I was on a U.S. Dareways flight from Tucson to Atlanta last month (about a 3 hour flight) that was, for once, not full. I was in Group 4, so I boarded the plane nearly last, but there was plenty of overhead space and no issues with stowing carry-ons.
As I approached my seat, I placed my small carry-on suitcase and my laptop bag in the overhead bin, putting them as close to one another as possible to leave room in case someone else wanted to add to the bin. No one was in the seat next to me and no one was sitting across the aisle.
As I went to sit down, a flight attendant rushed up to me and said, “Could you place your laptop bag under your seat?”
Since there was plenty of overhead space and I was one of the last to board the airplane, I politely told her, “No, it’s a 3 hour flight, the plane is not full, and I would like to take advantage of the leg room.”
She begins to get huffy and tells me that it is a rule that if I have two bags, I MUST place one of them under the seat. She also says that it is NOT a 3 hour flight, but only 2 and a half hours. I put my bag under the seat, but I told her I had never heard of that “rule” and why does it matter anyway, as the plane is not full. I tell her that as soon as everyone is on board and there is room in the overhead, I am going to place my bag there.
She says snottily, “Am I going to have trouble with you?” I responded by saying that if she can show me the FAR (Federal Aviation Regulation) that outlines that rule, I would be more than happy to comply. She hems and haws a bit and then says, “It’s not a FAA rule, but an airline policy.” I tell her that it makes sense if the plane is full and overhead space is at a premium, but why would she even care if there is plenty of space?
She does not answer, but simply walks away. As soon as she does, I move my bag to the overhead. She comes flying back up the aisle to berate me again for not complying with her directive and defying her. I told her she is doing nothing but exercising her small powers and she should grab a beer and I can show her where the escape slide is!
The other flight attendant nearby almost split a gut laughing, as did the other passengers around me. One of the male attendants said, “You should try flying with her all the time!” so obviously she does this a lot.
I was very calm throughout, did not raise my voice, and when she asked me again if I was going to move my bag, I told her no, I was happy the way I was and wasn’t that the real reason for her being there, customer happiness, and wasn’t she happy now that I was? She responded by saying, “I really don’t think you could ever be happy!”
She walked away in a huff, and I did not hear from her again for the rest of the flight. The flight attendant who laughed and made the comment apologized to me as I was leaving the plane in Atlanta (3 hours and 15 minutes flight time, BTW). It really seems to me that a lot of flight attendants are having attitude issues (sometimes rightly so), and are just looking for a fight.
Tagged as:
baggage,
flight attendant,
overhead bin,
US airways
