A gentle warning about carry on bags

[eliza61]

Just returned from spending NY in Las Vegas!
flew on US airways and they were pretty strick with carry on luggage. It maybe that it was due to the fact that the flight was packed but if your carryon did not fit onto the little display they were making folks check them (no charge).

So be careful if you're thinking of "stuffing" your carryon.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I think a lot of people have figured this out and are doing so they don't have to pay for checked bags. If they get them through security, and don't fit in the overhead compartment, US Airways will check them for free.

 

[fitzy819]

I am actually glad they are finally enforcing their rules for carry-ons. I was on a flight a few months back with an entire swim team who I guess thought they could all save money by using their giant, oversized, high school swim team backpacks as carryons. While a single bag over the size limit probably would have been fine, at least half the plane had bags so large that only two of them could fit in each overhead bin. Since I boarded near the end, there was no more room for my normal sized luggage or many passengers boarding the plane with me. Instead of requiring the swim team to follow the rules, may of us ended up having to check our luggage. When I asked the flight attendant (and very nicely I might add) why I was having to check my luggage when it clearly fit inside the limits of a carry on and half of the plane was allowed to board with oversized luggage she rudely informed me that I could either check my bag or find another way to my destination!!!

Sooo, long story short... I'm glad they are following the rules they have set. It is not fair to others who have followed the rules when they don't. Thanks for the warning

 

[DebbieB]

I think if they are oversize, they should charge. Why should those who lug their oversize luggage to the gate get out of paying the fee?

 

[verticalchaos]

Now if only they'd start making people put their bags in the bins over (or as close as possible) to their seats!!!

Nothing annoys me more than getting on a plane and going to an area with very few people in it at the time (ie: the front when they load from the rear of the plane), but the overhead bins are stuffed with the things from people already seated in the back of the plane. It's one thing if I'm surrounded by people who had pre-boarding or early boarding and are sitting around my seat. That is understandable. I'm talking about the people in the last rows who throw their carryons into the overhead bins above the first few coach rows. If you want your stuff in the front bins, get a seat up front. We ALL have places to go when the plane lands - and you'll get off a lot faster if you just keep it close to you than if you're having to deal with people coming to the back to get luggage - or having it handed to them.

 

[andycat]

When I asked the flight attendant (and very nicely I might add) why I was having to check my luggage when it clearly fit inside the limits of a carry on and half of the plane was allowed to board with oversized luggage she rudely informed me that I could either check my bag or find another way to my destination!!!

That's when you make a point of noting the FA's name and seeking out the head flight attendant later in the flight after they've finished the initial beverage service. Explain your concern, get their name, and get the customer service number from the in-flight magazine and file a complaint. Let them know you'll be posting an account of the events to places like Flyer Talk (http://www.flyertalk.com/) and View From the Wing (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/). I understand FA's have a tough job, but the combination of not enforcing the rules and rude behavior is inexcusable.

 

[uva185]

Now if only they'd start making people put their bags in the bins over (or as close as possible) to their seats!!!

I absolutely hate it when people store their bag at the first open bin!! Once I was sitting in First Class on US Airways and I noticed a coach passenger board and immediately put his carryon above row 2 in First Class. I noticed he was sitting back in 25C. Towards the end of boarding one last First Class passenger boarded and there was no overhead space left. I politely pointed out the bag that the guy in 25C stored. The flight attendant removed it, paged the passenger and told him she would need to gate check it. The guy was furious, he would have easily been able to store it in coach when he boarded but since he decided to be a jerk and store it at the front of the plane they gate checked it

 

[seashoreCM]

... and I noticed a coach passenger board and immediately put his carryon above row 2 in First Class. I noticed he was sitting back in 25C. ... The flight attendant removed it, paged the passenger and told him she would need to gate check it. :

If more passengers up front were vigilant, and perhaps even took the bag down quietly themselves, then people sitting further back won't be as likely to put their bags up front any more.

 

[sndral]

I must say that people and their carry ons are the best boarding entertainment around. The forceful shoves squishing everyone else's bags to cram an over sized piece in, the valiant rearranging/smooshing of other people's already stowed stuff to wedge in a bulging bag and my personal favorite, the overhead bin that won't latch because that piece is too tall you know the routine - slam, shove, overhead bin pops open, slam, shove, overhead bin pops open, repeat, repeat...

