If you have flown in recent years, you have heard the announcement. It seems to happen with every flight.

The plane is full. That means space in the overhead compartments is at a premium. Therefore the airline, out of the goodness of its heart, is offering to let you check your carry-on bag – for free! Complimentary checked baggage – can you resist the deal?

The logical thing to do would be to build planes with enough room for each person to bring on a piece of carry-on luggage. Major airlines allow that for free, Logic though is not a word often found in air travel.

When I fly I usually don’t have checked luggage. Too many bad experiences with luggage delays in recent years have made me leery of entrusting my bags to the system.

True, the luggage has always shown up eventually, but it is no fun to be on vacation and not have a change of clothes. (Smart travelers always make sure they pack at least one change of clothes in their carry-on.) That’s on of the reasons for trying to fit everything into a carry-on.

It makes no sense to entrust it to the airline. They have left my bags in Istanbul, Warsaw and Toronto, just to name three. At least they know where the bags are when they don’t make it to the proper destination.

I’ve been on transatlantic flights where I couldn’t find space for my bag in the overhead compartment. I know from experience it fits under the seat, though that doesn’t leave me with any leg room. Still, eight hours or so of mild discomfort is offset by knowing my stuff will arrive at the same time I do.

Not to mention that my carry-on has a lot of things in it that airlines prefer you don’t check: computer and camera equipment takes up a lot of the space.

Complimentary checked baggage may sound like the airline is offering you a deal. It doesn’t seem that way to me.

What about you? When they make the offer, do you take them up on it?