Bizarre encounter on my TPA-EWR flight today. I was first to board, seated in 1F. The overhead in this 738 that's over my seat is already filled with crew stuff, so I stuff my rollaboard into the overhead across the way (over 1A&B). Right behind me is an older couple, and as I am finishing my bag storage, he politely comments (in an Irish accent), "Excuse me but that's my overhead space". I was so puzzled by his comment that I don't recall exactly what I said, but it was something along the lines of "the one over me is full, there are lots of other spaces for you to put your stuff, etc". He, still very politely, continued to comment, to which I replied "You know, there is no system for reserving the overheads". OK, so we left it at that.

UNTIL later, my female neighbor in 1E is sitting next to me and I hear her say to someone standing in the aisle, "Excuse me but could you hand me my purse, please?". She is addressing the Irish guy. She then asks AGAIN. I listened intently but did not look. Then, my neighbor says, dejectedly and sarcastically, "Well, OK then". This bozo either ignored the woman or flat out told her no to a simple polite request.

The end was the best part; she put her purse IN HIS SPECIAL RESERVED 1AB OVERHEAD SPACE next to my illegally stowed rollaboard.

Anarchy in the skies, I tell ya . . .

 

I was kinda hoping this would have some sort of a 'reclined into my space' twist to it.

 

About 10 yrs ago flying SGN-TPE-LAX on BR. An older couple opens the bin above their assigned seats & it's full. They pull the bags out & throw them on the floor. And I do mean throw. Anything fragile broke.

The owner of the luggage protests & a brawl starts between the couples. A FA comes & very loudly says "SHUT UP" & puts the original bags back in the bin and tells them to use another bin.

She walks away & the couple throws the luggage out again. A serious brawl starts. Both couples got ejected from the flight.

All quite entertaining.

 

LMAO

 

(1) Five or so years ago in Business Class on a UA 767 to Buenos Aires, I looked over about 10 minutes after I had boarded and stowed our rollerbags in an empty side bin (they didn't fit in the center bins above our heads) andsaw our bags in the aisle instead of in the bin where we had placed them. The bin where we had placed them was now full with the bags of the people sitting below the bins. Fortunately we noticed it in time to find another empty side bin and before something happened to our bags. The couple didn't say anything or try to find the owners of the bags, they just took them out of "their" overhead bin space.

(2) Three weeks ago I was the fourth person to board a UA AB320. I was sitting in 1B. The bin above 1B had FA stuff in it. The next bin had the belongings of the preboarded couple in row 2, so I put my roller bag in the bin above 1D and then started to put my personal item next to my rollerbag. The guy behind me said something to the effect of "Wait one minute. STOP! That is my bin space." I muttered something to the effect that I was also sitting in the bulk head and that the bin above my seat was being used by the crew and that is why I stood on the carpet for 30 mins longer than he did (the flight did not board on time, but I didn't leave the carpet when that was announced as I was comfortably working on my computer). He still wasn't happy as he had to stow his stuff in the next bin and had attitude for quite awhile.

The guy was sitting in F and I think he was there via EUA so I was surprised that he was not aware that the bin space was first come first serve.

It had been quite awhile since someone boarding behind me had laid claim to the bin I was attempting to use.

 

I had a similar instance on a UA 777 DEN-ORD a few yrs ago. I was the middle section of F in the middle set of seats. As the bin above me was full, I just put my stuff in the bin ahead of that. A few mins later, the occupants of the seat in front of me came. They were upset about their bin being full... of course I said nothing--why would anyone? Well at the end of the flight when Pa Kettle saw me take my stuff out of 'his bin', he became verbally abusive about me using 'his bin'.... I ended up having to go get the purser.

 

I always put my carryon in the space opposite where I'm sitting, so I can keep my eye on it from my seat. Paricularly if I'm in the bulkhead and I have to put my briefcase up there. Never had an issue with a fellow passenger though.

The only thing I will eject from the bins is the big plastic bag with the blankets in them. The FA's don't object.

 

This is too funny. I have never had this happen to me. I think I would start laughing if someone said that to me though. I would be like where is Ashton because this must be an episode of Punk'd. I guess if you don't know you don't know about overhead space wars. It is still no excuse to become abusive over storage space!

 

Good thing it didn't turn out to be one of those IFC encounters, as some of the recline debates have turned into.. Would be worth the price of admission though..

OP, I think you did over and above what any other reasonable FTers would do.. That is to politely explain that the OH space above your seat is taken..

 

[quote and reply of now-deleted post edited by moderator.]

 

This reminds me of an incident I saw on a Guangzhou - Dubai flight on Emirates a few weeks ago. A group of 5 Nigerian trader ladies boarded late with about 10 carry-ons between them. Needless to say, space was quite limited and the bins above their row were totally full. They began politely enough by asking whose bags were there and a young Iranian man a few rows back said that they were his.

That set of a $hitstorm like I've never seen before. One lady just slapped the guy and told him to "show some respect". The other 4 ladies then started hitting the guy with their handbags. A complete free-for-all developed. One of the crew tried to intervene and got a handbag in her face for her efforts. Eventually, they were pulled apart with the young man a bid dazed and confused by the events.

Despite the crew coaxing, cajoling, threatening, etc..., the ladies simply refused to take their seats unless his baggage was removed from "their" bin first AND he apologised. Police were called but the language barrier and the complete lack of enthusiasm on the part of the police made that kinda pointless. The crew eventually coaxed the young man into apologising and moving his bags elsewhere and the ladies took their seats after a 40 minute delay.

FWIW, the ladies were all top tier frequent flyers with Skywards judging by the tags on their handbags/weapons.

 

I've deleted a number of posts that, collectively, ask about the ethnicity of passengers on one of the flights and many replies, pro and con to that idea. Even more than being off-topic, they are contrary to the spirit of FlyerTalk's rule on diversity. (See below.)

We are a worldwide community made of members of many different origins and we should not appear -- even innocently or with a good intent -- to get into discussions that will not end up to be what FlyerTalk represents. It's OK to have a quick, factual reference to the passenger's country of residence and leave it at that, as the last post shows. Thanks, and now back to the overhead bag discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator.

Just for quick reference, the FlyerTalk Rule's key text is as follows:
"FlyerTalk members come from all walks of life and all parts of the world. We are as diverse in our makeup as we are alike in our passion for frequent flyer programs. Because we all bring a unique perspective to the forum, our collective experience is broadened, and we gain new insights.

Our diversity demands that we respect each other. Due to the inherent constraints of the Internet, humor, sarcasm, language and slang can be easily misinterpreted - especially when crossing cultural boundaries.

When posting a message, pay extra care to how it might be interpreted. And when you come across a post that offends you, read it with an eye toward giving the poster the benefit of the doubt.***"

 

The delay wouldn't be worth the price of admission.. IFC or not

Perhaps a grain of salt taken so we can all take off on time..

 

Well, how about Bulkhead passengers decide to help themselves to underseat storage?

 

Six months ago, I would have called you paranoid ...

Then my boss tells us a entertaining/disturbing story about his flight. A passenger while deboarding is stopped by an FA, "Sir, I believe you have my bag". The man apologizes and says something like they all look alike.

Then another passenger says, "Hey you have mine as well!". The man hands over the bags and exits the aircraft quickly. It didn't occur to anybody (it happened so quickly) that he was trying to steal the bags until later.

My boss gets a call from the airport later asking if he was missing some files and some personal items. The man had gone through his carryon and took random stuff and stuffed it into the other passengers carryon.

It is always under the seat in front of me, or the bin across the aisle for me in the future.