orbitmic

That it is physically possible to fit a small bag under the seat in front of you or keep a coat with you, and it is physically impossible to keep a suitcase anywhere else than in the lockers in a way that would make it possible for a pilot to fly the plane whilst respecting existing safety regulation.

navylad

Where does it state that you can take a coat in addition to the two bags exactly? BA doesn’t restrict what clothing you wear (except in extremist), but if you are not wearing it, that is not included in your allowance. Now in pragmatic terms, BA will likely allow it, but could at any time stop doing so and would not be in breach on their consumer contract. Otherwise might as well carry a pile of clothes rather than pay for checked luggage ;-) yes tongue and cheek, but remember this incident? https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1888679-ba-passenger-arrested-wearing-too-many-clothes.html?styleid=22

The OP asked for the rules, hence my reply, based on the actual rules and also highlighting what happens in reality.

orbitmic

Yep, that's an excellent summary!

hydro001

I'm not quite sure what further guidance you needed or expected for a coat- hold it or wear it or sit on it or use the coat hook by your seat. The crew member gave you guidance to keep it on your lap.

Overhead lockers are prioritised for larger hand luggage- it's the only approved stowage for such hand luggage and must be used to stow larger hand luggage to meet safety compliance . Coats however can be worn/ held on to / hung on coat hook for taxi take off and landing, and any other phases of flight, and compliant with safety regulations.

RichieMc

I think it’s important to point out in case someone thought that you could only figuratively keep your coat on your lap.

Deltus

​​Since this thread has taken a turn for the "literal", just how many flights have you taken? Even at a healthy rate of 100 per year, that implies at least 40 years of flying at that pace, which is good even for FTer standards. Just curious

OpenSky

Me. and My Gucci bag.

jsn55

I often travel with a hat or two in a paper shopping bag. I just wait until the door is closed, then tuck it up on top of the hand luggage. There's plenty of room for that kind of thing, but putting it up there before everyone has stowed their carryons is considered rude.

navylad

Exactly, this is the pragmatic approach used by convention. This may technically be over your carry-on allowance, but let’s not repeat the multiple threads of late about how these aren’t actually enforced and sometimes the enforcement or lack thereof works in our favour.

Tobias-UK

Some of us would consider that ‘part-time’ flying, literally.

You may be surprised just how many flights some of us take in a typical year. Business travel is often frequent short trips, amounting to significantly more than 100 flights a year.

simoflyer

I haven’t experienced this on BA before but with EasyJet this is common. I think this informal rule started to appear more often when the airlines started charging extra for hold luggage and passengers started bringing larger bags into the cabin…

IAN-UK

...rude, maybe, but with an over-riding element of stupidity. Unless, of course, the coat is intended as a mat upon which cases should be placed.


Surely this thread was started as a wind-up?

gw76

But how many people once seated then proactively engage in said announcement.. removing small articles and jackets from rammed bins ? Id say pretty low. Its all about early enforcement which is rare now.

volar

The OP asked whether the cabin crew was correct in their instructions on where to place a coat, but you've made a separate point about hand baggage allowances.

The actual rules are here Baggage essentials | Information | British Airways

No, BA doesn't specifically say I can take a coat in addition to my two bags, but nor do they say I can take shoes - is there a difference? There's a lengthy list of restricted cabin items on the page linked above, and coats and shoes are not on that list

I am being slightly pedantic here but I've found recent hand baggage issues frustrating myself, and perhaps like you I do wish people followed the rules (and I wish BA enforced them better). I also quite agree that a coat shouldn't take up valuable overhead locker space which is the only place larger bags can go.

MFCC

If you need 'guidance' in a situation like this then you shouldn't be traveling. I'd have dealt with this the same way the crew member did onboard - I'm not prepared to allow a coat to be in an overhead locker when there is luggage still to be stowed. I think it's fair to say that no person gets 'priority' but certain things may do. Luggage and big bags go up, if there's any space left afterwards then small bags and coats if you really must.