carry on bags

Airline prices may appear to be at a historic low, but that's just a flight of fancy. In fact, the major carriers have just shifted their costs to extra fees, and the ugliest one of all is the one you pay to check luggage. At $20 a bag, a family of four will pay $80 each way, or $160 round-trip. You can save $40 if you reserve space ahead of time, but don't even think about adding a second checked bag, which adds another $60 round-trip, per bag.

The tale of the scrimping airlines gets curiouser and curiouser. And shiftier and shiftier. Continental has announced that it will reduce the maximum size of its passengers' carry-on bags by a full six inches. That's right. As of November 1, if you try to tote a bag measuring more than a total of...