It now appears that at least one man is going to try and stick up for the general public by fighting airlines and their new carry on bag fees. The United States Senator, Charles Schumer, said last Sunday that he is trying to get the federal government to prohibit airlines from charging a fee for carry on baggage. He says that this is just a slap in the face to travelers.

Charles Schumer, who is a New York Democrat, is making a personal plea to the Treasury Department to rule that carry on bags are a necessity for travelers. This would, of course, make carry on bags exempt from a separate fee outside the price of the ticket.

Mr Schumer went on to say that airline passengers have always had the right to bring a carry on bag without having to worry about getting nickeled and dimed to death. This latest fee is now just a big slap in the face. Carry on bags often contain things like medication and other necessities for passengers.

As of right now, the fee is legal. The first airline to get away with it has been Spirit Airlines. It announced just last week that it would be charging up to $45 for a carry on bag. Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza has said that having fewer carry on bags will help empty the plane faster. The fee is intended to get customers to pay for individual things they want while keeping the base fare very low. Charging for checked bags but not carry ons also means many passengers lug as much as they can onto planes.