Just asking..
What’s your stance, on overhead bins in airplanes?
Do you push your roll-aboard close to your seat in the aisle, for easier access when you deplane? That makes sense.
How many carry-ons do you place in the overhead space? Should be only one.
Do you do the sideways push, with your bags perched on one side? I’ve seen four or five bags, all about the same size, stored sideways, wheels in first, to fill the otherwise open space in the bin.
Or do you favor the positioning, where your bag is on its backside and pull-out handles facing you? This has been the conventional overhead method.
For the most part, airlines don’t have fixed rules about overhead bin storage. The suggested rules deal with bag size – the limits are 22 inches long, 14 inches wide, and 9 inches high, including handles and wheels.
Also, there’s no formal weight limit; the common notion is that a bag should be liftable to the perch in the planes.
We recently discussed the protocols regarding the middle-seat issues in the aircrafts. Overhead bins also are worth discussion.
Now comes the fun stuff – about who does what, when and where.
Are flight attendants obligated to hoist your bag? One told me, a few years ago, no – because if they get injured, they’d be no use for the flight. Makes sense.
Can you ask a flight attendant for kokua, if you are struggling to get your bag in the bin? Perhaps. Or a generous passenger can volunteer to do the lifting, if he/she sees you’re incapable, disabled, or too short. (Note: some of the newer plans have higher bins in the center section of the aircraft).
A pertinent and valid question: Do you wait till you get to the vicinity of your seat to sequester your bag? Logically, that’s where your bag should land, not five rows before your region, and certainly, not in the first class cabin the front of the plane. (I’ve seen an attentive flight attendant pursue a dude down the aisle, to retrieve his bag to store in the compartment near his seat).
Finally, if you’re traveling with perishables, stored in a shopping bag you’ve stashed in the overhead, make certain it’s sealed, in zip-locked bags. Instead, travel with an chilled, insulated lunch bag.I was on a flight once, where frozen fish in an overhead bin started to defrost and icky fishy gook dripped on the person beneath the overhead.
Absolutely, this is a no-no.