Comments

1. Fun fact from a flight attendant: we can get personally fined by the FAA if there are tagged gate check bags on board/didn’t get gate checked.
   These employees have been though SO MUCH training, please just follow their instruction. 99% of the time, the things they’re telling you to do are for your safety.

2. I would have done this exact thing today flying from DCA-DFW. (I was late to board because of a delayed first flight.) Alas a second GA was waiting in ambush at the bottom of the jet bridge. So a checked bag it was.

   And yes there were several open bin spots.

   NB: I do so enjoy taking the terminal-link bus to get to my parked car. It is just so fast and pleasant. #sarcasm

3. I see the comments on this and I am amused. Passengers commonly ignore flight attendants’ instructions. Allow others to pass: Many times have I stopped behind a passenger trying to make up his or her mind on how to deal with the luggage. The worst offenders are those who didn’t plan right and now have to get things out or put things in their bags while blocking the aisle. Throw them off the airplane? Please give attention to the safety demonstration: Ha, throwing passengers off for not following that one would get rid of three out of every four passengers. The reason that the overhead bins sometimes fill is because of a combination of reasons: oversized bags that have to fit sideways, too many bags and the biggest one being that many people don’t try to get their bags to fit as compactly as possible without damaging something (such as turning roller bags so that their side handle is up if possible). That last reason seems to often be passive-aggressive. The oversized bags that have to fit sideways should always be cabin checked if the gate agents don’t check them. People with them would buy proper sized luggage after that.

4. Saddened by your did I do something wrong question, you were in the wrong, Aircraft staff ask to check peoples bags for a reason and if everyone adopted your selfish attitude,, the plane would not get off the ground and everyone delayed.
   You were lucky, disobeying what was a fair rule put in place so exceptions could be made for people with supplies they needed for the trip.
   I am sure you could have spoken to the aircraft staff and they would have given you an update on room in the overheads.
   Most of us if we dont follow rules if it works out cnd there are no consequences consider ouraelves lucky, and
   Dont need to ask if its wrong.

5. Airlines only insure luggage up to a certain dollar amount and specifically INSTRUCT you carry on expensive items.. and then MAKE you check a bag at the gate? I won’t ever do it unless there literally isn’t a single space left and I ALWAYS reference this policy to the gate agent. “Your policy states if you are carrying x dollar amount of items to CARRY ON” and I ask, “so can you ensure that my items will be insured if I check this bag?”

6. Why do passengers seem to think they can do what they want on airplanes?

   Like you – taking your bag on board when asked to check it. If you would be considerate & ask the crew if there was a possible space- different story, but you,…??? Are you a working cabin crew, why are you special? Bags are checked at a certain point because people won’t put their small item under the seat on front of them. They put coats & small items in bins, & of course their luggage in the wrong way. Then the bins are suddenly filled. If everyone is allowed to try & “get” their bag on, then a delay is taken to remove bags, tag them, have ramp possibly re- arrange (weights & balance), then the take off spot is missed & possible connections are not made.

   There is a system to the airlines business, from operations, to flying the plane, to customer service seating, & flight attendant jobs. If you work, perhaps you have rules or a system, or maybe you are entitled & do what you want- when you want, then call foul.

   Let me come to your job & disregard your instructions. Let me go into your office, or work cubby & take what I want or runmage thru your stuff, including eating or taking your food you have sitting out (=pax in galley).

   Let me open door or go thru your business into another area, or use your bathroom (=curtain pulled shut into 1st class- this signifies a do NOT go thru )

   Let me sit in your business meeting with my headphones on or watching a movie, or talk on the phone & blatantly
   ignore you when you are standing 3′ from me & i am trying to relay important information not only to you, but others who have no clue (= safety demo)

   Let me be at your work & have you repeat the same thing over 4 times, because I’m to lazy & stupid to take off my headphones (drink/snack service).

   Let me have you stand & hold a heavy tray reaching out to me & bending over for several minutes, because I’m to stupid to get my tray table out & know & see the 3 other rows in front of me (1st class) are getting their meals.

   Let me ask you for something (which will take 30 seconds max) & I’ll return to ignoring you by going back to my movie with my headphones on & you standing there trying to get my attention to hand me something, (=drink service), then of course you must wait a few more minutes because I have to move my laptop or paperwork so I have a space to put what you are giving me.

   Get the point? If you are a first time flyer, I get it. Unfortunately most of these scenarios are by somewhat – to regular flyers.

   And just because you have status doesn’t give you free range of the plane to go into 1st class or get everything free.

   Galleys are crews offices- we don’t need youto come in & do your yoga stretches bending over in our faces. Walk up/down the aisle to stretch, take your garage to the galley, or walk to galley for drink instead of ringing call button= this will get some blood flow to your legs.

   Manners, please & thank you go a long way, use them.