 

[goofy4tink]

If more passengers up front were vigilant, and perhaps even took the bag down quietly themselves, then people sitting further back won't be as likely to put their bags up front any more.

I really hate to be a shrew..really. BUT, seriously??? You are recommending that a passenger actually removes another passengers bag??? A very bad idea to say the least.
I would let the FA know that there are bags stored in the overhead that don't belong to anyone in that area....then let them deal with it. I've been lucky in that I have seen FA's dealing with this in a very positive manner. They have watched passengers board and then called out to them as they see the passenget stow their bag in a front bin but then start walking more than a row or two away from it...especially if that passenger is behind the wing.

I now fly Jetblue more frequently. Why?? Because I can buy a front of the plane seat, with more legroom, and get early boarding. That means there is plenty of room for my carryon bags. And I don't have to stand there, waiting for everyone to put their stuff together to get off the plane.

 

[verticalchaos]

Oh the standing and waiting. Oy! On my flight home from my extended-due-to-snow Christmas break, I was in the next to last row. There were so many people who had early boarding it wasn't funny. Literally the plane was almost half full when they started boarding by row numbers.

Anyway... I get back a few rows from mine and this woman is settling her children and herself into - you guessed it! - my row. I very politely said that I had seat 39A and she does the confused look and "Oh...that's weird because we have..." as she's pulling out her tickets. Her tickets which say 40D, 40E, 40F and 39C. So she moves the kidlets back to row 40 and decided they will sit with her husband and she will take the aisle in row 39.

All right. Great! Now we're moving!

Only we're not. Her husband proceeds to stand in the aisle and rifle through the bag he has already put in the overhead bin. Pulls out one small book. Rifles through more. Meanwhile no one can move because he's blocking the entire aisle. The flight attendants ask him to please step into his row so that traffic can move by.

He steps into MY row and continues rifling.

Meaning the backlog of people can go nowhere as he is still physically blocking the aisle by leaning over it.

Finally his wife says "Oh, honey. People are waiting to get by." THEN he realized he wasn't in his own little bubble and moved.

I also laughed to myself later when she was whining that the window shades were up because as we approached, everyone had put them up as per instructions given. She asked those of us around on the window seats to please put the shades down - apparently the light was affecting her ability to see the seat-back screen (she didn't realize you could MOVE it) - and then whined to the flight attendant who very nicely told her that we were right, they were to be up for security reasons.

One family I *never* want to encounter again!

 

[goofy4tink]

Oh the standing and waiting. Oy! On my flight home from my extended-due-to-snow Christmas break, I was in the next to last row. There were so many people who had early boarding it wasn't funny. Literally the plane was almost half full when they started boarding by row numbers.

Anyway... I get back a few rows from mine and this woman is settling her children and herself into - you guessed it! - my row. I very politely said that I had seat 39A and she does the confused look and "Oh...that's weird because we have..." as she's pulling out her tickets. Her tickets which say 40D, 40E, 40F and 39C. So she moves the kidlets back to row 40 and decided they will sit with her husband and she will take the aisle in row 39.

All right. Great! Now we're moving!

Only we're not. Her husband proceeds to stand in the aisle and rifle through the bag he has already put in the overhead bin. Pulls out one small book. Rifles through more. Meanwhile no one can move because he's blocking the entire aisle. The flight attendants ask him to please step into his row so that traffic can move by.

He steps into MY row and continues rifling.

Meaning the backlog of people can go nowhere as he is still physically blocking the aisle by leaning over it.

Finally his wife says "Oh, honey. People are waiting to get by." THEN he realized he wasn't in his own little bubble and moved.

I also laughed to myself later when she was whining that the window shades were up because as we approached, everyone had put them up as per instructions given. She asked those of us around on the window seats to please put the shades down - apparently the light was affecting her ability to see the seat-back screen (she didn't realize you could MOVE it) - and then whined to the flight attendant who very nicely told her that we were right, they were to be up for security reasons.

One family I *never* want to encounter again!

