ermdjdsj

If you land up coming to your seat and all overhead compartment space is full, and you have filled your under-seat space with a normal carry-on but still have a small "personal item," e.g., a relatively flat padded computer case or satchel, is it against airline regulations for you to sit on the thing at take-off/landing to get it out of the way, rather than have to check one or the other of the two carry-ons? (Assume you don't weigh 300lb, in which case there wouldn't be much left of the item after take-off )

I suspect it's not allowed, as in theory you could fly out of your seat despite the seatbelt, and then the thing would be flying around the cabin, but at that point it seems EVERYTHING would be flying around the cabin, including stuff from the overhead compartments. Or maybe the concern is that if you allow a small flat item to be sat on, next thing you know you'll have people making miniature Mt. Everests of carryons that they're precariously "sitting" on to secure them.

tb

Whenever I take my laptop with me, I always hold it on my lap during take off so I don't have to get up after the captain clears the pax to move about the cabin.

I have also had small bags that wouldn't fit above due to lack of space and lage textbooks on my lap.

obscure2k

Interesting. I have had FA's tell me to stow a reasonably small handbag during takeoff.

Tim in Hollywood

Of course, if you sit on a thin (3" or less), you can get away with it...if you don't let any cabin crew see what you are doing!

Same goes for holding the purse or laptop during takeoff. I know a person that occasionally grabs a couple of blankets to cover the laptop. It's amazing how quickly the person gets back to work on the laptop after the chime is sounded.

StarGoldmember

Do you really want to sit on your computer?

If it's light and thin enough, not only should the crew not see it, but it's probably harmless enough - much like the pillows which are left "unsecured" during takeoff.

Athena53

My typical carry-on configuration is the backpack where I stow my laptop, plus a purse and a cloth bag of "stuff"- books, food, etc. Of course, I have to consolidate that into 2 items to carry on. The laptop and cloth bag go under the seat in front of me, the empty backpack goes overhead, and if there's not enough room under the seat, my purse gets tucked behind my legs during take-off. No F/A has ever made me stow it. When I retrieve my laptop, the purse goes in the under-seat area.

Don't you just LOVE Coach-class calisthenics?

JS

Flat or not, if you can put your carry-on in your pants, you can bring anything you want. There's no ... size limit.

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"Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon!" -- John McClane, Die Hard II As Seen on TV

dlombard

GOT to be the funniest thing I've ever read on this website.

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Best regards,
Dairenn Lombard
Los Angeles, CA

Georgia Peach

When I travelled to India frequently, I would always come home with at least one huge bage that wouldn't fit anywhere. As soon as I sat down, I spread out the blanket to cover me, and put my bag on the floor behind my legs, then pretended to be asleep till after takeoff. The FAs never bothered me or noticed anything.