Flying with a backpack? You may have forfeited overhead bin space.
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The rush to board a plane is usually instigated by securing space prime storage space onboard.
But if you opt out of the race by only traveling with a personal item, should you still be allowed to use the overhead bin?
A reader, who requested that I not use their name in this column, recently asked me that question. I didn’t have a good answer myself, so I reached out to an expert and friend of the column, Rich Henderson, one of the authors of the Two Guys on a Plane blog, to get his thoughts.
The good news for the light packers among us is that using the overhead space is an acceptable workaround to gain some legroom. But, of course, it’s not something you’re necessarily entitled to.
“It comes back to common courtesy: you’re sharing a tight space with a couple hundred people. If you put your smaller bag under the seat in front of you means someone else might not have to check their bag, people should be understanding of that. I’m always of the school of thought that people should have a ‘we care for each other’ mentality,” Henderson said.
He added that there’s a lot more that goes into which bags can and can’t, or should and shouldn’t, go in the bins than the average traveler might think about.
Here’s what he said flyers need to know.
If you only have a personal item, does it go under the seat in front of you or in the overhead bin? This week's column looks at the proper etiquette.
Is everyone entitled to overhead bin space?
No.
“I don’t love the word ‘entitled’ in this particular case,” Henderson said. “People fail to realize the physical limitations of that on the airplane, especially some of the older planes that don’t have big enough overhead bins ... It’s all shared space, there’s nothing reserved, it’s all first-come, first-served.”
He acknowledged that some passengers will be required to store their personal items in the overhead bins during taxi, takeoff and landing for safety reasons. Those seated in locations with restricted floor storage will have to get space in the bin for everything.
“You can’t make that blanket statement when you have seats in the bulkhead that don’t have under-seat storage,” Henderson said.
Even Samantha Brown, the easygoing TV travel guru, told me that people not respecting the shared nature of overhead bin space on planes is one of her biggest travel pet peeves.
“I don't like bin hogs,” she said. “When people come in and they put their carry on and their backpack or I'm like, no, no. You get one bag, someone else needs that space. You put it underneath the seat in front of you.”
Henderson said if you have a small personal item and want to put it in the overhead bin, the most respectful thing to do is wait until boarding is complete and larger bags are already stowed.
He also said to bear in mind that you may not always have access to the bin space directly above your seat.
“People get into a ‘me me me’ mentality when they’re doing this,” Henderson said. “I always come back to: you’re in a shared space, you’re basically on public transportation here, and yes, you paid for certain services, there’s only so much we can do in a confined space.”
When is your carry-on bag most likely to get checked?
Anyone who has flown recently can probably attest that the farther down the boarding list you are, the more likely it is that you’ll have to check your carry-on bag. So, if keeping your stuff with you on the plane is important to you, Henderson said, it’s probably a good idea to buy a ticket that has priority boarding.
He also said some bag types are more likely to get checked than others.
“Agents are a lot less likely to start checking softer bags like duffel bags or tote bags or things like that, so if that’s something if you’re able to pack if you’re in one of those lower boarding groups, you’ll probably be able to find space for that,” Henderson said.
Hard-shelled rollaboards are the most difficult to fit into crammed overhead bins and are often the first and most likely bags to get gate checked.
That’s part of why, when I travel, I use soft-sided luggage for my carry-on bags and only have hard shelled suitcases that I check.
Do you need to be able to lift your own carry-on bag into the overhead bin?
Yes.
According to Henderson, flight attendants are generally not required to help you lift your bag into the overhead bin, although they are required to assist in getting it to fit if they can.
“That assistance could come in the form of checking it or rearranging it in the overhead,” Henderson said.
In a situation where the passenger is unable to lift their own bag into the overhead bin, and no one else is able or willing to assist, flight attendants would most likely gate check the bag to the passenger’s final destination.
“If you want your bag on the plane you should be prepared to lift your bag yourself,” Henderson said.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at [email protected].
