For those who advocate a strictly enforced carry-on policy: I was on a flight recently with a gentleman who had a rollaboard, a stuffed briefcase, a winter coat and a hat. Flying in 'Y' and not happy - upgrade didn't clear, stayed in the lounge too long, missed early boarding, closet in 'F' was full and he expected to put everything in the overhead - and didn't want anyone else's bags crushing his coat or hat.

My question: if policy is strictly enforced, how many carry-ons did this gentleman have? Do his bulky winter coat and hat not count as items? They took up as much space in the overhead as my standard rollaboard. There's no way he could have fit his briefcase, coat and hat under the seat in front of him.