle class.

Interestingly, Southwest has the best default service package now - free checked bags, no change fees, etc.

Spirit is definitely seen as lower class.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats