Qantas to ban bags over 20kg!

[BrisVegas]

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,23515673-5014090,00.html

Comment in the article says that 80% of checked bags are over 20kgs. Presumable Qantas is charging passengers excess baggage fees on all these too.

I'd always thought 32kgs was the limit for a single item and I've had bags weighing that much in the past. I don't think I'd like to be handling 32kgs bags all day, but I wouldn't have thought 20kg bags would be that bad... But then, what would I know?

Hopefully jarro & perci can give us their take on it.

[pt73]

From what the article says the TWU is doing this not Qantas.

"THOUSANDS of airline passengers could have their trips disrupted by a union ban on baggage weighing more than 20kg."

[PeteyD]

Good on ya Jarro et al ;)

[AndyP]

Maybe the weeny, weakling baggage handlers like Perci complained?

[PeteyD]

wonder if the camel outfit weighed > 20 kg?

[Dazza]

Do the handlers utilise the handles on the suitcases, Or do they physically have to grab them on each side to lift?

I suppose either way it'd be tough doing it all day.
I lift 40kg bags at work, but I certainly don't spend the whole day lifting.
Most I'd do is a tonne at a time, courtesy of an Unco Forklift driver knocking a pallet over.

[Courty]

****. What does the average golf bag weigh when packed for travel?

[AndyP]

My carry bag was about 14kg when I went on the Newcastle-Sydney trip last year.

[Bruce]

My bag going up to the champs was 19.1kg and 20.2kg coming home. I didn't lose as many balls as I thought I might and had to bring a lot home.

[perci]

Maybe the weeny, weakling baggage handlers like Perci complained?

Yea thanks for the compliment Andy,the problem most don't realise or choose to ignore is we can lift around 200 bags in the 40 minute turn around of an Aircraft,we do that at least 6 times a day and if its your turn inside the aircraft you are on your knees turning back and forth 90* picking them off a conveyor belt and stacking them from the floor to above your head.Might sound like a piece of piss to the media folk and some desk jockeys but having 2 torn Rotator Cuffs in the last 6 months {10 weeks compo but no lost time injury"go figure"} so we think the airlines have to move with the times as did the building trade with cement bags etc and reduce weights to between 20 and 25kg.British Airlines have introduced a 23kg limit so hopefully it will flow on.

[3oneday]

20 kgs is a fair bit anyway isn't it ?

[Courty]

I lift a few 25kg bags of pool salt occasionally. No way I'd be shifting 200 bags of even half that weight in 40 minutes! :shock:

[mikezone13]

I have no problems with a weight limit per bag, but I can see that I'd now need 2 bags to carry my stuff on an OS trip, the extra weight of the bag itself would mean I'd need to leave stuff at home or be charged excess baggage.

If the amount of weight per person increases to take account of this the only thing I'd need to do would be decrease my suitcase size as my big case can fit a hell of a lot in it.

[Jarro]

20 kgs is a fair bit anyway isn't it ?

It is, and once you kneel inside the aircraft to load the bag ... the weight automatically doubles to 40Kgs because you can't get the correct leverage on it.

[Grunt]

It is, and once you kneel inside the aircraft to load the bag ... the weight automatically doubles to 40Kgs because you can't get the correct leverage on it.

But you would not have to kneel would you Jarro, in fact you could jump up & Down.:lol:

[terryand]

But you would not have to kneel would you Jarro, in fact you could jump up & Down.:lol:

What would you mechanics know :-s

Terry.

[Grunt]

We are in the cargo's all the time when the bag chuckers break the unloading system and put holes in the plane with equipment.

[AndyP]

It is, and once you kneel inside the aircraft to load the bag ... the weight automatically doubles to 40Kgs because you can't get the correct leverage on it.Any scientific evidence to back this up?

[BrisVegas]

Yea thanks for the compliment Andy,the problem most don't realise or choose to ignore is we can lift around 200 bags in the 40 minute turn around of an Aircraft,we do that at least 6 times a day and if its your turn inside the aircraft you are on your knees turning back and forth 90* picking them off a conveyor belt and stacking them from the floor to above your head.Might sound like a piece of piss to the media folk and some desk jockeys but having 2 torn Rotator Cuffs in the last 6 months {10 weeks compo but no lost time injury"go figure"} so we think the airlines have to move with the times as did the building trade with cement bags etc and reduce weights to between 20 and 25kg.British Airlines have introduced a 23kg limit so hopefully it will flow on.

no wonder you got arms like a grizzly bear perci. :shock: Are those concrete bags only 20kg? I struggle to shift them around. :oops:

[perci]

We are in the cargo's all the time when the bag chuckers break the unloading system and put holes in the plane with equipment.

Thats because the inhold drive systems in widebody aircrafts don't always work properly in the first place.Pushing & pulling 4 ton pallets isn't much chop for the body either!

[poidda]

So is there a strike today or what? Do I need to organise a game in Sydney area for tomorrow??

And for the record, wheelie bags should be band. If you can't carry it, than don't expect anyone else to. And FFS, learn how to drive them if you are that way inclined.

