Originally Posted by
Laura11
On this trip (and many trips) my backpack is stuffed to the brim and about 2/3 the size of a roller bag. My personal item is my small purse. The backpack can mostly fit under the seat in front of me (as long as I'm in the window seat, not aisle where the space is smaller), but if I put it there, my purse most definitely cannot fit also. There is no logic that can convince me that a person who chooses to use a roller bag deserves the overhead bin space more than I do with my backpack. It is a huge sacrifice for me to have to spend a 5+ hr flight with no leg room because others have chosen not to check their roller bags, as the flight attendant on my flight was expecting me to do. I don't feel that I should have to sacrifice my comfort (and potentially health as less leg room means I won't be able to move my legs as much and will be more likely to get another DVT) for your bag. I board early so that I will have space for my carry on in the overhead bin, regardless of the type of bag I choose to use.
Given that your backpack is your carry-on (purse as personal item), I think that you have every right to put that backpack in the overhead bin. The title of the thread is about having a single bag brought on the plane and whether that should go under the seat.
For me, I have a laptop bag that fits under all of the Y seats that I have been in on UA, so even if I don't have a carry-on the laptop bag goes under the seat in front of me. I do, occasionally put it up on international flights, but only after everyone has boarded. I like having access to my devices without getting up and opening an overhead bin. I have also taken to bringing a small duffel bag for short work trips instead of a roller bag, and that goes in the overhead bin, with my laptop bag under the seat.