In an interesting move, six Democratic senators are pushing back against Spirit Air's decision to charge up to $45 for carrying on a bag by pushing for having carry-on luggage designated as essential air travel items. (How carry-ons ever escaped being deemed essential is what I'd like to know. That's where I keep medicine, wallet -- all the stuff I need to make it to my final destination. But I digress). If appears that if it's essential, the feds can tax the fees, which the senators say will discourage other airlines from following suit.
But wouldn't the airline just include the tax in the airfare, or the fee (or both)? If, as Spirit Air CEO says, the airline just wants to improve customer service and make boarding faster, why not just enforce the carry-on-size rules? That way all the people who are trying to avoid the checked-in bag fees by trying to cram their oversize bags into the overhead bins would be forced to cut it out, without the rest of us having to pay.