[Davemason]

Comment in the article says that 80% of checked bags are over 20kgs. Presumable Qantas is charging passengers excess baggage fees on all these too.



I know Virgin don't
After trying to get our checked baggage under 15kg plus golf bag and 20 kg for the wife (our carry on weighed a ton)
We check into Launceston airport to come back home and some shella beside us checked a bag 35kg and they didn't charge a cent (bitch)
We felt a bit pissed off as we wanted to buy and bring back more stuff but didn't as didn't want to go over to limit by much.

[Jarro]

Any scientific evidence to back this up?

Only the workplace health and safety people. They come out all the time and look at what we do and shake their heads ..... wondering why we aren't all cripples :roll:

Try it yourself ..... get a bag, fill it to 20kgs, then kneel down and pick it ... hold it out in front of you (don't bend your back now will ya) then twist around and place it on a shelf that's at about your eye level.

Repeat proceedure 200 times in 35 minutes.

[Jarro]

We are in the cargo's all the time when the bag chuckers break the unloading system and put holes in the plane with equipment.

Only time i see a mechanic in a hold is if he thinks somebody dropped 20 cents in there.

[goughy]

They do the same in our trade! You wanna pick up a chair, you bend over, pick it up and chuck it on the table. You wanna carry it outside, you litterally throw it over your head and then rest the inside back on your head and balance with your arms.

Makes them cringe, but you gotta get it done!

[TS]

Jarro & Perci. I think you guys got a tough job. I have a hard enough time taking the golf bag from the car boot onto the buggy. Would hate to lift something heavy like that few hundred times a day. I was getting tire dragging the golf bag from the airport terminal to carpark last week.

[AndyP]

Only the workplace health and safety people. They come out all the time and look at what we do and shake their heads ..... wondering why we aren't all cripples :roll:

Try it yourself ..... get a bag, fill it to 20kgs, then kneel down and pick it ... hold it out in front of you (don't bend your back now will ya) then twist around and place it on a shelf that's at about your eye level.

Repeat proceedure 200 times in 35 minutes.
I'm not questioning that it's heavier, just the figure of 40kg.

[Jarro]

I'm not questioning that it's heavier, just the figure of 40kg.

They claim that once you kneel down and try to lift an object, the weight automatically doubles

[goughy]

Maybe they should make you work underwater! Everything gets lighter underwater :)

[Jarro]

Maybe they should make you work underwater! Everything gets lighter underwater :)

Is that due to shrinkage ?

;)

[Jarro]

Furthermore to our discussion about heavy bags, i thought i'd post a couple of pics taken while i was loading some bags the other day.

The plane is a 737 ... typical aircraft most of you axemurderers fly around in every day.

[shazza_rs]

geez jarro... even with your height deficiency that looks mighty small.... :)

[Bruce]

I can see why you got the job Jarro. It's like in WW2 when they used children to polish the inside of shells due to their little fingers.

That gap must be about 2 feet high for you to be forced to crouch down like that.

[Jarro]

Not much room there Shaz, but i do my best work in small, tight places ;)

[poidda]

They obviously forgot to mark the box "fragile" as well! :)

[Jarro]

I can see why you got the job Jarro. It's like in WW2 when they used children to polish the inside of shells due to their little fingers.

That gap must be about 2 feet high for you to be forced to crouch down like that.

I'll try and get a pic of perci in there one day soon, that'll be good for a giggle too ;)

[Courty]

You didn't need to post the pic of you dry humping the box (#3) :roll:

[Fishman Dan]

Is that Jerry (as in Tom and...) I see in the background?

[Jono]

Did anyone see A Current Affair last week with Tracy Grimshaw? ( I think that's her name).

She was demonstrating how she can lift a 35kg suitcase and then to make it more interesting, she brought out an eight year old kid to lift the 20kg bag. Her argument was "if the little kid and I can do it, why can't you?"

F#$*ing great journalism, that. :roll:

[Jarro]

Yeah Jono, ACA was a real talking point at my workplace after that episode aired :roll:

In theory, what she was saying is true .... a 20kg bag can be lifted by an 8 year old.
( not correctly though)
Our problem is when we have so many 20/30 and sometimes 40 Kg bags coming through the checkin area ... people take way too much stuff with them when they travel :roll:

[Grunt]

Jono, lifting once is easy but as Jarro & Perci have said lifting 300-400 a day makes it tough.

[Grunt]

Jarro, you should just get someone to do a Risk assessment on the issue they will come running to you when you prove it properly. This does seem a case where OH&S should be able to solve it. I have done Risk Assessment training and it seems pretty easy to prove as a risk to staff.

[Jarro]

I believe all that is happening as we speak Grant

[Grunt]

OH&S is a pain sometimes when it makes simple tasks harder but other times it is way easier. On the issue of the poor lady that died last weekend, does she come under the same manager as you guys up there? If so his tune may now change as he has lost his safety bonus. Ours had to sign a cheque for aver 1 million a few months back and now helps us get whatever we want to make our jobs easier and safer. He even did a nightshift wit hmy crew a few weeks back.

[poidda]

Jono, lifting once is easy but as Jarro & Perci have said lifting 300-400 a day makes it tough.

