Trends in Airline Security

Some passengers have opted to ride in the baggage hold in order to be closer to their personal items, such as knitting needles, alcohol flasks, and cosmetics; others have chosen to ride in stowage for financial reasons. Passengers who used to complain about long, uncomfortable flights are praising flights that reduce oxygen to the cargo hold, which gives them an experience some observers are comparing to "suspended animation," a concept previously undiscussed outside of science fiction. Critics have condemned the use of the baggage hold as a third seating option calling it "the steerage of the twenty-first century."