LV vs CX

Read from Apple Daily that Cathay Pacific is considering revising its in-flight safety policy about carry-on baggage, to accomodate its semi-influential tai tai passengers so as to safeguard the significant portion of business the airline has with their husbands' companies. It all started with "a high profile incident when a lady passenger got very upset when asked to place her designer handbag in overhead storage", i.e. when Mrs Kwok—wife of SHK's vice-chairman—refused to have her beloved LV bag so much as come within two feet of other passengers' cheap non-designer carry-on luggage.

What I'd like to know is how the revised policy would be enforced. Could all passengers choose to hold on to their hand baggage during take-off and landing, or would it be a waiver applicable only to Marco Polo Club members and an exclusive list of European designer labels?

Either way, Cathay Pacific can say goodbye to in-flight safety. The whole having to stow away your hand baggage during take-off and landing thing has been as strictly executed by flight attendents as it's been greatly appreciated by even momentarily annoyed passengers. God forbids, in the case of an evacuation, the last thing I'd want is loose items flying around and blocking my way to the nearest exit. But it's pretty clear that in the case of an evacuation, prestigious passengers like Mrs Kwok are the exact same people who would insist on first retrieving their beloved LVs and Fendi's even if they had been stowed away in the overhead compartment.

I think this opens up exciting new business opportunities. Cathay Pacific could look into baggage fares for designer bags—for an additional fee, passengers can make use of a velvet-lined slot next to the passenger seat that provides a cushioned fit for most designer bags. Whereas LV, Fendi and the like could look into new lines of in-flight protective bag storage for the S/S '08 collection—clamshell cases specially engineered to protect their designer bags against bumps and scratches inside overhead compartments.

NB:
1. I like Cathay Pacific. Getting bumped up to business class on my Hong Kong-to-Rome flight was a highlight of my Europe trip.
2. I like Louis Vuitton. Before I even saw the Eiffel Tower I went and spent a small fortune at their shop in Lafayette.