Overhead bins
 

Whose job is it to close the overhead bins? I read on a flight review that the flight attendants on one airline said, this plane will not not be going anywhere until the overhead bins are closed.

"Crew on outward leg refused to shut overhead lockers, we were told that that was the passengers job and that we would not take off until we had done it; never heard this before on a flight."

Never heard of that one. I'd like to know which airline is that.

If you Google the quote, you will find out which airline.

It's American ... not sure why wally couldn't type that. It's unusual and something I've never heard of either.

Next they'll be telling us to make the coffee.

That is bizzare. So is this part of the new rules for those sitting on the aisle as opposed to the window person climbing all over you to do it?

<Next they'll be telling us to make the coffee>

Frankly I sometimes wish they would; I make a pretty mean cup of java!

Oh, so this is how we can delay a flight if a friend is late to catch the same plane ;)

On every AA flight I've been on, flight attendants make a pass through the aisle and close bins that are still open. In fact, earlier in the boarding process, they'll close bins that are full to let boarding passengers know there's no room in those. Could it be that they completed their bin closing and then after, a passenger got up to get something out of the bin and didn't close it? That's what this sounds like to me.

For the most part, I agree with Jeff_Costa_Rica about AA. However, on a recent AA flight when departing London, the flight attendents walked through the passenger cabin, I told a flight attendent the overhead bin in the centre of the aircraft was not closed properly. I was in the window seat and the plane was taxing for take off, so I couldn't get up to close the bin properly. The flight attendent's attitude was, that is not my concern, she just sat down in her crew seat and did nothing. On take off, sure enough the overhead bin opened, bags were stack on top of each other in the overhead bin and the light(er) bag on top came out. The passengers next to me in the aisle seat, and the passenger seated in the aisle seat in the centre of the cabin jumped up and closed the bin. One of these passenger also caught the falling bag. The fa who I had spoken to saw this happen and never said anything.

justshootme - I love your name. Yes, It's American. I didn't want to be accused of bashing them again.

On all of my years flying I have observed two things about overhead bins.People think that the space directly above them is their prime realty property-many fights between passengers on who owns it.
AND on planes like the B777 that require you to lift up the overhead bins to close them,male passengers will sit and watch you stradling two passengers and throwing out your back without offering to help.I always have to close overhead bins but still don't understand why ANYONE cannot help a flight attendant close a lift up bin when the darn thing weighs over 150 pounds?
My new policy after injuring my back is "you pack it you lift it"!

dutyfree - You're talking about the bins over the center section on 777s with 2-5-2 seating, right?

Crew members are required to ensure that the cabin is secure before departure, and that includes securing (closing) overhead bins. A flight attendant who knowingly allows the flight to depart without securing the overhead bins is in violation of regulations in the United States (see FAR 121.589). The flight attendant is not required to close the bins herself (she may instruct passengers to do this), but the passenger doors cannot be fully closed (and thus the flight cannot depart) until the bins are closed.

Rkkwan-I am talking about the B777 with 3-3-3 seating and any bins on that plane. You literally need to be in the center seat on the window seats to lift up the bins when they are full.

dutyfree - Ah, I see what you're saying:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p955881347/e16bd2931

Yep, that's what the overhead bin looked like when I told the AA flight attendent who didn't care. She's lucky the bag didn't fall on someone or injure a passenger, she would have had alot of explaining to do.

Duty Free, don't hesitate to ask someone to help you. I'd help but the fasten seatbelt sign is on.

Wally-you and the darn seatbelt. This is before we push back!!!I always pick people to help me close the overhead bins even when they avoid my "mom look" (you know who you are).

Seriously Wally, I want you on one of my longhaul flights where I will promise you free drinks and you can stand as long as you want even during turbulence-everyone else does...

I hear Delta is giving free with (from the box) on international flights.

I get the carry on up to the shelf but no matter what I do ....Im about 1/8th inch too short to push it in!!! God bless all those forefingers who have come from over my shoulder and just given that bag a little shove!!! It saved time and got everything moving!!!

Delta often asks the passengers to help close the bins on the widebodies. The way those planes are made it's hard to close the bins from the aisle, you need to be IN the aisle seat. That said they will stand on you to close them if you think that's "beneath" you.

Honestly, is it that much of an "issue" that you have to do something?

And I would like to associate myself 100% with DutyFree! I travel a lot. I do pack a carry on. My rule is that if I (a female of about 5'4" without a lot of upper body strength) cannot get it SAFELY in an out of the overhead without help it's going UNDER the plane. There have been times due to "shopping" it got checked :) Safely means that I am not losing control on either the lift up or down.
Ladies don't assume "the kindness of strangers" is going to help you out.

(And Ladies it's TWO bags not TWO plus the purse!)

CarolA, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I will not help those who are carrying oversized bags when they can't lift them, and I am really unhappy about those who have rollaboards, computer bags, and huge tote purses.

Why should I put my small carryon under my feet so someone else can put their entire wardrobe overhead. We each have a ticket.

What if the airlines charged for carryons and allowed unlimited checked luggage?

Just had to add a reply - I fly almost exclusively with carryon and sometimes need a little help getting my bag into the overhead bin. I am 68 year old lady who dislocated her shoulder and broke her upper arm about 6 months ago and still cannot raise my arm above a certain height. My bag is never heavy - always less than 25 pounds, and I can normally handle it fine. It's just that last little push that sometimes gives me trouble. So thanks to all of you helpful men and women who graciously give an old lady a hand. Yes, I am working out to improve my arm but it takes time. I also do not like the folks who come aboard with heavy bags or lots of them - I see it all the time - and can understand your frustration. (And back pain.)

I can't reach the doors on the overhead bins if they're open - I can barely get a bag in there if forced to. If they're waiting for me to close things up before they'll start push back, it's gonna be a long day.

I was on a flight yesterday on AA from Barcelona to JFK. There's a woman who somehow managed to bring on 3 huge bags with her - one large suitcase (at least 21" or 22"), plus TWO bags the size of those LARGE Longchamp purses. How on earth they let her get on with so much cr*p is beyond me. She alone hogged an entire overhead bin with the suitcase + 1 bag, and the other bag went to the floor space. Her suitcase was so large and her bags were so heavy that she had trouble closing the overhead bin.

After she had it closed (with the help of a nice man), other pax who got on later opened it hoping to find an empty space. Every person who opened it REGRETTED immediately, cuz it almost caused everyone a strain and a hernia in order to close it back up. And the woman was oblivious to that - she could have told those pax that the bin was full before they attempted to open it!

Anyway, I only travel with a 19" these days and it never weighs more than 22 lbs. I'm only 5'2" but I can lift it up and take it down from overhead bins without any problems.

"People"-even bags that weigh 20-25 pounds are STILL quite heavy for someone to put over their heads in a bin!