[AA moderator note]

As this is a general travel topic, it's best to continue the discussion in TravelBuzz....

<------ Bin Hog, and proud of it!

Also don’t touch or move my bag. I have it that way so I can get stuff out of the zippered compartments. Besides, moving it from the way I have it won’t gain any extra room.

Oink, oink.

DFW_Airwolf - I think you are way off of the mark. So you think that if airlines charge money for overhead bin use will fix the problem. OK, so you know that the elite flyers will be exempt. Which means that we still get to board early and we get to use the overhead bins for free so how will this fix the so-called problem?

This happened to me a few months back, was on a week long trip so I had checked a bag and had my computer bag overhead in UA E+. The plane fills up, one of the last people onboard brought in a bag that was to big to fit under his seat, which was at least 10 rows back. The FA asked me if I would take my bag out and put it under my seat so he could have my space. I answered that I would, as one *must* comply with the FA, however, I'd also like a complaint form brought to me so I could pass along my displeasure in being penalized for another's actions.

The FA wasn't too happy with me and made a couple of snide comments before finding other space for the bag. After she left, my seat mate congratulated me and we had a nice chat about the joys of Freakwent flying.

Cheers,
Jeff

AA doesn't charge elite passengers to check bags, so it's unlikely they'd try it for overhead space.

I have no idea how any reasonable person could conclude that the FFers on this thread are expressing arrogance; I think you're drawing an abjectly poor conclusion from what you have read.

The biggest and best solution to this problem is to STOP CHARGING NON FFs FOR THE FIRST BAG TO BE CHECKED.

After the implementation of the "no liquid rule" the overhead space was always wide open. There was plenty of space because a big percentage of people didn't want to mess with ziplocks and such. When the airlines started charging the masses for checking bags all of a sudden the bins filled back up again. Make the cases free to check and then most won't be up in the overhead bin to start with.

Also -- from what I have read the 787's WILL have seat specific slots for bags.

My biggest pet peve is the oddities between different jet's bins. My bag slides nicely into a DC-9, but I have to lube the sides up with crisco to get it in an MD-88. Also sometimes it will fit wheels down and out, but other planes it has to be wheels in, upside down. It just depends.

Of course, most people don't realize that on many planes, you can load / unload your carryon from the overhead while standing in the aisle seat area if the aisle seat is unoccupied, rather than blocking the aisle.

Anyone who wants to avoid waiting in hour long checkin lines will check in online.

I've come to the conclusion that they do know this, they just don't care.

Arrogance on FT! There's a shocker!

You're free to crush, sit on, break, do anything you want to my bag, but if you break my macbook pro, then I'll go to the ends of the earth to make sure you're billed the $3,000 it will cost me to replace it. ;)

Besides, my rollaboard goes in the overhead, wheels in, and my laptop comes with me and sits against the wall (I always sit in window).

Airlines are lucky this country doesn't have a high speed rail system. They'd all be out of business by now if Acela was as good as the TGV.

Have to agree with Blumie on this one. Last time I checked, people like us get to board first because we EARNED it. I once had an old boss that had a great expression "If you're looking for sympathy, you'll find it in the dictionary right between syphilis and senility". Not very nice, but accurate. Or to quote Jake the Snake Roberts when talking about the DDT,"Cruel But Fair".

Fly more & get a better seat

Hmm, that's a bit backward - airlines are starting to charge for checked bags, not only because it is a source of revenue, but also to discourage people to check bags, which has the twin benefits of reducing their ground handling costs and turn-around times.

I have to say, I have rarely seen this become a major issue in Europe, and am shocked everytime I fly in the States at the size of carry-ons that people bring (and are allowed!). Perhaps the simplest solution is simply to reduce carry-on size limits. The way things are these days with liquids, if you are travelling for more than a few days, you'll probably be packing more liquids than you can get in the little plastic bag, and so checking a bag anyway - why would you then want to carry more than you have to onboard?

^At some point it becomes cheaper to just BUY shampoo/conditioner/body wash at the destination than to bring it and check it in your luggage, if you have to pay the checked luggage extortion fee.

I'm all for this. I am no longer a frequent flyer so I don't have the privileges I used to have. I HATE carting my suitcase around and would prefer to check it. My $30 can be better spent elsewhere, so now my bag is in the overhead taking up space. When it was free, I never, ever put anything in the overhead--just put a purse and backpack under the seat in front of me.