A missing piece here is cargo…many commercial airliners fly some industrial cargo in the belly of the airplane; it’s not just people’s checked luggage. That’s why the airlines always play this game of how much to charge for checked luggage, it’s not behave they really care, it’s because if too many people bring more than 1-2 checked bags they won’t be able to fit a MUCH more profitable palette down there
As someone who works in cargo for an airline while cargo is more profitable than checked baggage, it's not that valuable when it comes to straight profit. The airline I'm with as an easy example, if cargo makes 1 million dollars a fiscal quarter than passengers (including baggage) made 4 million. Certainly profitable, but as far as it tends to go, cargo is an afterthought with us.
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u/Sumo-Subjects 4d ago
A missing piece here is cargo…many commercial airliners fly some industrial cargo in the belly of the airplane; it’s not just people’s checked luggage. That’s why the airlines always play this game of how much to charge for checked luggage, it’s not behave they really care, it’s because if too many people bring more than 1-2 checked bags they won’t be able to fit a MUCH more profitable palette down there