What’s the rule about luggage under the seat in front of you?

[t1grm]

I have a standard size carry on. I thought the whole point of this is that it fits in an overhead locker (end on) and fits under the seat in front of you. I was on an Easyjet flight the other week and all the overhead lockers were full. They were taking bags off people and checking them into the hold. I put my carry on under the seat in front of me. It fitted snugly but perfectly and I was able to sit in a normal upright posture with my feet flat on the floor. Alright I couldn’t slouch down and stretch my legs out under the seat in front of me because there was a bag there but, I was happy to forgo that luxury for an hour to save time and worry in collecting the baggage.

However, one of the cabin crew said it was not allowed and, after much protesting, I had my bag taken off me and put in the hold. The excuse was that it stuck out past the end of the metal bar. It did stick out about 3 inches but it was flush against the front of the metal bar and is a standard size (22 inches IIRC). What is the point in having a standard size which is then too big to fit?

[PAXboy]

Sorry to be negative but ...

They all make their own rules! There are many, many 'standard' sizes. If the CC thought that, in an emergency evacuation, your bag would have caused you, or another pax, to trip as they left their seat - then that is that and you accept or leave the aircraft.

You will never get a clear answer on this. All the airports point to the airlines and they point to their standards. If there is an anomoly between the 'standard' on one sector and on another - even with two aircraft of the same carrier? That's the way it is. The CC have to secure the cabin the way that they can defend to their manager of, worse case, in court.

[easyflyer83]

Yeah, i think the crucial point in all this was that, whilst it fit under the seat if it was sticking out in anyway that could cause someone to trip in an evacuation, it shouldn't be stowed under the seat in front. Although I sympathise, it was absolutely right that the bag was offloaded. Tagging and offloading bags is a hassle for the crew so it is unlikely that they would have done it if they really didn't have to.

[WHBM]

Originally Posted by t1grm

I have a standard size carry on. I thought the whole point of this is that it fits in an overhead locker (end on) and fits under the seat in front of you. ...... It fitted snugly but perfectly .....The excuse was that it stuck out past the end of the metal bar. It did stick out about 3 inches but it was flush against the front of the metal bar and is a standard size (22 inches IIRC). What is the point in having a standard size which is then too big to fit?

Human beings don't come in one standard size, and neither do aircraft or their baggage provision, either overhead or under the seat. Likewise for manufacturers of "standard" luggage their job in life is to sell their luggage. They probably don't know one end of an aircraft from the other (and certainly don't if they pretend there is some standard, 22 inches or anything else).

Fortunately there are people at the airline, not the bag manufacturer, who do understand about both dimensions of baggage etc, and safety factors, and spend quite some time defining limitations, while still being reasonable to their paying customer passengers, which limitations they then train their cabin crew in. Please take advantage of this. Contrary to much belief, cabin crew do not receive commission from the bag handler for each piece of baggage they reorganise.

I still don't understand how within one paragraph the bag transmorphed from "fitted snugly but perfectly" to "stick out about 3 inches". You also don't say if you were sitting in a window seat (nobody to go past you), centre or aisle seat (where two people alongside may have to negotiate past your protruding bag in smoke conditions). Given the high density seating on Easyjet, 3 inches is a significant proportion of the space available to those passengers to pass between the seats.

I don't believe Easyjet charge when they take bags off passengers and put them in the hold, so what is the issue with doing that ?

[Tableview]

I don't believe Easyjet charge when they take bags off passengers and put them in the hold, so what is the issue with doing that ?

They don't charge if they take the bag due to lack of space, but they do if they take it because it's too big - that's fair.

The problem with taking your handbaggage off you is that you will normally have stuff in it that you don't want to check in - keys, papers, laptop, etc. If they take it off you then you have no way of carrying this unless they provide with at least a plastic packet. This is a matter I have taken up with EZY.

[WHBM]

Originally Posted by Tableview

They don't charge if they take the bag due to lack of space, but they do if they take it because it's too big - that's fair.

The problem with taking your handbaggage off you is that you will normally have stuff in it that you don't want to check in - keys, papers, laptop, etc. If they take it off you then you have no way of carrying this unless they provide with at least a plastic packet. This is a matter I have taken up with EZY.

Well the "too big" should be dealt with by the gate staff. The cabin crew, dealing with issues inside the aircraft, do not, I understand, even have a charging mechanism available to them for bags that make it that far.

I've never encountered a laptop bag that doesn't fit under the seat (even my whopper does), and other items would surely be either on your person or in some genuine hand luggage - not in some 22" suitcase.

[Tableview]

WHBM

The point you are missing, and perhaps I was not clear, is that sometimes, due to lack of space in the overheads, they make you check in genuine cabin-bag sized baggage which you are entiteld to take on board. This particularly happens when you don't join the baa-ing queue of sheep and you choose to be amongst the last to board. By that point the overheads are sometimes full.

[Jarvy]

Simple answer, get to the airport earlier then you will one of the first to board so won't have the problem again.

