Minor Thoughts from me to you

It seems like the whole world is annoyed that Spirit Airlines decided to charge passengers for carry-on bags.

Some in Congress believe airline fees should have limits. A bill has been introduced to outlaw carry-on baggage fees; another effort is aimed at taxing fees just as tickets are taxed so government doesn't lose out on revenue as airlines shift their charges from tickets to fees. And the DOT is looking closely at Spirit, mostly to see if the airline properly discloses its fees and other charges to consumers.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has been vocal in his criticism of Spirit's carry-on fee.

"Charging passengers to stow carry-on bags in overhead bins does not strike me as good customer service," he said in a statement to this newspaper. "We will take up this issue as part of an upcoming rulemaking on consumer protection."

I, for one, think Secretary LaHood needs to muzzle himself. I like the idea of Spirit Airlines charging for carry-on luggage. Luggage belongs in the cargo hold, not the passenger compartment. Spirit is quite clear about their reasons -- and I agree with every one of them.

One reason some airlines are eager to charge fees for carry-on bags: There's no room at the (overhead) bin.

To avoid checked-baggage fees, more travelers are carrying more bags onboard with them. At the same time, airlines have packed flights with more passengers, on average. That's led to a real-estate crisis in the cabins—not enough space in overhead bins to accommodate all customers. So more flights are delayed when customers struggle to cram bags into full bins and airline workers have to send bags that don't fit down to cargo compartments.

I always check my luggage when I fly. I hate lugging a suitcase around an airport. I prefer to travel with a small, personal bag and spend my time doing something other than acting as an unpaid baggage handler. In the few flights I've take recently, I've had to stand in airplane aisles waiting as people try to shove large bags into small openings. I've had to sit and watch (and watch and watch) as the flight crew tries to find a spot for every bit of a family's vacation luggage. I've even had to watch a few (supposedly professional) businessmen yell at the flight crew for not having more space available.

If Spirit Airlines flew out of Madison, I'd look to buy tickets from them first. I want to get somewhere quickly. If charging a fee is what it takes to make my fellow passengers quit acting like idiots, then I'm happy to see the fee imposed. Because -- and let's be clear here -- there wouldn't be a need for a fee in the first place if passengers didn't consistently ignore airline guidelines about carry-on luggage.

"We're not having any second thoughts. Right now, it still seems like a good idea to us," says Ben Baldanza, chief executive of Spirit, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Mr. Baldanza says Spirit will be able to trim five minutes off each flight—20 hours of airplane time per day. That's like having two extra $40 million planes in your fleet, and would let the airline add more flights without having to buy more planes. Today, without carry-on fees, Spirit is often gate-checking as many as 20 to 30 bags per flight that don't fit in overhead bins.

Passengers who don't like it can feel free to fly with another airline.