Hi Gulf Crew,
I work at Eurofleet LGW, and the procedure is the same on all our aircraft with overwing exits.
The crew were right to remove the jackets from the coat hooks, that is company procedure. Equally so it is also procedure, that bags ARE allowed at the overwing exits, as long as they are pushed right under the seat. The theory is, that if we were to brake suddenly the bags will move forward (ie even further under the seat), so there would be no obstruction to that exit..hence the coats are removed as they would still be there!
Also the case that at Row One, with no way of securing bags at floor level, they are placed in lockers, however small they are.
Hope that clarifys it for you, know that it can look a little strange, as I know I did question it when I started, as all the other airlines I have worked for its a zero tolerance at the overwing exits. Hope to see you on an ABZ soon.
