Handluggage is supersized

Maybe I am mistaken, but I always though the reason hand-luggage was called hand-luggage, was because it could comfortable be carried by hand.

I was therefore rather surprised at the size of bags some of my fellow passengers were attempting to cram into the overhead bins on board a recent flight from LAX to JFK. Most of these bags were actually suitcases large enough to carry a good few days supply of clothes.
In fairness, individually, these suitcases all fitted into the compartments, the only problem was that a couple of them pretty much filled each locker, which meant the later boarders had virtually nowhere to store their luggage.

On this flight, I was fortunate enough to have boarded pretty early, therefore able to store my small bag, but had I not been able too, I would have been rather annoyed that just because everyone else was taking their kitchen sink into the cabin, I would have been forced to carry my bag on my lap.

Sadly though, I think the battle of the hand-luggage won’t end any time soon. As airlines are fighting for business, they’re hardly going to impose limits that might prompt customers to look for alternative carriers.