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Finding room for carry-on baggage has become 'the Hunger Games' of air travel, analyst says – CBC.ca

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Cost of Living5:00Cakes on a plane

Flight attendant Cat Jones will never forget the day she spotted a woman carrying a wedding cake down the bridge to board her plane in Winnipeg.

When the passenger reached the door, Jones gently mentioned that the box was above the size limits for carry-on baggage.

“It was her niece’s wedding and it was some sort of family friend who owned the bakery. And it was a really kind of meaningful, sentimental part of this wedding that was about to happen,” said Jones, who worked for WestJet at the time.

She and her colleagues spent at least 10 minutes moving people and their carry-on baggage around the plane so that they could make room for the cake box on the floor of a window seat where it wouldn’t block anyone’s exit in the event of an emergency, Jones told Cost of Living. And that was just for one passenger’s extra gear. 

Jones and other airline industry insiders say passengers have become carried away with carry-on baggage, leading to costly delays.  

That’s prompting calls for changes to how airplanes charge for baggage, with some discount airlines like Sunwing and Spirit already beginning to flip the fee structure so passengers pay for the privilege of keeping their bags on board.

A flight attendant kneels in the aisle of a plane
Cat Jones, who was a WestJet flight attendant for 10 years, said she’s had to make room in the cabin for all manner of objects from Disneyland lightsabers to houseplants and even a wedding cake. (Submitted by Cat Jones)

Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Atmosphere Research Group in San Francisco, says this change needs to happen, and that passengers should be allowed to check a bag for free.

“People would appreciate this. They would feel less nickel-and-dimed. And people who want the convenience and control would pay to bring their bags on the plane,” said Harteveldt, who noted airlines would likely generate the same or more in baggage revenue. 

Plus, there would be other savings, he said.

“When the airplane is sitting on the ground, it’s not making money for the airline.”

Delays are happening in part because, as Jones describes it, the crew is stuck playing “Tetris” with people’s backpacks, pillows, duty-free purchases and souvenirs.

Return flights from Disney trips were especially challenging, said Jones, who lives in Calgary and now works in private aviation.

“Where am I going to put these lightsabers? And massive stuffed animals. Mickey Mouse is, you know, coming in on top of the allotted, one carry-on, one personal item. It needs its own overhead bin.”

Because airlines share gates and runways, there’s a “domino effect” when overstuffed cabins lead to late departures, she said.

A woman wearing a light-coloured blazer poises for a photo.
Caroline K. Marete is a visiting assistant professor in the school of aviation and transportation technology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. (Submitted by Caroline Marete)

Tardy takeoffs increase costs across the board, said Caroline Marete, a visiting assistant professor in the school of aviation and transportation technology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

“If there are more passengers trying to get their cabin carry-ons through the aisles, this delays the entire process of boarding and also disembarking the passengers that are arriving,” said Marete, who has a PhD in aviation technology.

It means the planes burn more fuel, the airlines pay more for ground-handling services and the crews stay on duty longer, she said. The staffing aspect is particularly complicated given that there are strict maximums on how many hours airline crew can work.

And those costs may translate into higher ticket prices.

Harteveld said boarding wasn’t always such a time-consuming process.

“If you go back into the 1970s and ’80s, airlines would board flights maybe 20 minutes before departure. But we didn’t have this jostling for space in the overhead bins,” he said.

“It’s like a Hunger Games environment on the plane. And may the odds ever be in your favour of finding a spot for your bag near your seat.”

A woman's hands and knees are shown on top of a small, overstuffed yellow suitcase.
Overstuffed cabin baggage is leading some to call for changes in how baggage fees are structured, with passengers paying for the convenience of taking their luggage on board. (Sebra/Shutterstock)

He said Southwest is the only U.S. airline that does not charge for checked baggage, and notes the company credits this with keeping its time on the ground between flights to an absolute minimum.

Another U.S. discount carrier, Spirit Airways, charges around $5 US more to carry on rather than check a bag.

In Canada, Sunwing allows passengers who book vacation packages to check one bag for free, up to 50 pounds (around 23 kilograms). While it allows travellers to bring one personal item — such as a purse or laptop bag — into the cabin, it costs $25 to take a small suitcase, duffel or backpack as carry-on.

For major carriers like Air Canada, only certain fare classes, loyalty programs, destinations or airline partnerships come with a checked bag included.

An issue of trust

Harteveld said it would also be helpful if airlines could provide more assurance that people’s baggage would arrive with them at their destination.

“If more airlines did as Alaska and Delta do in the U.S. and say: ‘Look, if you check your bag, we guarantee that it will be delivered to you in 20 minutes or less — and if it’s not, we’ll either give you frequent flier miles or a travel credit,’ then I think we’d see a lot more people feeling comfortable checking their bags.”

A lot of airlines have invested in tracking apps that allow passengers to monitor the status and location of their bags, said Harteveld, but without a guarantee, “a lot of people are going to say, ‘I don’t want to waste my time at the destination.'”

Lynn Kennedy of Oxford Mills, Ont., south of Ottawa, told Cost of Living she wouldn’t mind checking her bag if she knew for sure she’d get it back.

“If I would have a guarantee that I’d actually get my stuff at the end of my flight, I would check it for sure and save all the hassle of shoving things up in the bins and fighting with people for space and everything else.”

But when she flew frequently for work, Kennedy said she’d often see people travelling with multiple carry-on bags equivalent in volume to a large suitcase. “And nobody challenged them.” 

A mess of colourful luggage and frustrated passengers is pictured at a crowded baggage terminal inside Vancouver International Airport.
A mess of luggage and passengers is seen at a baggage carousel inside Vancouver International Airport amid mass cancellations and suspended flights on Dec. 19, 2022. Many passengers are opting to carry-on their bags to avoid luggage problems caused by these kinds of disruptions. (Supplied by Craig Minielly)

In Victoria, Faye Fergusson said she wishes airlines had never allowed anything as big as a roller suitcase in the cabin because too many people abuse the privilege. She said she’s noticed that those who fly frequently for work usually have modest carry-on luggage.

“But then you have these others who will come on and they will have a suitcase and a backpack and maybe a couple of shopping bags. And they’re taking up one, two, three people’s space in the overhead bins.”

Fergusson said she applauds the idea of paying for carry-on, and thinks business travellers would opt for the quick airport exit they need while vacationers should cool their jets at the baggage carousel.

But business adviser Jenifer Bartman, who lives near Winnipeg, doesn’t think charging for carry-on luggage is the answer. 

“What I would rather see from a consumer standpoint is better enforcement of what the rules actually are,” she said. 

“I’ve seen this happen multiple times where there’s a garment bag, you know, a backpack or a big heavy duffel bag or a roller suitcase and a computer bag and they walk on without even having the staff blink at them.”

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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