Bulkhead row rules
 

Just boarded my flight, happen to be in row one, all that was left. Not my favorite but I don't usually mind it too much.

Normally put my purse under the seat. FAs on this flight were quite stern and adament that nothing could go under the seat in the bulkhead row and must be put in the overhead. Multiple agents came by to make a point of telling me.

Did rules change on this or are they just normally not enforced to the nth degree? I don't recall an attendant ever separating me from a purse in row 1 before. Laptop, or bulky items, yes. But never a purse that will fit under the seat.

Not a big deal just curious so I know for packing purposes for the future. More worried why we're still sitting at the gate 8 minutes past departure time.

Do you mean you were seated in the row behind the bulkhead row? If so and you weren’t allowed to put your bag under the seat in front of you then yes this is a new rule.

The flight attendant was correct. Furthermore, the space beneath the row 1 seats actually belongs to the occupants seated in row 2, so the crew actually did you a favour saving your bag from being crushed by a pair hobnail boots

True if she was seated in the bulkhead obviously. Everything goes up.

I could imagine the person in the row behind wouldn’t be too pleased to find another bag there.

This is 100% the case. The area below your seat is not your storage space. If I am seated in row 2 and you had put your stuff at my feet I will be asking for it to be moved so I can store my own items. Why should I lose storage space because you don't want to put your bag overhead?

Underseat space always belongs to passenger in the seat behind the underseat space.

In this case, space "under the seat" belongs to those in row 2. The FA was correct in having you put your purse in the overhead bin.

It’s been that way for as long as I can remember.