Until the other day I've only ever noticed passengers actually asking for cabin crew to lift their hand luggage up into the overheads in F. Perhaps this is because it happens more here due to people's sense of entitlement? I have certainly shared that cabin on many occasions with people who clearly have staff
The other week on BA16 the elderly occupant of 1A asked very nicely on both sectors back to LHR and the cabin crew obliged instantly and kindly without the slightest hesitation...
Just the other day on BA63 in WT+ it was a different story though.
Well before take off at LHR and before the cabin filled up to its roughly 70% occupancy, the (very short) woman in 12K asked a passing (very tall) crew member for help lifting her bag... the male crew member very dramatically told her (in the style of an exasperated primary school teacher who has already repeated the same thing ten times today) that he wasn't allowed to touch her bag and that it was all to avoid injuries to cabin crew. Trust me, it wasn't explained calmly or nicely! He then did a very elegant pirouette and disappeared back into WT.
Of course I knew about the no lifting rule from FT but had never thought about it as I have never (and hope never to have to) ask for help lifting myself... and I instantly forgot about what I had overheard above.
That is until 3 minutes before doors were closed on the 767 ready to push back for our departure from LHR.
WT had filled up to the brim and the old problem of far, far too much hand luggage (was it 767 capacity, African route or both?) was occurring. The very nice CSD who had been round for a chat during boarding was running around proactively grabbing WT luggage that had no home and putting it into the spaces in WT+... a couple of last-minute boarders were dealt with in that way too.
Of course it was Mr CSD himself doing all the lifting and shifting around until it all fit. He did it without the slightest complaint. He clearly saw that an on-time departure depended on him being efficient and sorting out the problem there and then ^
You may have thought that was the end of that, but it wasn't for short lady in 12K. She decided to call the CSD over and throw a loud and public hissy fit
about why she had been so rudely denied any help when in fact the CSD had been quite happy to sort other people's bags out.
The CSD was very apologetic and explained that everybody had a different approach to this. Luckily the poor CSD was interrupted by the hi-vis turnaround man who needed a prompt signature before the doors were shut. The CSD then 'forgot' his promise to come back and chat to her after take-off
Now I don't know what you think about this, but it seems a little 'elf and safety gone mad' to insist on this outright ban on lifting when so many crew still do it. Surely, if you lift properly by bending your legs (having first tested the weight of the bag to make sure it is not ridiculous) then there need be no risk of injury at all? I have certainly never injured myself lifting my luggage and Lord knows I do it week in week out.
It's also not as if every passenger needed this help... only a few here and there isn't it?
Also, cabin crew with a genuine injury or back issue could just politely apologise to the passenger that they are not able to help rather than quoting the rule book as the crew member did to Madam 12K?