   Flight attendants are there to save your a$$ , not kiss it.

7. Yes, you are WRONG for that. Just because your bag will fit, there’s plenty of overhead bin space or it’s just an inconvenience doesn’t mean you can disregard or disrespect what you have been told to do. There are so many reasons why you may be asked to check your bag, ie weight and balance, weight restrictions, safety. We aren’t asking for s*#+s and giggles. For instance, I’m a flight attendant for a reginal carrier and some planes aren’t certified by the FAA to carry your ‘carry on luggage’ inside the cabin, only personal items are allowed. Flight Attendants can be personally fined for this. So, please keep in mind when you are flying, that we (flight attendants and gate agents) don’t make the rules but it is our job to enforce them. So, please don’t be wrong and strong because you think you know what’s best and just do as your asked. It will make for a better flight experience for all involved. Most people travel with one carry on and one personal item, I suggest keeping your electronics and medications in your personal item just in case you have to check your bag. One last thing, if you don’t like the rules don’t fly. And, by all means DON’T take it out on gate agents and flight attendants. Take it up with the airline or the FAA.

8. Quote: “So did I make the right tactical call, just walking on board and using the overhead bin space at my seat?” End quote.

   You didn’t use the overhead bin space at your seat… To quote you, when you stated: “I simply walked onto the plane and found one of the dozen or so empty overhead bin spaces – in this case one that was direct across from my seat 12C.”

9. Fellow passengers annoy me FAR MORE OFTEN than gate agents or FA’s.

10. If they tell you to ticket
    your bag then ticket the bah come on people.

11. As a Gate Agent for Ynited I would like to explain a few things.
    First when I am boarding a flight I am in contact with the flight attendants. I ask them to advise me when the bins are aprox. 70% full so that I am able to judge how many more I will be able to let go down the jet bridge as a true carry on bag,
    At some point in a full flight depending on the aircraft the bins will be full.
    Second, in my preloading process I announce the likelihood that we will run out of space, and happily will gate check the bags, at no charge to their final destination.
    Many times I might get one or two takers,., so it should be of no surprise when I have to start checking bags.
    Third is I truly do not want to inconvenience a passenger by having to gate check your bag, however I am only going by what I am told by the FA’s.
    I am working on a time limit having to have everyone on onboard 10 minutes before departure.
    Having
    to stop with every passenger and print a bag tag, ask the FAA required safety questions only puts me behind in my time management.
    Most passengers understand and are willing g to work for the greater good, however the passengers that think they are more important and rip their tags off after I put one on, only hurts everyone because of the delay it causes when I have to print another tag.
    I will close by saying your gate agent is under pressure for time and FAA regulations, if you are asked to gate check your bag, please do so willingly. This is only going to get worse during g the summer months when there are weight restrictions f y i
    Give your gate agent a break, it’s our job to keep you safe.

12. The reason that overhead bins fill up is because the airlines charge extra to check a bag, so more passengers bring a rollaboard instead. The other reason is because the personal item bag (usually an oversized backpack) is too big to fit comfortably under the seat, so the passenger has two items in the overhead bin. The airline’s desire for extra profits is the root cause of full overhead bins. They can resolve it anytime they want by slightly increasing prices to avoid jerking their customers around.

13. Yes it’s the SELF IMPORTANT TWITS
    like YOU that cause everyone else problems
    GET OVER YOURSELF YOUR NOT ALL THAT

14. it’s self important twits like you
    that give the rest of us troubles
    get over yourself

15. Yes. You are a narcissist.

16. So next time a flight is delayed because the ramp crew is out looking for a checked bags that didn’t make under the plane, and the flight deck has to reprogram all of their weights and balance info and wait for new clearances which contributed to taxi traffic and half your plane misses their connection, are you going to explain that it’s because you are too important to follow simple instructions, of r are you going to put that on the flight crew?

    Ps- it’s absolutely an FAA violation for the flight crew to allow you to have a checked bag on the plane. Why would you tell people to break the law?

17. I’m reading all these comments about how wrong he was, how deceptive and selfish it is to expect what the airline policy is regarding baggage. You are allowed one carry on and one personal item. While I do agree that if he allowed the bag to be tagged for gate check then he should have gate checked it. But some of you are being pretty ridiculous about your rants about weight and balance, flight delays, and FAA rules. If the airlines allow each passenger one carry on and one personal item and actually enforced it while boarding it shouldn’t be an issue especially after only 10 or 12 people have boarded the plane! I fly pretty frequently and it seems that the airlines have no regard for providing good customer service. Flights are delayed, cancelled, deliberately over booked and squeeze everyone into tiny uncomfortable seats because they provide a necessary service that people are forced to use. They know people are going to continue to fly regardless of the quality or lack thereof. I’m currently going to be assigned a seat at the gate for a flight I purchased 4 months ago and checked in 24 hours before my flight (the soonest possible check in allowed). I usually pay for a seat and typically have a variety of options but this flight is full and upon check-in found that I’m 4th on the standby list. The airline will be unsympathetic and have no regard for any inconvenience to me and as a token of their appreciation for my business may leave me sitting and waiting for hours for another flight. So yes, I think airlines have some responsibility in following their own policy allowing each passenger to carry on one approved size carry on and one approved size personal item! I follow their rules and pay them respect while they are going over their instructions, keep my seatbelt fastened while seated and my bags are approved size. I can’t help but roll my eyes when after 5 or 6 passengers have boarded they are already saying the overhead bins are full. BS.

