Keeping your carry-on far from your seat can create more problems than just a difficult exit from the plane.
We’ve all seen people do it. They have a seat far in the back of the plane but store their 22x14x9 inch carry-on bag in an overhead compartment as close to the front of the plane as possible. I even used to have a Facebook friend (someone I used to work with) who thought he was so clever for doing this.
Why People Store Bags Away From Their Seats
I assume most people who leave their carry-on bags in rows ahead of their seats are trying to avoid the hassle of carrying them all the way to row 37—or wherever they’re sitting. Personally, I think it’s a bit selfish. When someone stows their bag far ahead of their seat, it often leaves the passengers in those rows scrambling to find space for their own belongings. In many cases, they’re forced to store their bags behind them, which creates chaos and delays when everyone’s trying to exit the plane.
When The Wrong Passenger Takes Your Bag
A Reddit user named Funkyyfish brought up that very topic a while back, in one of the website’s subreddits (read: subcategories) called “/mildlyinfuriating.” His post has since been archived, but here’s what he originally wrote:
Guy took my Carry-on bag thinking it was his… he pried it open, broke the locks, and brought it back to Delta like this the next day with no note or anything.
He included 2 photos:
To be fair, Funkyyfish didn’t sound like one of “those” people who intentionally grab bin space near the front just to make their own exit easier. He explained that his seat was in the very back of the plane, but he was in Main Cabin 2 – heck, he’s lucky there was still room in the overhead at ALL); there was no room over or near his own seat, so he had to put his bag in a bin 3/4 of the way back.
Funkyyfish said he noticed the guy at the gate had the same bag as him. He said, “…and the thought crossed my mind – ‘hey this dude could accidentally grab your bag’ but again I have a band on the handle and a lock. So when we deboarded my bag wasn’t there but his was… I chased after but he was gone. Went straight to baggage claim and turned his in.
“You would think the bag looking different (his had a sticker and multiple checked bag tags from previous flights) and the whole lock code not working would have been obvious indicators.”
Funkyyfish complained that the guy broke the lock, rummaged through his stuff, and then didn’t have the decency to even leave a note when he returned the bag to the airline the next day. He was also unhappy that Delta claimed they couldn’t help him (“Sorry sir, this isn’t a Delta issue; this is between you and the passenger”). So he was stuck with a ruined bag.
How Reddit Reacted
The 500+ replies to the post generally went in one of two directions:
- trying to psychoanalyze the guy who took the wrong bag, broke the lock, rummaged through the stuff and brought it back to Delta
- all the different ways to “mark” a bag so it’s obvious “not yours” (he really should have one of these on his bag – NO ONE would take it then. But of the suggestions, my favorite was to get something that says “NOT YOUR BAG.”
The Lesson: Keep Your Carry-On Close
Granted, Funkyyfish’s reasoning for storing his bag “not above his seat” doesn’t appear to be self-serving; He said he boarded later, and by the time he got on the plane, the only space he could find was about 15 rows ahead of his seat. Either way, it’s a really good example of why, if you CAN have your bags in the overhead directly in front of you, you should. Besides not potentially leaving room for the people in front of you, you risk someone taking your bag, intentionally or not, simply because you can’t see it.
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