Cathay Boy

Traveling to HKG from China, taking China Eastern. I've paid the last minute upgrade to upgrade myself to "First Class" (which is really regional business), it is 737-700 plane. At "First Class" there are three of us each sitting in our own 2-seater. All of us have a laptop bag and another 20" luggage carried on. When I got on the flight attendant told me to "just put your bags at the empty seat next to you", and I thought wow, full service, they will put it on overhead bin for me. But after everyone is seated the stewardess put the 20" bag to the leg space in front of the empty seat, and then BUCKLE my laptop bag on the empty seat next to me!!! (She did the same to the other two passengers in "First Class") The plane took-off and landed like this!

Holy air-safety.

Chinatrvl

To 'buckle up' your laptop bag (or even jacket!) on an empty seat next to you is also standard procedure on AB and LH; AF usually let you have it there without it wearing its seatbelt.

Santander

I've seen this happen on NH, CA and CZ as well (mainly in regional C because regional Y is usually packed on those airlines). I've never thought there was anything wrong with it.

xooz

I would think if you really felt unsafe, you would have moved it under the seat, though you may have been in the bulkhead. Doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

Cathay Boy

Guess you guys don't travel international much. CX will not even allow a woman's handbag to be held in the arm, won't even allow newspapers sitting in empty seats (they have to be in the pocket), and will never ever allow 20" carry-on luggage in any floor space.

Have to say, never seem this and sure, whatever. Easier for me to get my stuff to work during flight.

username

I am not sure whether travel international has anything to do with this safety procedure.

Were you in the aisle seat or window seat?

Chinatrvl

As I said, LH and AB do the same (although it also depends on the flight attendent you get!), TG also didn't mind having my laptop bag on the emtpy business seat next to me without its seatbelt, whereas EI for example is very strict and doublechecks that everything is properly stowed below the seat in front of you, including newspaper coats etc. I could never understand this.
Is that international enough?

xooz

Have flown DL exclusively internationally, 4-5 times a year for the past 10 or so years. Until the last few years, I was allowed to park a computer bag on the floor in front of my BE seat. In the past couple of years, it has been hit or miss, though it is true that more recently there has been more focus on having nothing on the floor. So it seems that procedures differ and thus experiences for experienced international travelers differ as well.

SaigonCyclo

Flying to Chinqdao many years ago I remember the bulkhead opposite me being filled with the crews luggage (10 bags at least). Sadly I didn't get the free leather belt my buddy did at the check-in counter

Studio54

I managed to have a rather large box as hand-carry on a flight from PVG-HKG with China Eastern which wouldn't fit in the overhead locker so they buckled it to the free seat next to me.

On transferring to a CX flight at HKG they told me that the box was far to big to take as carry-on and I had to check it in. The flight wasn't full so I asked them if they could do what MU did and just strap it to the seat next to me. They said no but I did get upgraded to business from economy so can't complain! Different airlines, different rules, but MU are certainly more 'laissez faire' when it comes to carry-on baggage.

MSPeconomist

SQ tends to put standard wheeled carry on bags under the table on 747 IFC and to sometimes put them in the foot room of empty seats, unsecured. However, in biz, they insist that nothing can be under the seat in front of you for takeoffs and landings.

On a recent DL connection small RJ, someone almost, until I called for the FA and pointed it out to him, had their luggage in the foot room of the neighboring empty seat. I was shocked. This was something that should have been gate checked, but it was too late so the FA just halfheartedly shoved it a bit under the seat.

jiejie

As long as the luggage is buckled up in its own seat, I don't see what the problem is either. After all, most luggage is not nearly as big and round and heavy as most of the passengers, who are similarly buckled in. Even on US airlines (which are as anal-retentive as they come), cellos are allowed in the window seat of many aircraft.

Seems a heck of a lot safer than the abomination of practices: "lap children" (i.e. free-to-catapult babies).

mtkeller

I've seen AZ take a slew of 20" rollers and belt them (sort of) into the seats and floorspace of an empty row of Euro-biz. An odd bag here or there, secured, I don't have an issue with. However, the AZ approach was a bit extreme because there were so many bags involved and they were just sort of piled in haphazardly.

SFO_FT

Seatbelt strapped items, but only in bulkhead window seats, used to be the norm in the US. Today, an EMPTY bulkhead window seat?!?!? Don't think so!

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

I agree - I can't really see the issue here if the bags are buckled up.

Ideally the bag should be against the window and the passenger on the aisle (in case you need to exit quickly) - but that is your choice as the passenger to move in that situation.