I think I've flown with that family..... Or at least their cousins!!! Drives me nuts. There was one family, of about 7 or so, that I flew to Boston, from MCO, with. They took up about 3 rows all around me....the two rows across from me, as well as the row behind me. They had more stuff for their kids, as well as candy and other snacks. It's a three hour flight people!!!!! anyway....they had out DVD players, iPods, video games, etc. And they took their own sweet time about getting settled. Thank God we were towards the front of the plane...at least I could get the jump on them at the end of the flight...or so I thought. We finally got ready to leave the gate area..after the FA made many announcements, mostly to this family, that everything had to be stowed and turned off for take-off...took them 10 mins or so to do that.
So.....we get to about 40 mins out of Logan...the FAs make their standard announcement about 'we are about to start our descent into MCO..please turn off all electric devices...etc'. Well did this family get the hint??? Nope. Finally, after the FA spoke to them directly, they turned off their stuff. Of course, there was personal stuff all over the area...stuffed into the seat pockets, on the floor.
So, when we land, of course, out comes all their stuff again...guess they couldn't be without their electronices for the 15 mins we needed to get to the gate...and off the plane. So....there I stand, after we get to the gate, this family now decides to start packing it all up...all the while they are standing all over the aisle, preventing any movement off the plane with the exception of the first 4 rows of the plane. I am now stuck...managed to get behind dad. Okay....I excuse myself, repeatedly, he finally steps aside, I grab my carryon from the overhead, and off I go. I get to baggage claim. About 5 mins later this same family arrives. Then, oh the horror!!!! Jr has found that he doesn't have his iPod with him...seems he left it on the plane in the rush to get off!! He is screaming about it, yelling at his dad to go back and get it. Simply incredible. Perhaps if Jr had stowed the iPod in his bag when he was told to and left it there, he would have still had it. But no...he simply had to have it in his little hands.

 

[Missytara]

Okay, I had a similar funny experience.

We are waiting to board the plane last year, in the aisleway and waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally we get up to where our seats are and there is a kindly older gentleman, traveling with what appeared to be his two daughters and their six children, standing in the middle of the aisle with all these kids.

Seems he was playing a game called who wants to sit with who in the way home. It was like they were sitting in their dining room deciding who sits next to who at Thanksgiving dinner.

Kids would raise their hand (like in school) and say, "Grandpa, grandpa, grandpa, pick me, I want to sit next to ...... fill in the name." He was deciding who would get first preference.

Finally a FA realized what was going on and kindly asked everyone to take their assigned seats and they could switch after takeoff.

And it was only a 1 hour and 45 minute flight.

Geez.

 

[goofy4tink]

Then there was my Airtran flight to FtL last spring. I had purchased my seat when booking...only booked about 4 days before flying. Well...I get on board and take my seat...towards the rear of the plane, window seat. Okay. A largish family of about 6 or so boards, and they look completely clueless. They each have at least one sizable piece of carryon, and some have two pieces. They start sitting down, but then get back up and wander around a bit. Well, the FA comes back to offer help. They have seats spread out all over the plane, but want to sit together. Now there were 3 adults and 3 or 4 kids, of varying ages. There was no one in my row, so I offered to move so as to allow three of them to sit together...much as I wanted that window seat and an empty row to myself!! The FA thanked me but said they would figure it out. She would take me up if they found nothing else. The poor mother in the group just looked at me and said...'We never fly, this is our first time and we didn't know about getting specific seats...thought the airline would put us all together automatically. I'm so sorry about all this.' Well, at least she was apologetic!!
Turns out they were able to find them two rows, after moving some others around, in the very back of the plane.Only one person in their group had to sit by themself. It seems that they had two rows that had one person in each of them, and they were next to each other...so those two people were moved to the front of the plane and the family placed in those two rows...minus that one member who had to sit a few rows in front of them.

People are just so darn unaware of what flying involves. Perhaps if they too the time to inform themselves as to how it all works, things would go more smoothly. I truly wish that the airlines would enforct that carryon size rule. Way too many people are getting on with bags that are too large for the bins. I've watched (on that same Airtran flight) a small adult woman have to stand on a seat in order to get her huge bag into the bin...she pushed and shoved it, until a man came along to help her. They finally shoved it in. Well....when it came to getting it back out, that guy was off the plane and the woman left to deal with it on her own. That bag was huge...way oversized. There was no way I was helping her with a bag that took up the entire bin leaving someone else to have to look elsewhere for room for their bag.