[Tableview]

It's not about 'getting to the airport earlier', it's about not leaping up and standing like an idiot for half an hour before the gate opens, or standing like a sheep in queue for 40 minutes being jostled. And before you say 'Speedy Boarding' .... that's a farce out of most of their airports.

[WHBM]

Originally Posted by Tableview

The point you are missing, and perhaps I was not clear, is that sometimes, due to lack of space in the overheads, they make you check in genuine cabin-bag sized baggage which you are entiteld to take on board.

Well "genuine" cabin-bag sized items, including my quite chunky laptop bag, will always fit under the seat in front of me, without obstructing anyone else, as will other comparable items, women's handbags, etc. A 22" (nearly 2 feet) sized bag can go where it belongs, and which the airline provides facilities for, in the hold.

In passing I've never found no space in the overheads full for coats, or even laptops, only for what are actually suitcases that belong elsewhere in the first place.

[avturboy]

Originally Posted by t1grm

I have a standard size carry on.

Standard size carry on ... didn't think there was such a beast.

Each airline makes its own rules, pax beware!

Check each airline's website for their own restrictions and stick to them.

You might end up with different bags for different airlines though!

[ExXB]

From Wiki:

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sets guidelines for cabin baggage/hand luggage/carry-on luggage size. They are not mandatory, however, and individual airlines can and do vary their requirements. The IATA guideline is:
Cabin baggage should have a maximum length of 56 cm ( 22 in ) , width of 45 cm ( 18 in ) and depth of 25 cm ( 10 in ) including all handles , side pockets , wheels etc.

Many network airlines apply this standard but beware when travelling LCC or similar.

Read the conditions of carriage before you buy your ticket, and again, before you travel.

[LondonPax]

If you choose not to join "the baa-ing queue of sheep" and "choose to be amongst the last to board" that's the risk you take. Maybe they're not sheep at all but frequent flyers who know what happens when the overheads get filled up with monster suitcases that should have been checked in. This isn't limited to EZY and its ilk either. Same on BA, including in business class.

A few minutes standing in a queue before boarding must be better than having to check a bag in or to have to put it in an overhead somewhere well away from your seat so you have to force your way against the flow of disembarking pax just to get to it.

[Hotel Tango]

By choice I don't fly on race-for-your seat carriers so can't comment on carriers without seat allocation. As for the others I tend to try and assess at the gate how full the flight is going to be. If it looks heavy I do my best to get on early so that I can guarantee a space in the overhead locker. Otherwise I stay seated and board at my leisure. I also check what type of aircraft I'll be flying on as hand baggage size is more restricted on the commuter types.

[Victor Inox]

Of course, all airlines could fix the problem with carry-on luggage very simply by installing overhead bins with separators to create individual compartments of the exact size of their maximum permissible carry-on bag. Label each compartment with a seat number - and presto.

[Smoketrails]

Of course, all airlines could fix the problem with carry-on luggage very simply by installing overhead bins with separators to create a individual compartments of the exact size of their maximum permissible carry-on bag. Label each compartment with a seat number - and presto.

It would at least stop a lot of the cheating that goes on(In the states I noticed a lot of the pax taking on 2 or 3 pieces of handbaggage!).

[DaveReidUK]

Of course, all airlines could fix the problem with carry-on luggage very simply by installing overhead bins with separators to create a individual compartments of the exact size of their maximum permissible carry-on bag. Label each compartment with a seat number - and presto.

You're kidding, I hope. I can't think of anything that would make worse use of the space available than a whole bunch of extra, expensive, and unnecessary dividers.

The most flexible arrangement, though clearly not possible for structural reasons, would be to have a single bin the full length of the cabin with no dividers at all. Closing it would be fun as well.

It would at least stop a lot of the cheating that goes on (In the states I noticed a lot of the pax taking on 2 or 3 pieces of handbaggage!).

Far better, simpler, and quicker to stop passengers getting past the gate with more than one piece.

[farci]

The strategy I employ, particularly when there is no allocated seat, is simply to choose any overhead bin with empty space before arriving at my seat.

Never quite sure If I feel guilty about this

[PhineasC]

Last time a flew an internal BA flight seats were preallocated but boarding was a free for all, usually my goal to be a super cool flyer last on last off. By the time I'd got on to the plane the closest empty bin was half way down the plane, so I was last off though I didn't need to collect my luggage. The airlines ought to board FF first so they can get the bins closest to their seats.

[ExXB]

Originally Posted by PhineasC

Last time a flew an internal BA flight seats were preallocated but boarding was a free for all, usually my goal to be a super cool flyer last on last off. By the time I'd got on to the plane the closest empty bin was half way down the plane, so I was last off though I didn't need to collect my luggage. The airlines ought to board FF first so they can get the bins closest to their seats.

Many do, but obviously not BA. But you do have a choice, don't you? Oh, maybe not.

On Swiss, the flight attendants stop Y class passengers from using business class bins. (politely, asking to see boarding card, and assisting) Although on one Jumbolino flight I took ZRH-GVA there were only two rows of C and NO overhead bins (O2 and other stuff for the crew up there) at all for C passengers.