PTravel

Yesterday, I was flying LAX to ORD on UA in E+. We were on a 767 and I was in a bulkhead. This is a "double whammy" for carry on because there is no underseat space, and the bins for the first 2 rows are occupied by safety equipment. I made sure to board early and stowed my rollaboard and computer bag in the first available bin behind my row, roughly two rows back. I settled in, put on my headphones and iPod, and waited for departure. After about 10 minutes, the batteries in my headphone amplifier died, so I decided to get a fresh set out of my computer bag. I went back to the bin where I had stowed my gear and, instead of my computer bag, I saw an empty space next to my rollaboard where the computer bag had been.

I immediately went up to an FA and told her my computer bag was missing and, if it wasn't located, I wanted the police called before the plane departed. Naturally, this created a bit of a ruckus as the FA called over the purser and we discussed what to do. After a minute or two a woman, seated several rows back, spoke up and said that my bag was in another bin across the aisle. I went over and, sure enough, it was. I asked her if she moved it and she said, "Well, there was no room in the bin." Evidently, she wanted to stow her smallish carry-on over her seat and took it upon herself to relocate my bag.

I was, frankly, pretty ticked off. I said, "You shouldn't move someone else's bag without asking first." She said, "You were wearing your headphones and didn't hear me." I said, "Then you shouldn't have touched it. You have no right to touch someone else's property."

Was I wrong? This wasn't a case of simply rearranging a bin. She pulled out my bag (which had several thousand dollars worth of computer equipment in it) and put it somewhere else entirely for her own convenience. In the process, she caused me and the flight crew a few moments of anxiety when I thought the bag had been stolen. The legal term for what she did is "asportation."

What would you have done?

dhammer53

Punched her in the nose of course. @:-)

Analise

Did you move your bag back? You reacted in a way which seems understandable. And now I've learned a new word...."asportation". ^

gj83

Was your bag the only other bag in the bin? If it wasn't, she should have moved another bag first since she could not get your attention.

Sometimes I wish the FAs would be more proactive about helping people stow luggage. Many people who should put a bag under their seat (not your case in bulkhead) don't and take up bin space.

I probably would have checked the other bins before involving the FAs, but I do feel you had the right to address the lady for moving your bag.

Sholey

You have a good point. Nobody should touch things that don't belong to them. However on a plane .... ?

PTravel

I left it where it was. I'm still not clear why the woman felt she had to move it, as it was in the bin over the center section directly across from where I had originally placed it.

PTravel

It was not. The 767 bins on UA are quite long and span three rows. Mine were in the front of the bin as I had placed my bags as close to my seat as was possible.

I normally stow my computer bag under the seat in front of me. The UA 767 is particularly problematic because rollaboards only fit in lengthwise, and won't go in perpendicular. Still, this wasn't a situation of not enough space, but of the woman wanting this particular space. All she had to do was put her bag in the bin across the aisle and all would have been well.

It didn't occur to me to check other bins because of the empty space where my bag had been, i.e. it hadn't been replaced with another pax' bag, it had been removed.

sobore

That woman had a set on her. I would never remove another passenger’s bag.
If someone did that to me they're getting a glove across both cheeks.

icarius

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=700079

I started the above thread which described a similar situation. Except it was WHY pax using business class overhead bins without permission or consideration.
i think the op further strengthens my thinking that a lot of issues are caused by female customers who have no consideration and worse have the mentality "i should be treated better just because im a woman." not to sound sexist or racist but it is true.

Analise

Not to sound racist or sexist? So you think that a person's skin color and her sex are the determining factors in rudeness? Wow, to be that sheltered!

icarius

i was making the point that female customers are just as equally capable of being nasty. In fact, i would argue that a lot more are seen down under.

magiciansampras

I probably would have checked the other bins myself before getting the FA and mentioning calling the police.

magiciansampras

Anecdotal evidence only, but I agree with you. In my experience women travelers are more likely to move my stuff without asking than men are. I don't have a theory for why this should be the case, but it is.

AcnNWAPlatinum

Once, on a KLM cityhopper from AMS-LBA, I was the first pax to board, and I put my bag above my seat in row 8. The second pax to board happened to be seated right next to me. Pax said I had to move my bag so hers could be right above her head. I simply looked up at all the empty bin space, next to and across from her, decided her stupidity wasn't worth and, it and moved my bag over. To this day, I still don't get why hers coudln't be about 18 inches to the right or left of right above her head - but oh well.

Loren Pechtel

Yeah, there are times you need to rearrange a bin in order to get everything in.

I've had to do it once because the bin had two framed pictures in it but was otherwise virtually empty. Obviously they belonged on top of whatever else was in there so I set them out, put my stuff in and put them back on top.