Oh great: Airlines are pushing for smaller carry-on bags

Checking bags for free is pretty simple these days. You just have to pretend like you’re going to carry on a bag, and then wait at the gate for a while until the person running the flight counter inevitably announces that the overhead bin is full and anyone who wants to check a bag can do so for free for no extra charge, and then you’re hanging out right next to the counter because you’re a savvy traveler and you knew this was coming, and then you grab a little tag from the counter person and slap it on your bag and leave it on the loading dock right before you get on the plane and then, boom, free checked bag.

But it seems this racket is coming to a close. According to an the International Air Transport Association, airlines and aircraft manufacturers are getting together and agreeing that, hey, maybe we should have enough room in the overhead bins so everyone on the plane can actually put their bag in there, and reducing the maximum luggage size to 21.5 x 13.5 x 7.5 inches, “a few inches shy of what most airlines, international and domestic, currently allow,” according to the New York Times.

Thankfully, if the only way you travel is stuffing everything you own into a backpack, you are free to ignore this post. Carry on.