 

[dis_guy]

Then there was my Airtran flight to FtL last spring. I had purchased my seat when booking...only booked about 4 days before flying. Well...I get on board and take my seat...towards the rear of the plane, window seat. Okay. A largish family of about 6 or so boards, and they look completely clueless. They each have at least one sizable piece of carryon, and some have two pieces. They start sitting down, but then get back up and wander around a bit. Well, the FA comes back to offer help. They have seats spread out all over the plane, but want to sit together. Now there were 3 adults and 3 or 4 kids, of varying ages. There was no one in my row, so I offered to move so as to allow three of them to sit together...much as I wanted that window seat and an empty row to myself!! The FA thanked me but said they would figure it out. She would take me up if they found nothing else. The poor mother in the group just looked at me and said...'We never fly, this is our first time and we didn't know about getting specific seats...thought the airline would put us all together automatically. I'm so sorry about all this.' Well, at least she was apologetic!!
Turns out they were able to find them two rows, after moving some others around, in the very back of the plane.Only one person in their group had to sit by themself. It seems that they had two rows that had one person in each of them, and they were next to each other...so those two people were moved to the front of the plane and the family placed in those two rows...minus that one member who had to sit a few rows in front of them.

People are just so darn unaware of what flying involves. Perhaps if they too the time to inform themselves as to how it all works, things would go more smoothly. I truly wish that the airlines would enforct that carryon size rule. Way too many people are getting on with bags that are too large for the bins. I've watched (on that same Airtran flight) a small adult woman have to stand on a seat in order to get her huge bag into the bin...she pushed and shoved it, until a man came along to help her. They finally shoved it in. Well....when it came to getting it back out, that guy was off the plane and the woman left to deal with it on her own. That bag was huge...way oversized. There was no way I was helping her with a bag that took up the entire bin leaving someone else to have to look elsewhere for room for their bag.

I'm sure they must know somebody who flies reasonably often and could ask questions of, either at work or elsewhere. I know I often get asked questions because people we know are aware that my wife and I fly often.

 

[Missytara]

Your story about the family flying for the first time and not knowing about picking seats reminded me of my first disney trip in 2000. I had flown about four times, but none recently. At that time, I was also booking through a TA and USAir with the preferred carrier through Disney. From BWI, we had to go through Charlotte, NC.

I cannot remember exactly where it was snowing, but it was north of Charlotte, and flights from the midwest were being diverted to Charlotte and several people were on stand-by. On our plane was a family of NINE, two parents and seven children that looked to be about aged 15 to 4.

Their seats were scattered all over the plane. The 10 year old was placed next to me. Since I was flying alone, I immediately offered to move so another child could sit next to her, but the parents were insistent their children were seasoned fliers; they fly to Disney at least twice a year, and she and the father would be checking the kids periodically. There was no need to make anybody move out of their seat to accomodate them. Anywhere where there were two seats, an older child sat with a younger child.

It was a delightful flight and she was right, you never heard any of those kids complain and she and her husband happily went up and down the plane checking on everyone's well-being. And the 10 year old next to me was an absolute delight.

 

[aubriee]

I think I've flown with that family..... Or at least their cousins!!! Drives me nuts. There was one family, of about 7 or so, that I flew to Boston, from MCO, with. They had more stuff for their kids, as well as candy and other snacks. It's a three hour flight people!!!!! anyway....they had out DVD players, iPods, video games, etc. Thank God we were towards the front of the plane... We finally got ready to leave the gate area..after the FA made many announcements, mostly to this family, that everything had to be stowed and turned off for take-off...took them 10 mins or so to do that.
So.....we get to about 40 mins out of Logan...the FAs make their standard announcement about 'we are about to start our descent into MCO..please turn off all electric devices...etc'. Well did this family get the hint??? Nope. Finally, after the FA spoke to them directly, they turned off their stuff.
So, when we land, of course, out comes all their stuff again...guess they couldn't be without their electronices for the 15 mins we needed to get to the gate...and off the plane. But no...he simply had to have it in his little hands.

