Originally Posted by
AC681
That's the forward cargo hold, otherwise known as compartment 3. Accessable from both outside the aircraft and in the cabin. It has both a smoke detector as well as a fire suppression system.
It's the designated crew bag storage location, as well as checked bag storage if the main aft cargo hold fills up, or in the event (granted this is rare) that weight needs to be moved further forward. It can also be used for carry-on storage for any AC/QK employees (basically anyone who could occupy the flight Deck junpseat), as long as they're accounted for in the W&B calculations.
And if it gets used for checked passenger bags, the crew apparently gets pissy about it. After 53 Q-flights last year, I've only ever seen it used for my one (planned, so far) Q400 flight earlier this month for the bags of myself and the other 11 passengers coming from a very tight connection at YVR (walked off one plane, ran to the commuter terminal, and immediately boarded the YYJ flight) due to a delayed flight out of YYC, all connecting to the YVR-YYJ flight. The pilots had the lead FA yell at the ramp rats for daring to store checked luggage on top of their crew bags because they had food inside. (Fair enough, but the argument/yelling in front of passengers I found to be highly unprofessional.)