henkybaby

So, can we now call you an a**kisser?

Lite

I would like to think that most cabin crew are able to find solutions and use common sense without having to break any rules. As I said in one of my earlier posts in this thread, one of our brand behaviours is to find solutions, but another one of them is to do things properly. As a crew member who leads the service in a cabin every day, I would expect my colleagues to be proactive in helping get larger bags either put in a wardrobe or other approved stowage, or identifying the bag as needing to be checked into the hold as quickly as possible. I will always do this myself, and unless someone is genuinely unable to lift the bag themselves, the threat of having a bag checked in is usually enough to get someone to lift it themselves.

Anyone who has suffered from any sort of repetitive strain injury or back pain will know how painful it is. A lovely colleague of mine at a previous airline slipped a disc putting away laundry. That repetitive action was all it needed and her doctor said it was years of pressure on her back had built up and that was all it took. One person's laundry is another person's 23kgs piece of hand baggage. I would also say that sliding bags around in a locker is very different from moving them from floor to ceiling. Crew already do a lot of heavy lifting on a day-to-day basis, but the airline has often mitigated the risk for us. Carts are designed with a certain weight to go in stowages and be safe from toppling over. Canisters in the galley are only so heavy to help out catering colleagues and also to help us when we're rooting around for something. We know the weight of the doors, and the ground staff usually help us push it out when we land. It is all about minimising risk, and like I said, I would always back up colleagues for not lifting bags into lockers but would not be impressed if I found out they'd denied the request rudely.

ColdWalker

@ lite and littlegirl. You've restored my faith in cabin crew . Sensible solutions or those who are genuinely struggling and not taking the Michael. For those who bring 20kg but don't have the common sense and consideration to think if they can lift it themselves, check their bag! A perfectly reasonable range of solutions.

Bearface

Just a little different to shoving a suitcase above your head into a locker. I fail to see what this has to do with cabin crew lifting bags.

N1120A

This is where common sense should reign - if the airline has a rule against employees lifting bags, then fellow passengers should help those who need it.

BizFlyin

And they simultaneously tell you not to check a very wide range of items. All the people here saying "just check it" are likely the same who will pounce on those who lost something of value in their checked luggage. You folks (and BA) can't have it both ways.

Bearface

What do you suggest as an improvement?

Final 3 Greens

If you ask me, a 23kg hand baggage allowance is nuts. Blooming dangerous to have stuff weighing that much in the bins.

I have stopped helping little old ladies etc to load bags on BA flights, if it is hazardous for the crew, then it is for me and I also have to earn a living and cannot afford time off work.

It's interesting to see what happens when the slot time approaches.

fredandgingermad

I was always a little suprised that BA were that generous, if everyone used their full handluggage allowance could the overhead bins take the strain?

leavingonajetplane

I think there's a big difference between lifting a 15kg bag above head height and lifting a 3kg handbag for a short person. I totally agree that 23kg is a stupid max, although the allowance is designed to be self limiting in that if you can't lift it, then it's too heavy.

CC should help passengers who need help, but those who pack bags that they themselves cannot lift shouldn't expect crew to do so.

I think travelling hand luggage only is a right PITA!!

Andriyko

People who are travelling with many kilos of valuables or cash or whatever can hire someone to carry it behind them.
Come on! Why do people need to exaggerate? A watch, ring or neckless can fit into a purse/shoulder bag.

LTN Phobia

Indeed! I sometimes carry quite a bit of 'valuables' or 'important documents' and still manage to make it light enough to make sure I can lift my things up in the overhead bin - and that's after including one night's change of clothes and my full allowance of liquids and make-up kit, laptop, all the power supplies and chargers, phones, etc etc etc - a lot of things except for the kitchen sink.

golfmad

+1.

Common sense needs to prevail as had been indicated by the other positive cabin crew comments on this thread.

I'd only temper the above by saying that cabin crew should feel free to say no if they feel in any way endangered by any request. Certainly not in the manner of the staff member in post #1.

ColdWalker

+2

kileysmom

Having injured my back, I have total understanding for rules that limit exposure to back or other injuries. However, it doesn't hurt and can't hurt to be proactive and observant. When it was obvious to all the staff in the CCR (who kindly helped me into a wheelchair and onto a cart to get me to the gate) that I wasn't likely to get my bag into the overhead, why didn't someone ask if I could check the bag since I had a bit of time to unload the valuables? I was not thinking clearly to think of it myself to be honest - I just wanted to get on and be on my way home to some serious pain killers. On occasions when overheads were getting full, I've offered to move a few items and check a carry-on. I've also had CC suggest that I might like my bag in the wardrobe (I think I'm beginning to show my age as that seems to be happening more frequently lately!) well before they saw me lift it into the overhead.

If being proactive isn't possible, then at least CC can be sure to be polite. Clearly the ones here work hard to do just that! It is hard for a pax to understand why CC can't help with their bag when they see CC moving bags in and out of bins (not different from lifting them in the first time) as well as stretching up to rearrange things in the bin. I don't know how that can be explained to a pax struggling with a bag for whatever reason. The fact that BA seems to require you to move bags around including down from one bin and up into another but won't "support" you if you injure yourself helping a pax put a bag into a bin just doesn't make sense to the probably frazzled and rushing pax.

Now the idiot who walks into the cabin and demands anything including putting a bag up for them deserves whatever they get. I suppose a lot of time can be spent coming up with ways to tell them no that make a point but it usually goes right over the heads (should say through because clearly they are empty headed) of these folks.

Thanks to all the CC who over 55 years of long and short hauls have been courteous and helpful (that doesn't mean they lifted my bag but that they did what they could and were proactive when they could be) as well as just plain fun to fly with! You folks are usually some of the greatest people to chat with and I've eaten in many a restaurant, seen many things and been places I'd probably never have thought to go because someone working a flight suggested it!