Packing a carry-on bag for a flight has never been effortless; it’s always taken a bit of ingenuity to arrange things so you can reach what you might need. And for a long time now, we’ve had to remove any scissors or blades and bid au revoir to bottles that hold over 3 ounces. But now? Now we have to do all this and also pack our carry-ons as if they’re about to be checked: no valuables, no breakables, no necessary medications.

Since airlines began charging checked-bag fees last year, many of us have adjusted our habits to avoid checking any luggage. In my opinion, the problems this has caused—overly full overhead bins and major delays boarding—are only getting worse.

You may have heard of Ryanair, the low-cost---and I do mean low-cost---carrier that started in Ireland in 1985 and now has 32 bases and more than 800 low fare routes across 26 countries. I've even flown Ryanair myself, actually: London to Dublin and back again for the princely sum of one pound. Yep, that's about a buck sixty right now. I think I spent more on the cup of coffee I bought at the airport.

Late last week, several major airlines quietly (well, they tried to do it quietly, but it didn't work) added a $10 surcharge for flights November 29 and January 2 and 3. That's the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the days when many travelers are returning from Christmas and New Year's trips. In other words, three of the busiest travel days of the year. Will they add the surcharge to more dates? My guess is yes, and soon.

This week's question comes from Moses in Roy, UT, home of the Hill Aerospace Museum (where admission is free!):

When I read the article on the attitude of Ben Baldanza, CEO of Spirit Airlines, in the New York Times business section this weekend entitled Don't Come Crying To This Airline I was blown away.  How brazen.  The word the article used was outrageous.

Here on The Window Seat, you've read a lot about the woes of the airline industry over the past year. Baggage fees were perhaps the hottest topic of 2008, generating grumbles heard 'round the world and provoking sour comments from our readers. Well, as Ben Mutzabaugh writes in his Today in the Sky blog, "grumble if you like, but checked-bag fees may mean less lost luggage."

If you can remember back a couple of years ago, airlines were carrying record numbers of passengers and lost baggage rates were the worst they've ever been. However, 2008 marked a massive improvement with domestic carriers losing 1.3 million fewer bags than in the previous year.

You’re in the middle of the sky and you’ve just drank your soda and well, you gotta go. Today, we take it for granted that we can just saunter on down to the back of the plane and take care of business. Well, now someone may make big business out of taking care of business. Ryanair, to be exact, is mulling over whether or not to add a bathroom fee in-flight in the form of a coin slot on each bathroom door.

As passengers, we’ve had a lot of things taken away from us over the years. We now have to pay to check our bags, pay to have pillows and blankets, pay for snacks, and so on. But to have to pay to pee?! Really Ryanair? What next?

The headline: US Airways to Charge for Pillows.
My first thought: More airline fees?!

Then I began to rationalize this charge and concluded that $7 is a small price to pay to stay healthy. From a wellness perspective, who wants a snotty blanket and pillow that some other passenger has drooled (or worse) all over during the previous flight?

Not me. On a recent flight from DEN to SFO, I sat next to a mother and her daughter, who was probably 2-years-old. The child proceeded to eat cheesy Doritos during the flight, and then upchucked down the window of the plane, and yes, onto the airline-provided blanket. The next passenger was in for a surprise.

United Airlines canceled its plans to increase the second checked baggage fee to $50, announcing that customers will continue to pay only $25 for the second bag ($15 for the first). Starting today, the carrier is giving travelers the option to pay these fees online to save time at the airport.

As an added baggage service, United also recently launched its new Door-to-Door Baggage program, enabling customers to ship their suitcases directly to their destination if traveling within the continental United States.

Delta today became the last of the six legacy carriers to implement a fee for the first checked bag. For traffic on or after Dec. 5, passengers on domestic flights will be charged $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second checked bag.

Several policy changes have followed last week’s Delta and Northwest merger announcement as the two carriers begin to streamline their operations.