You pack it, you stack it

[AirHostess]

What is up with people asking me to help them stow their luggage? I had one woman this week with a heavy rollerboard suitcase asking me to help her. She then dropped it on my leg leaving a huge bruise! In response I placed one hand under the suitcase so she took all the weight as I didn't feel like arguing with her.

My new motto is 'you pack it, you stack it.' There is no way I will lift any heavy baggage. It's not in my job description and it's not worth hurting my back over and being off work on basic pay!

Rant Over!

[BusBus]

I bet she didn't even say sorry for the bruising!

Isn't there a weight limit for carry-on luggage anyways? If there is, is it being imposed?

[rvdammit]

From memory the limits on carry on are size not weight based. For me Carry on is what I can fit into a backpack tha's within the size limits. If I can wear it I can stow it.

[Becks]

I do ask for help stowing it because I'm...well...too short.

I know the feeling. Most of the time, though, being short rocks.

[BusBus]

I know the feeling. Most of the time, though, being short rocks.

I also agree that being short rocks!

[Arachne]

Every time I see people rolling those huge suitcases onto the plane, I want to throttle them. They're the reason that I (carrying a light shoulder bag) am forced to wait for freaking ever to get on the plane, and longer to get off.

News flash, people: The baggage system isn't as unreliable as it's made out to be. In all my years of flying, I've had my bags lost exactly twice, and the most recent time it was because an idiot travel agent scheduled a 45 minute layover at O'Hare. Check. Your damn. Luggage.

I think all airlines should have a rule: If your luggage manages to injure a flight attendant, it gets checked. Sheesh.

[AirHostess]

Basically our airline rule is that it must fit in a container that we have a check in before you take it on the plane. There is 'no weight restriction (within reason!)' but it is also stated that you must be able to carry it on the plane and stow it yourself.

I don't mind assisting with a elderly or reduced mobility passenger's light bags and coats but nothing else! Grrrrrr. The other day a man asked me to help with his bag. Bear in mind I am 5'6 and petite so I just looked at him and said it was too heavy to lift.

If a bag cannot be placed in an overhead locker it has to be offloaded and put in the hold.

Oh and the woman with the heavy bag just said 'oh sorry....do you see what I mean? It's very heavy.' So why not just check it in?

[BusBus]

Oh and the woman with the heavy bag just said 'oh sorry....do you see what I mean? It's very heavy.' So why not just check it in?

My best guess is that she had some fragile items in there?

I was forced to check in my carry on once. I was one of the last people to get on the plane (I really don't see the need to rush to the front as soon as the passenger agent makes the boarding announcement for the first class/people who need extra time to board). When I got to the door, they told me that there was no more room in the overhead storage bins, so I had to check it in. Not their fault, so I didn't get mad. But really, how much luggage did these other people have to warrant a bunch of people being forced to check in their carry on?

[BookstoreEscapee]

I've only flown twice, to Florida both times. The first time was in college and I had 1 bag and my backpack, and carried both on the plane. On the way back I checked the bag cuz it was heavier (souvenirs!).

Last time I flew my mom and I each had 1 suitcase that was made to fit in the overhead bin, plus a smaller bag, and we didn't check anything. But the others we were with had about 8 bags between six people (and that was just the checked stuff) for a 5-day trip. But that was in summer of 2001. If I were to fly now I would definitely check all but a small carryon with essentials cuz I'd want to make things as simple as possible. Really, in my opinion, all you need to carry with you on the plane are your wallet/ID/money, some entertainment to keep you occupied, any necessary medications, and essential toiletries and maybe a change of clothes on the off chance your luggage does get lost (and if it's a direct flight you probably don't even need to worry about that).

[South Texan]

Before the ban on carry-on liquids, I was on a continuing flight when an already grumpy looking older man was one of the first of the new passengers to board. He wore a white suit. (Can you smell disaster coming?) He for some reason decided to lay his suit coat flat in an empty overhead bin the minute he got to his seat. Then he sat down, whipped out a magazine and started to read.

As other passengers got on the plane, what I am assuming was a Korean student stuffed/squeezed a really large duffle bag in that same overhead bin. The old man was not paying attention to what was going on, so he did not see this.

We had a LOT of turbulence during that flight and the plane dropped several times. No one got out of his or her seats. When we arrived at our destination, the older man jumped out of his seat and opened the bin. He immediately started yelling about who had put their luggage on his coat. Then he pulled the duffle bag out, only to see that some red, sticky substance was dripping out of it. The man's now rumpled coat was covered in it. The Korean student obviously did not speak enough English to comprehend the older man's yelled questions about what the stuff was and the insults he was throwing at the student. Some of this included accusations of the student being a terrorist and the substance some kind of germ warfare agent. There were a few racial slurs thrown in for good measure.

I left hearing the older man threatening to sue the airline and chewing out the flight attendant for allowing someone to stow something on top of his coat - as if it had been her duty to police that bin to protect his coat.

[BookstoreEscapee]

How stupid do you have to be to put your coat in an empty bin and expect people to not put anything else in there. The kid probably couldn't even see the coat if it was laying on the bottom. I would expect there to be at least some amount of dust/dirt in the bin anyway. I wouldn't be putting something in there if I cared about it getting dirty.

[reformedwaitress]

II do ask for help stowing it because I'm...well...too short. I take out what I'm most likely to need (book, mp3 player, deck of cards, juice box sometimes) and ask a flight attendant to help me stow it in the overhead.

I have friends that are flight attendants and when watching them flay have always seen them running around pre-flight. So I watch the cabins to see if I can help -- stow bags for people, hold a kid while momma does some thing, whatever. I've gotten a few weird looks when I've offered help, but most of the time people are just greatful.

In other words, even if you do need help stowing a bag, it doesn't necessarily have to be a flight attendant. Just someone, like me, who's tall enough!

(Personally, I only carry bags that will fit under the seat. I never put things overhead)

[Tria]

Then he pulled the duffle bag out, only to see that some red, sticky substance was dripping out of it. The man's now rumpled coat was covered in it. The Korean student obviously did not speak enough English to comprehend the older man's yelled questions about what the stuff was and the insults he was throwing at the student. Some of this included accusations of the student being a terrorist and the substance some kind of germ warfare agent. There were a few racial slurs thrown in for good measure.

So.... What was it? Juice? Kool-Aid?

[Kiwi]

The last time I flew after I had carefully stowed my video and carry on, some idiot passenger decided his backpack could NOT be beside my stuff, oh no, it had to be in behind it...

so he pulls my stuff forward, stuffs his bag in behind ignoring my asking him to put it beside our stuff and has to slam the thing shut to make it stay closed, then at the end of the flight when I open it, my freaking camera bag falls out, directly onto the head of an elderly woman!!!!!!

I was so freaking angry at him, I apologised profusely to the woman (who was really nice about it all) and then shut the overhead locker again without passing mr importance himself his precious backpack. Childish yes, did it make me feel good, oh hell yes!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Ha ha! Karma sure kicked that old man right in the ass.

It takes a special kind of idiot to put a garment in the overhead bin flat and expect it to stay that way throughout the flight.

Betcha his coat was ruined. Red stains--badly.