Fred, I used to work for that airline that gave you the grief. Been there done that ,many, many, times. Can't count the number of times been sent out of town on company work, just to have the ramp rats loose my work tools or drop my small box, leave it sitting outside in the rain or snow. I don't fly anymore, last time was 4 years back for a family wedding, I just hate it now. But the airlines are in the business of making money for shareholders, and they don't really care how that is achieved. Airplanes are somewhat pricey, then there is the cost of maintenance and facilities, ground equipment, and the workers. Also flying has become the bus. Used to be a time when people got dressed up a little to fly, not anymore. I seen people in pajamas boarding, wtf? As far as luggage, just another way to try and get a handle on ever larger and larger bags. There never used to be a problem with smaller bags, check one and the other in the overhead bin. Now it is check three, one for you and two for the wife, a carry on bag or two and a laptop or two as well. Cargo is where the money is, so if company's and people have to pay to send merchandise, so can the regular passenger. And I don't have a problem with that, if you use the service expect to pay. To give you an idea of how bad things were, I seen a chest of draws being checked, when she was told no, she went on the attack, verbally, poor agent was almost in tears, until security came along. The chest went to the cargo shed as it should. Asians checking huge bags full of canned good, like baked beans. They had to weigh 100lbs or more. Poor guys down in the baggage room were wrecking their backs lifting them, if they made it down that far. They would usually explode upon being hit by the paddle pushers on the conveyor system. Yeah, loved that job, not so much. Sorry about your experience with AC Fred. But that is the way things are going in the 21st century, just have to relax and ride it out.