Claim: Passenger luggage limited to make room for chemical tanks

Marin B

Active Member
I was at a party a few weeks ago and met a self-proclaimed chemtrail activist. First person (other than my conspiracy-believing family member) I've met in real life who believes in chemtrails. We had a cordial exchange. I think this person was surprised that I knew so many of the talking points and had responses for them. The one talking point that I hadn't heard before is that there are now luggage restrictions on planes to make room for the chemtrail chemicals. As "evidence" she asked why there never used to be luggage restrictions. I and someone else who was in the conversation commented on how planes nowadays are always booked to capacity whereas decades ago it wasn't uncommon to be able to find several seats in a row where you could stretch out and take a nap. We of course parted ways without changing each others minds.
 
The one talking point that I hadn't heard before is that there are now luggage restrictions on planes to make room for the chemtrail chemicals. As "evidence" she asked why there never used to be luggage restrictions.
There was always luggage restrictions. I remember traveling in 1990s there was actually a DIY couriers service where they would give you a piece of luggage that exactly fit the maximum size, and you flew with it from the US to the UK. Then someone else picked it up.

I think it's changed now simply for profit, you have the same limits, just get charged more if you use them fully.
 
Essentially, we take up the same amount of space, but pay more for it. Same in my country.
 
So there wasn't enough space for the chemicals before?
I think the activist's argument is that before, i.e. when there was no chemtrail spraying, you could check as much baggage as you wanted. And now that commercial jets are also (allegedly) spraying chemicals, space is limited and so passengers have limitations on how much baggage they can check.
 
depends on what you mean by "in the past".
Airfares have fallen by about 50 percent since 1978
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Yes, this is one point I tried to make to the chemtrail activist - that 30-40 years ago, air travel was relatively expensive and it was pretty unusual for a middle income person to travel by air. I speculated that air traffic has probably increased at least 20x since the 70's because it have become such a commonplace means of transportation, not to mention all the international business air travel and cargo services like FedEx.
 
why there never used to be luggage restrictions.

I seem to remember that they always kept how much luggage you took on the plan in check. The biggest difference now is that you often have to pay to bring it on. That COULD be a way to keep the chemical/luggage area free for the chemical tanks, but what happens if people just say "ah, screw it, we will pay the damn price and take two bags each!" and now there is no room for the chemical tanks? Maybe he was thinking of the airlines like Spirit that keep the luggage weight down; but the size is still the same. That is supposed to be to make the plane lighter, and cheaper to operate, therefore making the customers pay less. Makes sense to me.
 
The way to answer this would surely to be get hold of baggage allowance rules from, say, the 1970s or 1980s. Maybe old airline adverts would be a place to find them?
 
The way to answer this would surely to be get hold of baggage allowance rules from, say, the 1970s or 1980s. Maybe old airline adverts would be a place to find them?
My personal recollection in America (national flight) was that you could bring however many bags you wanted. no cost.

I think the real question is whether there actually IS a restriction now.

The few airlines I just checked (national flights) don't mention a bag limit, they just charge for xtra bags (some airlines let 1 checked on and some 2 checked on plus carryon). here is a list of airlines for 2014.. this SW one mentions over 9 bags being acceptable.

Southwest
Ticketing Fees
  • Non-refundable ticket change fee: Free
  • Same day change fee: None but any fare difference will apply
  • Reservation by phone fee: Free
  • Unaccompanied minor fee: $50
Baggage Fees
  • Carry on bag: Free
  • First checked bag: Free
  • Second checked bag: Free
  • Additional bags fee: $50 each for 3-9 bags; $110 each for more
  • Overweight bags: $75
  • Oversize bags: $75
  • In-cabin pet fee: $75
https://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/3801089/airline-baggage-fees-chart/
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But that makes sense to me. Why should I pay 50$ xtra on my airfare ticket because some ComiCon groupie wants to suck up gas with 12 suitcases, or a traveling music band has 20 cartons of equipment to load.*

*Although there might be rules about alerting airlines to certain high volume needs. I didn't see any mention of this with a quick google of baggage rules, but I know if you are traveling with a coffin you need to alert the airline before hand... although I'd have to look more to see if this is because of the xtra room needed or the xtra handling (personnel) needed.
 
ok American Airlines have some seasonal limitations

Seasonal limitations

Oversize, overweight and excess baggage limitations apply June 1, 2018 – August 19, 2018, and November 15, 2018 – January 13, 2019, for select cities.

Caribbean
Central America
Mexico
South America


https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/baggage/baggage-limitations.jsp
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so American Airlines only sprays during warmer weather to destinations not conducive to SRM. See, my general theory that the government is horribly inefficient is true! :)
 
Maybe it's due to the obesity epidemic? :D

I think they're confusing 'limit' with 'allowance', the amount you can take on without paying extra.

In 30 years of travel I've never been told I couldn't take luggage on, but I have had to pay extra.

Ray Von
 
I first flew in 1962.

There were luggage weight restrictions then.

There have been weight restrictions on every airline ticket I have seen since then.

In one sense they are not actually “weight restrictions” as you can take as much as you want if you are prepared to pay extra for it. There are countless stories and pictures online about celebrities like Elton John and Joan Collins taking dozens of suitcases onto aircraft.

I think the arbitrary and highly variable nature of the restrictions invalidates the chemtrailers argument.

Whilst weight is obviously the enemy of flight excess baggage charges are extremely lucrative for airlines.

British travellers pay roughly £400million per annum in excess charges.
(Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...ts-pay-395million-excess-baggage-charges.html - Not typically regarded as the most reliable of sources but reasonably accurate on news).

US passengers even more. Luggage handling is worth around $3.5Billion p.a according to The Economist (Source: https://www.economist.com/gulliver/2015/05/05/sky-high-profits).

More a case of fleecing than spraying.
 
It's also worth to note that cargo space on passenger planes is filled up with regular cargo if there is room.

So if you don't bring any check-in baggage, there will be more space for other cargo.

A quick search brought up this:
https://scandinaviantraveler.com/en...ot-does-the-passenger-planes-also-carry-cargo

Long haul aircraft have more space for cargo and often take quite big loads of all different kinds of goods. For example, on SAS flights from Oslo to the US and Asia there are sometimes several tons of Norwegian salmon in the cargo compartments.
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http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/history-of-airline-baggage

1938: The first baggage rules are put in place: with limited space on planes, the Civil Aeronautics Board restricts coach passengers to 40 pounds for domestic flights and 44 for international.

1977: As planes expand, so do luggage allowances. Airlines now typically permit passengers to check two bags weighing up to 70 pounds each, free of charge.

1981: Budget carrier Peoplexpress (now defunct) charges passengers 50 cents for soda and $3 for all checked bags—the first domestic line to charge for luggage regardless of weight.

1987: A Northwest Airlines pilot invents the original Rollaboard wheeled bag, making it possible to avoid checking luggage entirely. Later that year, the FAA steps in with carry-on guidelines.

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It's also worth to note that cargo space on passenger planes is filled up with regular cargo if there is room.

So if you don't bring any check-in baggage, there will be more space for other cargo.

A quick search brought up this:
https://scandinaviantraveler.com/en...ot-does-the-passenger-planes-also-carry-cargo

Long haul aircraft have more space for cargo and often take quite big loads of all different kinds of goods. For example, on SAS flights from Oslo to the US and Asia there are sometimes several tons of Norwegian salmon in the cargo compartments.
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This is true: I was reading just the other day that when MH17 crashed, people inspecting the wreckage initially thought more than one aircraft was involved because the plane was carrying helicopter and other aircraft parts as cargo.
 
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