18. Yes, you were wrong. If everyone did what you did it only raises the confusion. What you consider plenty of time is false. There is much more happening. The rampers have to account for every bag including the one you decided to put in the overhead. This can delay flights. You need to learn to follow directions. You don’t know everything and come across as arrogant.

19. This does cause unseen issue because the ramp crew are frantically searching for that bag in different locations to achieve 100% bag tags driven to bag tags scanned. THIS CAN CAUSE A DELAY FROM THE RAMP!!!!

20. But they tell you carry on expensive items because they will not insure over a certain dollar amount. Then when you get to the plane with your expensive items that they won’t insure, they tell you that you can’t carry them on. What do they expect you to do? Pick one order to follow or ignore both? You simply cannot follow both orders.

21. Kills me when people (customers) think they know more than us airport workers! 90 percent of the times it has to do with the weight of the plane! People seem to think they are the only ones who have close connections or w.e the case. If u don’t like rules u have to follow guess what don’t fly!!!!!!

22. I’m so sick and tired of everyone dragging their damn bags on the plane. It slows everything up and is super annoying. The airlines have brought this on themselves by charging fees for checking bags, but come on.

23. I’m surprised you even had to ask that question. The airlines have specific rules for very specific reasons. Think of it this way. You are a guest of the airline. It is their house, Respect their requests.

24. Yes, you are incompetent and completely wrong. I wish they would of kicked you off the plane or rescheduled you to a later flight. Its selfish and self-absored passengers like you that makes it hard for the airline workers. HERES A PIECE OF ADVICE FOR YOU,
    LISTEN TO AIRLINE WORKERS. Also If you think you and your dumb bag is so important, you need to drive or buy your own plane. If your too lazy or broke to do either, liszen to the people who are hired

25. Writer wasn’t trying to force a bag onboard when there was no space.

    The issue is the GA is too lazy to call and ask if OH is full.

    As for the FA about allowing checked bags onboard. You’re correct about checked bags from checkin. Bags that passenger brings onboard have been cleared to be onboard. Bags dropped at checkin are only cleared for cargo hold. They’re different things.

    Now the tag (white bag tags with name/final destination) needs be deleted from the system. However FA just needs give the tag to GA or ramp agent in charge. They need to delete since a bag in cargo counts different than in cabin for weight and balance.

    Valet bag tags (generally only used on regional jets and for strollers – they don’t have name/information on them) aren’t in system till bag is loaded. There’s no need to do anything with these if board instead.

26. Fact is, there is no perfect way to monitor overhead space. It’s almost never due to “lazy gate agents.” We simply don’t have time at the end of boarding to go up and down the bins and look for space, or grab gate-tagged bags out of the jetbridge, or worse, the cargo hold, and deliver them to passengers in their seats. And the worst thing is when we have to check even 1 bag because we’re out of space, at the very end of boarding. Have to run back to counter, print bag tag, bring it to the plane, radio the ramp to pick up the bag, and sometimes they have to re-open the cargo bin. Always causes a delay! I should know, I’ve been a gate agent for years. I would love to have every single space in the bins filled perfectly, truly, I would. HOWEVER, to do so would require me to float in the air on top of the passengers lined up in the aisle waiting to get to their seat, while simultaneously being at the gate as passengers enter the jetbridge. And to say “well, just have a third agent at each flight” won’t work with passengers also demanding $99 fares. Airlines are marginally profitable in good years, just a few dollars per passenger. Just yesterday I pushed things a bit, we had a completely full flight, on a 737 with newer large overhead bins. I let a few slightly large bags go on the plane “I take this bag on the plane every time,” they say. Tried to save a little time by letting 70 bags go on the plane (we usually do 65 bags but then I hear people say “you made me check my bag and I see space for a few bags!!!). Sure enough, flight attendants were struggling to close a few bin with bags just an inch too wide, turned on their sides like they are supposed to be in this type of bin. We had to re-arrange multiple bins and move a few bags to fit them. Airplane door was ready to be closed but can’t do it until bins are closed. Took an extra 3 minutes to cram in the bags, meaning the flight was literally delayed because I was trying to accommodate a few passengers with big bags and get as many bags on as possible. With pax also choosing itineraries with 30 minute connections, those 3 minutes of delay might mean a few passengers lose an entire day of their trip. And we never know how many passengers will put their backpacks and purses in overhead bin instead of under their seat. See the quandary we face?