Just out of interest, what percentage of bags are actually over the 20kg limit? I know you lift 300-400 a day, but when I was in checkin the other day, I looked around and could see none larger than 20kgs. At a guess that is.

What I'm getting at, is this just a case of a minority winging again? If you want to take 40kgs worth of gear on a flight, FFS put it in 2 bags, or 3 if need be. There's no need for the jumbo suit cases. They're just a pain in the arse.

And while we're at it, do everyone a favour and get rid of wheellie suit cases. People seem to lose all sense of personal body space when they take control over their wheelie bag. FFS pick the thing up.

[BrisVegas]

poidda - you would have loved my SKB hard case golf bag! That thing looked like a round black coffin on wheels. Dragging it around the airport was like piloting a Hummer down the Queen Street Mall.

[poidda]

poidda - you would have loved my SKB hard case golf bag! That thing looked like a round black coffin on wheels. Dragging it around the airport was like piloting a Hummer down the Queen Street Mall.

Actually Vegas, I can let aukward bags through that actually need to be wheeled. What really annoys me are people that take carry on, but have to wheel them to their seats. FFS, if they are small enough for carry on, pick the ****ing things up.

[davidp]

Actually Vegas, I can let aukward bags through that actually need to be wheeled. What really annoys me are people that take carry on, but have to wheel them to their seats. FFS, if they are small enough for carry on, pick the ****ing things up.

As someone who flies at least once a month, it's a lot easier to manage a bag wheeling it behind you down the narrow cabin aisle. It's a lot less strain on your arms, and you don't bang people as you walk by... Especially the fragile old people they let on first, who don't appreciate the bruises especially if they're on blood thinning medication... :|

Jarro, Perci, hats off to you both. I reckon you both have to put up with OH&S crappy conditions. In today's world of automated systems, it's bizarre that no-one has come up with a system of loading /unloading baggage off commuter planes that does not place baggage handlers at risk.

[TS]

Isn't most of the planes other than 737 (and some of the smaller one) use a container system.

[poidda]

As someone who flies at least once a month, it's a lot easier to manage a bag wheeling it behind you down the narrow cabin aisle. It's a lot less strain on your arms, and you don't bang people as you walk by... Especially the fragile old people they let on first, who don't appreciate the bruises especially if they're on blood thinning medication... :|

If you can't handle carrying it, than check it in.

Anyway, it's not the 30 meters of aisle on the plane that annoys the piss out of me. It's when wheelers insist on wheeling their 5kg bag all the way to their car without any consideration to the people around them. How hard is it to carry? Seriously.

[Grunt]

Poidda, can I ask what the problem with them is? Is it the space they are taking up behind them or are you just talking about the same types of people who drive in the right hand lane all day every day blocking the traffic. I must admit it is way easier to have the wheels on them than carry when you have kids with you.

[AndyP]

If you read back, you'll find that even poidda isn't sure what he is whinging about. He keeps changing his mind.

[Grunt]

That is why I asked.

[BrisVegas]

poidda's just cranky. full stop.

[poidda]

OK wheelie people. I didn't mean to threadjack this, but you can't say you've never had people annoy the piss outta you when in a busy terminal by dragging their bags? Maybe it's just me after spending years on the tube in London.

Sorry to offend. Keep Wheeling.

[poidda]

If you read back, you'll find that even poidda isn't sure what he is whinging about. He keeps changing his mind.

huh? Maybe I should have detailed my first post 100%. Can you please summarise for me Pee. :roll:

[Jarro]

Isn't most of the planes other than 737 (and some of the smaller one) use a container system.

Most of the planes perci does would be 737's. I work at the International terminal where we get all different sorts of aircraft ... most get loaded manually, except for the 767/747/777/A320/A330.

We load an IcelandAir 757 manually and it's the worst, most backbreaking aircraft i've ever done (i'll take some pics next time to show you what i mean)

[Iain]

Geez Jarro, those photo's are pretty ordinary.... :shock:

[Jarro]

Geez Jarro, those photo's are pretty ordinary.... :shock:

I didn't have time to stop and fix my hair ... sorry :roll:

[Iain]

Idiot....

[Jarro]

Wanker ....

[TS]

Jarro. Tiger Wood must be a good mate of yours. I was reading Golf Mag and it said Tiger like to travel light, he only take 1 set of club, 1 small suitcase and i knapsack regardless length of the trip.

[Iain]

Wanker ....

Kettle or Pot??

[poidda]

Jarro. Tiger Wood must be a good mate of yours. I was reading Golf Mag and it said Tiger like to travel light, he only take 1 set of club, 1 small suitcase and i knapsack regardless length of the trip.

Yeah, but what does his poor caddie lug around? :)

[TS]

Yeah, but what does his poor caddie lug around? :)

I am sure Stevie uses bags with wheels on them.

[Grunt]

You actually think he has to take his own gear anywhere. I reckon Nike would transport all his stuff for him.

[Eag's]

You actually think he has to take his own gear anywhere. I reckon Nike would transport all his stuff for him.

The bloke has his own Jet FFS of course he is not lugging his own shit around.