Had an interesting experience on my last RJ flight. From PHL to DFW I got the privilege of being locked into a ERJ175 for close to four hours. Had 2F as a seat. Boarded with Group 2 and got into my seat. Couldn't seem to get my laptop bag into the underseat storage. After 2 minutes of fumbling, I finally find out from the person in 2D that the person in 1F (the bulkhead) had decided that the underseat storage under the seat was his storage, not mine.

So, I jammed my bag into it with my leg. About 30 seconds later I got a snide comment from Mr. 1F (I'll call him Mr. Bose for his noise cancelling headphones) that I was pushing his laptop bag underneath his seat. To which I replied that the area in question was MY underseat storage area, and that his privilege of the bulkhead seat did not extend to the under seat area.

So, for the next three hours there was constant bag jostling. I could feel when Mr. Bose was pushing back on his bag, and I would simply dig in and push back. Close to landing, Mr. Bose made a concerted effort to push his bag into mine. This time I responded in kind with a rather hard/semilateral shove. I heard a distinct crack this time from underneath the seat. Mr. Bose did not hear it.

Got off the plane, and smiled confidently (albeit a bit worse for wear in the legs) as I could guarantee that something inside his bag is a little bit worse for wear now too.

Any other suggestions on how to deal with this in the future?

No idea how to deal with it, just some sympathy, as I had my first experience with this issue on Friday. Traveled MSP-JFK and discovered that the person in the seat/row ahead of me had shoved his carry-on under HIS seat, not under the seat in front of him. I took great pride in squashing his case with my feet as much as I could. I've never had this happen in nearly 40 years of flying. Not sure what would cause someone to store items under his/her seat rather than the seat ahead (this was not a bulkhead situation).

Well the two times this happened to me I simply took the item and handed it to a flight attendent saying that I found this stuff in my stowage space. Problem solved.

He could be a flying noob; we don't know. He could be a piece of trash; we don't know. What is known is that you chose violence over diplomacy by shoving his bag before even addressing him.

My suggestion would be either 1) a polite chat with him/her or 2) a discussion with the FA. But acting with a first usage of force isn't on the list.

You find joy in damaging his stuff? Plain sad.

Actually this time I very much did enjoy it. Quite elating really.

You could politely point out that he has to put the bag in the overhead compartment. Alternatively, you could have called the FA. At least you didn't take the more radical approach of putting your bag in the overhead and then stomping his bag as hard as you could for 3 hours.

"He could be a flying noob; we don't know. He could be a piece of trash; we don't know. What is known is that you chose violence over diplomacy by shoving his bag before even addressing him."

No doubt there are plenty of flying newbs who manage to get the bulkhead row, buy $300 headphones and know that they need to store their laptop before takeoff.

"Excuse me FA, but can you clarify for me whether or not this space under this seat belongs to me or to the pax in the bulkhead?" Live it, learn it.

In these situations, I've found that the high road and diplomacy can often - not always, but often - circumvent hours of schoolyard pushing and shoving.

Are you sure your bag/content was not damaged at all? The way you described "the action" could have impacted both bags.

Mr. Bose didn't take the civil approach after you claimed your "ownership/entitlement" of the underseat storage. We don't exactly know why. But I agree with others, handing it over to the FA probably is a better way of handling the situation.

I am sure the FA would have taken your side and your 4-hr flight would have been more peaceful.

Take it out and set it in the aisle... problem solved. I would assume the person from the last flight must have left it on board...

I agree.... and if he had found out, you could be responsible for the damage.

What you should have done was informed the flight attendant... nothing more. He/she would have taken care of the issue without having to play childish games for four hours....

I would have notified the FA and let him/her handle it.

I second the poster who would have placed it in the aisle, after the door is closed. Wouldn't want anyone to trip and fall over it.

Ringing the call button and handing it over to the FA would work as well.

I had an issue on this on LH last summer. Guy in the row ahead of me asks if I will put my bag in the overhead bin so he can put his bag in my under-seat storage space (under his seat.) I said no and he got very indignant making loud rude comments about how 'nice' I was; however, since I guess he knew he was in the wrong, he did not attempt to involve a FA.

I had a flight once in, oh, around 1980 or so when I actually thought that I was supposed to put stuff under my seat. Kind of like I did in school with those little basket/shelf thingys under the seat.
Now I know better and I try to avoid bulkhead seats for this very reason. I often have a very small carry-on, smaller than many purses, just to keep my books, mp3, junk food, Sudoku book and a few other small items. In the rare instances when i am in a bulkhead seat i will ask the person behind me if I could keep it in their space during takoff and landing and show how small it is. So far no one has minded. I think the key here is that I ask first.