27. far too many American customers are insanely demanding and act as if they are entitled to the planet. If they tell you to check your bag, just check your damn bag. It’s not that difficult to do. My carry-on is small. I put my laptop, medication, jewelry, and other important items in there along with one extra outfit just in case. Everything else gets checked. Stop thinking you have the right to dictate the rules everywhere you go. Personally, I wouldn’t think it was bad if they kicked you off the plane the next time you pulled that crap.

28. Why are YOU above the rules? Why can’t you carry on an appropriate sized bag? You were aware of the size limits prior to boarding, right? Why are you entitled and others are not? I think the airlines should restrict everyones carry on luggage to ONE properly sized bag and a small personal item. I get sick of not finding space in the overhead or having it crushed by other large bags.

29. Considering what a free-for-all the situation with reclining one’s seat was, I say there is no problem with carrying your bag on and fending for it yourself.
    No such thing as courtesy or ethics anymore so you don’t need to ask anyone do what you will.

30. If you have never had your bag lost by the airlines, I don’t think you can fully understand why some people insist upon a carry on (when there is space, of course, as there was).

31. I simply do not understand people’s over attachment to their luggage. Why in the world would anyone want to lug a bag down those long airport corridors ?.& hoist bags into over head bins. I understand if a person cannot pay $30 for checking a bag but it is beyond me why anyone has to have their luggage with them on a plane instead of down below.

32. My question would be how much are they charging you for your mandatory compliance? Most people pack carryons to avoid all of the ridiculous add on fees associated with flying these days. If checking said luggage was free and you had nothing of real value other then clothing, fine. But often I carry my meds, jewelry etc. I’m not checking that.

33. You are a true jerk. No you did not do.the right thing. Follow the instructions of the crew or don’t fly.

    You are what is truly wrong with society

34. I think you’re fine. You have a good gauge for when to break this rule, the way I do.

    This past week a Delta gate agent was in a bad mood and told me I had too many items (I had backpack, carry-on and a plastic bag with a hat) and had to gate check. I told her I can fit the plastic bag in my backpack but she argued that my carry-on was too big anyways. She then stuck a tag on my bag… mind you I was Boarding Group 2 and I there was still space… and I knew my bag would fit (it has fit for five years!). I let the bag handler know this and then I ripped the tag off, brought the bag in and put it in one of the many spaces available.

35. Look, you were forced…and I repeat forced, to check your carry on, and that’s already wrong from the airlines. I carry almost $20000 with in lenses and camera gear, I usually tell the agent to supply me with a company letter head guaranteeing they will cover ALL costs associated with damage, including lost productivity time, and that usually ends that argument.

    Employees, having been in the industry myself for over 20years, forcing people to do this is in direct contradiction to company policy and increases liability. Maybe review.your charges and the.overhead bin issue may not be an issue…. It only started to be a problem when you started charging. Also….I guarantee you that every NA airline is far over the tested weight capacity of the overhead bins so you’re already violating the certification of the aircraft by forcing people to bring more on board

36. The only world where you did the right thing is if you were flying on your own personal private jet.
    It’s as simple as this: there are rules and laws to using public transit. If you don’t want to comply with them, please make other arrangements for your transportation.

37. I feel like the fact that you are asking means you know it wasn’t something you should ethically do.

38. My carry-on bags have expensive, much needed medical supplies, typically coming to over $5000. I stay several months at my destination, so bring my supplies of 31 medications, 2 boxes of each of my insulin in a special cold bag (must not be unrefrigerated for more than an hour and my flight is 11 hours), several thousand dollars of equipment including a CPAP, and specialty food for the plane trip because of a highly restricted diet. There’s no way I can gate check my bags. And if they try, I simply NICELY explain that to them and there’s no issue.

39. So you committed an illegal act and got away with it.
    You are an entitled jerk.

40. It was very important for me to not check my carry-on bag recently because once the plane landed, I had to drive 3 hours to get to an important work assignment. I had purposely only packed a small rolling bag because I knew that I did not have time to wait for a checked bag. Typically I do not care too much about having to check my bag, but this time was different because I was pressed for time. (My job made a mistake and double-booked me, which is a totally different issue). Sure enough, as they got to me at the gate, I was told that they had run out of room on the plane and I had to check my bag. And check my bag so that I had to go down to the carousel and get it. And sure enough — there was plenty of room for my small bag in the overhead bins. The thing is that in this instance, I would have paid to have kept my bag with me or to have it checked at the gate to pick up at the gate when I arrived. And maybe that is the answer. Allow only first class and special customers have free carry-ons ons and everyone else has to pay a fee if they really want to carry on their bag once they have run out of room.