calling it theft is quite a stretch. But it's not nice to move someone's stuff without their permission. What about rearranging stuff in the overhead bin to accommodate your stuff, turning bag around to make more efficient use of the space? What about a hat taking up three feet out of the length of an overhead and you removing it and giving it to the owner? Reasonable accommodation on both sides is necessary.


True a situation of not finding any overhead space can develop through any number pf pathways and sometimes no one is ti be blamed. Again, if your assessment is correct, if youhave done nothing wrong. But why was space so full near your seat that you have to park your stuff 20 rows ahead? Someone probably brought way too much stuff on board.

What's your position based on?

I would love to see airlines partition the overheads and label them by seat number. You get your own guaranteed space; too bad for you if your giant, overstuffed carry-on doesn't fit.

I have no problem turning someone's oversized carryon around so that my bag will fit in wheels or handle first. When the bin doesn't close, it's their fault, not mine.

i think one has a claim to the space under the seat in front of him [if any], but folks will try to hog it if you aren't careful...

Generally it is first come, first served.

Clearly I can't speak for the OP but I'll give my answer: common sense.

There are many rules that infrequent fliers might not be aware of and generally I would argue that it's their job to be informed before flying. But this rule, that the over head bin above your seat doesn't belong to you (and your seatmates), defies logic so I can understand why it is a source of confusion for many.

Of course the space above your seat should be reserved for you and your seatmates (or I would argue the space directly across, but I digress). To be made to place your bag 20 rows away makes it impossible to monitor it during the flight to protect yourself from theft. It makes deplaning much harder for everyone because there are those who have to swim upstream to collect their bags. If the carry on baggage rules were enforced, no one would have to worry about their bag not fitting in the bin above them. It is a terrible injustice that a person carrying a "legal" bag can be forced to check it simply because some imbecile was allowed to bring on everything but the kitchen sink.

And the cretins who would drop their bag at row 10 when they are seated in row 30 should have their bag taken down and checked immediately. No questions, no hesitations. If this was airline policy people would stop engaging in this selfish behavior. And that policy, along with enforcing the written carry on rules, would eliminate the overhead bin wars and enable passengers to place their bag where it should be...in the bin right over their seat.

I would disagree with your position that such action would be fine.

Generally the overhead compartments (sometimes only one side of the plane) can accommodate 3 bags with wheels; anyone who places their bag in such a way that other bags won't also fit is a "hog".
Most FA's, when they see bags that are poorly place will place them to MAXIMIZE available storage.

Common sense and common courtesy say that the space above your seat is yours. Those who place their bags over someone else's seat and then move on to the back are arrogant and foolish and should not be pitied if their bags are stolen by others.

I fly AA, if all the pax in fc have been seated, and there is still empty space in the overhead comp., the fa's generally allow pax in y (who are having difficultly in finding space) to place their bags in overhead comps. in fc.

If they would just remove overhead bins from all aircraft, these silly discussions would not occur...^

So anyone with medical equipment, or fragile/extremely valuable items that will almost surely be broken by baggage staff should just take the train from JFK to London?

They can take a ship or stay their a$$ at home for all I care.

Well Max, it certainly depends on how much "space" you actually need. Is it 2 inches, or maybe the full 45 linear inches? We like to call it "shared space".