I flew with the cousins to these people. I was sitting in my regular aisle seat close to the front of the plane. The family was sitting across from me with a kid in the window seat, mom in the middle, and a kid in the aisle seat, with dad in the aisle seat just in front of them. Each kid had a DVD player that they started as soon as they got on the plane and dad got on his cell phone. Just before take off,the FA made the announcement about all electronics being turned off. I guess this family didn't think the announcement applied to them, because they just totally ignored her. From the front of the the coach area, the FA again made the announcement, looking directly at this family. Again she was ignored. She finally had to walk right up to them and told them to cut off their electronics, so we could take off. The dad just looked at her and said, "I will in a minute, this is an important phone call". She got really firm and tell him to hang up now, then she looked at the mom and told her to have both kids cut off their DVD players. The dad, who was still on the phone, told the person he was talking with to hold on just a minute, then looked at the FA and told her, "It'd be better to let the kids keep their DVD players on. You really don't want to hear him (pointing at the about 7 y/o in the aisle seat) throwing a temper tantrum if we cut his movie off". He then went right back to talking on the phone. By this point the other FA came and got involved and told the family in no uncertain terms to cut off the phone and DVD players. The dad still didn't seem to get it and said he would in a minute as soon as he finished his phone call. At that point they were told to cut off their electronics now or they'd be escorted off the plane. They finally did, but the dad demanded the FA's names and said he was going to make a complaint because they were rude to him. This family was a pain to the FA the entire flight (in and out of their seats, digging in their carryons in the overhead, back and forth to he rest room every few minutes, constantly pushing the light asking for more soda, a different soda, more pretzels, then arguing with her when they asked why they couldn't get some of the snacks out of the basket that the first class passengers were getting, saying their kids were tired of the pretzels and wanted something else and they had seen the people in first class with better snacks).

 

[goofy4tink]

I flew with the cousins to these people. I was sitting in my regular aisle seat close to the front of the plane. The family was sitting across from me with a kid in the window seat, mom in the middle, and a kid in the aisle seat, with dad in the aisle seat just in front of them. Each kid had a DVD player that they started as soon as they got on the plane and dad got on his cell phone. Just before take off,the FA made the announcement about all electronics being turned off. I guess this family didn't think the announcement applied to them, because they just totally ignored her. From the front of the the coach area, the FA again made the announcement, looking directly at this family. Again she was ignored. She finally had to walk right up to them and told them to cut off their electronics, so we could take off. The dad just looked at her and said, "I will in a minute, this is an important phone call". She got really firm and tell him to hang up now, then she looked at the mom and told her to have both kids cut off their DVD players. The dad, who was still on the phone, told the person he was talking with to hold on just a minute, then looked at the FA and told her, "It'd be better to let the kids keep their DVD players on. You really don't want to hear him (pointing at the about 7 y/o in the aisle seat) throwing a temper tantrum if we cut his movie off". He then went right back to talking on the phone. By this point the other FA came and got involved and told the family in no uncertain terms to cut off the phone and DVD players. The dad still didn't seem to get it and said he would in a minute as soon as he finished his phone call. At that point they were told to cut off their electronics now or they'd be escorted off the plane. They finally did, but the dad demanded the FA's names and said he was going to make a complaint because they were rude to him. This family was a pain to the FA the entire flight (in and out of their seats, digging in their carryons in the overhead, back and forth tto he rest room every few minutes, contantly pushing the light asking for more soda, a different soda, more pretzels, then arguing with her when they asked why they couldn't get some of the snacks out of the basket that the first class passengers were getting, saying their kids were tired of the pretzels and wanted something else and they had seen the people in first class with better snacks).

It would never happen, but wouldn't it have been nice if that FA could have just made a general announcement to everyone on the plane that told them they would be pulling back from the gate as soon as this gentleman finishes his phone call and his children put away their DVD players??? Can you just imagine the outcry???
There are just some really entitled folks out there. They make life so 'interesting' for the rest of us.

 

[IbeAbitGOOFY]

...People are just so darn unaware of what flying involves. Perhaps if they too the time to inform themselves as to how it all works, things would go more smoothly...

You are so right... Maybe its me and because I fly at least 4 or 5 times a year, but it really is not the difficult. A lot of flying is common sense. Take the prepurchasing of seats, for example. AirTran, and all other airlines, are not going to miss a chance to make some extra money above and beyond what they charge for their standard airfare. So, they CLEARLY offer you the chance to purchase your seats at the time of booking. This is where common sense should kick in and I would say to myself, "Self, if I want to sit with my bride and all my brats...errhh, kids, then I should do what it takes to insure that we are together. I'll buy the seats." Now, if I had kids, I'd probably like to let them sit somewhere else on the plane so someone else could deal with my brats...errhhh, kids, but that is probably why I don't have kids.

 

[seashoreCM]

I would expect the airline to honor my ticket as-is with reasonable dispatch (e.g. on a later flight), or to refund it, if the airline cannot comply with the coarse print in its brochures or website including not having valuables in checked baggage, when I have complied (e.g. baggage within size and quantity limits).