Yeoman5

A first world problem, but a tad annoying to find the locker overhead 1D fully occupied with cabin crew bags. I thought it must have been someone from further down the aircraft having dumped it there. The cabin crew saw my puzzled look and claimed the bags as theirs, inviting me to find space further down the cabin. “Oh” I said. “How refreshing”.

florens

This seems to be a recurring topic. Last year there was a discussion about the same issue:

Crew placing luggage over row 1

Yanshuf

Are cabin crew banned from checking in their luggage on the flight that they are working on? How about checking them in atthe gate, which is the experience of some passengers?

pythonisman

Surely crew working a nightstop or 4 sector day may not be able to check bags in as they have to report for the next flight.
My finance got stuck once as crew when FLY went down and they got stuck in St. Petersburg overnight on what was meant to be a 'there and back'. After that he never flew anywhere short haul without at least overnight essentials.

I tend to agree it'd be nice if they put them further back in Club, but at the same time -- I don't really feel your response listed above here was necessary or appropriate. I wasn't there, but that's how it read to me

flygirl68

Crew on short haul flights cannot check bags into the hold.

ringingup

I know it's been said before, but in my opinion the crew should do their best to make the customer's experience as good as it can be. They are the last ones leaving the plane, so it does not really make much of a difference where they place their luggage, whether it's as close as possible to the doors or somewhere else on the aircraft. By all means, place it by row 1, but if a passenger looks baffled, why not just volunteering to move it somewhere else?

T8191

Well, perhaps they should.

I know little about the underfloor arrangements, but surely it could be possible?

mctaste

the crew taking up first class storage is annoying and slows down exiting the plane, while the people in the first row try to move back to get their bags.

i consider overhead storage above your seat one of the main benefits of US domestic first, so it is always disappointing to see it taken up by crew (or plane) storage.

OddJobMan

I see no reason why they can't store it in bins that are not bulkhead or exit rows. I understand it's impractical to store it in the hold due to possibly moving between different aircraft.

itsmeitisss

I do actually agree with the OP's response. The reaction of the CC should have been to move their luggage further down.

EJetter

Cabin crew operating shorthaul flights can’t check luggage into the hold, as this would prevent operational flexibility in the event of a planned or unplanned aircraft change. There’s also the risk of luggage being removed in error which then causes problems for crew being without civvies or a change of uniform downroute!

Agree crew should not be taking up space around exit and front row seats where floor stowage is not allowed.

fluffymitten

Also, what if they're not getting off the plane? They could be doing something like (made up, btw) GLA-LHR-ZRH-FRA without getting off the plane until FRA but if the hold doesn't have a dedicated crew bags only bin then they risk their skivvies being dumped at any one of the destinations between GLA and FRA.

Dambus

Why not reserve the lockers on one side over the last row of seats for cabin crew bags?

Often1

There are a myriad of operational problems created when crew check bags on flights where they have scheduled or even standby duty on return or onwards segments. There is also a value in having a uniform policy which preserves simplicity and regularity.

This is simply another one of those "it depends where one sits" threads. If one is waiting for the return flight or perhaps an onwards flight operated by that crew, one is grateful for their ability to expeditiously transfer. When a substitute crew is available, imagine the whinging here if an announcement were made, "our crew would have been ready to go, but they are claiming their luggage, dragging it through Customs, up to check-in and they will be here as soon as possible."

ecaarch

So those of us that are elite flyers are inconvenienced by that horrible cabin crew taking up our precious overhead locker space. Maybe, just maybe, it would be worthwhile to get out of our comfort zones, look at life from a different perspective, and realize that there may be another logical reason that the crew stows their bags in the front lockers.

Those of us that step down from our elite thrones and actually talk to the crew (and ordering a refill of the Bombay and tonic doesn't count as talking for these purposes) know that inflight theft from crew baggage is a real problem. This problem is more severe on longhaul flights, but it happens on shorthaul flights as well. Most crews place their bags in lockers at the front of the plane on narrowbody flights because it is nearest the galley and they are more likely to be aware of somebody going through their bags. Similarly, cabin crew working economy on longhaul flights place their bags in the overhead lockers at the front of the cabin (or rear depending on the aircraft configuration) so that they can be more secure.