This Airline Will Now Start Charging Passengers for Space in Overhead Compartments
Boarding a plane and having to fight for space in the overhead compartments is never an enjoyable experience.
But a new policy from an Australian budget airline is easily worse.
Jetstar will begin to charge customers who want to stash their carry-on bags in the overhead spaces, according to an Aug. 6 report from Fox Business.
Starting in February 2027, passengers will have to pay the equivalent of $18 to $37 to store bags on one-way flights.
Those bags are allowed to weigh up to 22 pounds and will not be weighed by airline staff ahead of boarding.
“By giving customers an underseat bag with the option to add Priority Carry-on, we can make better use of overhead locker space, streamline boarding and help more flights depart on time,” Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully said in a statement.
The change comes after Jetstar concluded that weighing bags and struggling to find space in the overhead compartments is consistently one of the worst customer experiences when flying.
Passengers will have to buy the “Priority Carry-on” privileges ahead of time.
As Tully mentioned, they can still bring a backpack, purse, or laptop bag that fits under the seat in front of them at no charge.
Fox Business noted that the Jetstar program comes as fees for baggage, seat choice, and priority boarding compose growing shares of revenue for budget airlines.
The outlet said some budget carriers in the U.S. and Europe charge for overhead space.
But the Australian public has not taken well to the change.
James Colley, a comedian and television writer from Sydney, riffed on the policy in an opinion piece for The Guardian entitled: “Every Jetstar flight is a rabid fight for survival. What’s one more humiliating ritual for the masses?”
“Indignity is part of the Jetstar experience. This is why we fly with budget airlines. We understand that for a marginally lower air fare, we will participate in what is less a typical flight and closer to a form of live cattle export,” he wrote.
‘You will be hustled towards your gate, spat upon like the scum you are and hosed down as you exit. This is fine. This is what we deserve. We are the underclass. We are dirt. We are pigs. Pigs do not deserve to fly.”
Colley added that despite such a view of budget airlines, he cannot “help but hope for a better world,” in which flying with Jetstar is “like that part of Titanic where Jack and Rose head to the third-class party.”
“There should be bagpipes and alcohol and high-energy dancing and a vague sense of foreboding as you realise this whole trip is doomed. It should be dirty but charming, the airline equivalent of a dog who lives in a storm drain,” he continued.
“This might not ever happen but we can dream. Except it’s probably best not to dream if you are currently on a Jetstar flight — they will charge you for hallucinating your own in-flight movie.”
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