Carry-on Bags

Today， when you are about to board an American airliner， you have to prepare for two possibilities： one， the overhead bin above your seat is full and you have to stow[裝載] your carry-on bag elsewhere. Two， the overhead bin is too small to fit your presumably[大概] regular-sized carry-on luggage. Even though you have tried many ways—horizontally， vertically， on the side， upside down， punching and squishing[壓扁]—and a flight attendant may come to assist you， your bag simply wont budge[移動(dòng)].

On my recent international trip， I experienced the same quandaries[窘境] on a United flight. Since I am not disabled or a mother with babies， I could not board the plane with priority. In fact， I boarded way behind for my coach-class seat.

Compared to Asian airliners， the overhead bins on the American planes are higher. Perhaps the North Americans are really taller. I can barely reach the latch on the overhead bin， let alone lifting up my 30-pound backpack. So I had to excuse myself for taking off my shoes and standing on the aisle seat. I then awkwardly lifted my backpack and pushed it into the overhead bin. In the past I did not stow my bag so smoothly. One time， with the help of a tall man who sat across from me， we two people managed to tuck[塞] my backpack in a compartment several rows down.

After I was seated， I saw a few more passengers having trouble stowing their carryon bags. Sometimes it was not because a passenger had an oversized carry-on bag， but it was because an early-bird passenger had stashed[存放] all his belongings in the overhead bin. The compartment was far from fully used. You couldnt do much about it other than keep looking for empty space for your carry-on luggage.

All in all， I think the frustration of traveling by air in America appears greater than that in China. I can check at least two pieces of luggage free on a Chinese airline. But the U.S. airlines charge for checked bags. Before I might become a victim if a piece of oversized carry-on luggage fell on my head， and before I waste too much time and energy to figure out how to economically pack my suitcase in order to avoid the extra baggage charges， I may just be better-off choosing a non-American airline to travel next time.