TSA wants more of your money for carry-ons

[Dacky619]

The screening process for carryon bags is different then the screening process for checked bags.

I think the TSA needs more money to pay for their "new toys", specifically the whole body imager.

I don't think the increase in carryon bags is as big an impact as claimed.. I agree with the PP who said the real impact is longer lines.

I know the process is different for checked vs carryon, but some people tried to simplify the entire thing by basically saying "more bags, they need more $" My point was simply that it isn't really true that there are more bags, and I don't know enough to say how much more or less it costs to monitor checked vs carryon. I agree with your thought that the TSA just needs more money to pay for their new toys and are trying to use the carryon push to justify it.

 

[eliza61]

I know the process is different for checked vs carryon, but some people tried to simplify the entire thing by basically saying "more bags, they need more $" My point was simply that it isn't really true that there are more bags, and I don't know enough to say how much more or less it costs to monitor checked vs carryon. I agree with your thought that the TSA just needs more money to pay for their new toys and are trying to use the carryon push to justify it.

but how do you know? Maybe they have found out that they don't have enough personnel to do the job sufficiently? You've just admitted that you don't know enough to say how much it cost, so basically it's just a personal assumption based on a dislike for the procedure.

 

[Dacky619]

but how do you know? Maybe they have found out that they don't have enough personnel to do the job sufficiently? You've just admitted that you don't know enough to say how much it cost, so basically it's just a personal assumption based on a dislike for the procedure.

No where have I posted any complaint or dislike about the procedure. If they do up the fee, it will be up to us to decide if we are willing to pay it or find another mode of transportation (we'd just pay it, no big deal). And in case you haven't noticed, this is a message board just filled with personal opinions and assumptions. No where did I claim to know exactly what the TSA's reasoning is, none of us know.


I do think it is a fair use of common sense to think that unless you see an overall rise in baggage (carryon and checked), it should not cost substantially more to monitor one way over the other if there is a shift in how the baggage is moving. If they need more people to monitor carryon bags now, who is to say they didn't need more people a few years ago to watch the checked luggage before the bag fees went nuts? Yes, it might not be an even swap if all of the bags were carryon vs checked, but I agree with other posters that the fee increase is not out of need, it is out of opportunity.