NewsNTech
Boarding time is a quantifiable bottleneck.
Each carry-on bag staged in an overhead compartment rather than under a seat costs measurable seconds per passenger, and at scale those seconds are what budget airline economics are built around managing.
Jetstar, the Australian low-cost carrier owned by Qantas, has announced it will begin charging from $25 AUD (about $18 USD) per overhead bag per flight starting in February 2027, bundling that access with priority boarding under what it calls a "priority carry-on" add-on.
The previous policy allowed passengers to bring carry-on luggage totaling up to 7 kilograms aboard at no extra cost. Under the new structure, that entitlement disappears.
Keep reading