It’s got to be one of the most frustrating things about air travel these days. You’re waiting for your group to be called to board the plane, and the gate agent says that if you’re in Group # (or worse, Groups # and #) – always the last group(s) – and have carry-on-bags, to come up to the desk and check them because there won’t be enough room in the overheads for them.
It happened to me once and they wound up breaking something fragile that I had purposely packed in my carry-on bag so I could, you know, carry it, so it would be safe. SO frustrating.
But even more frustrating? When you’re already on the plane, you know it’s a full flight, people are still loading onto the plane, and the flight attendants are closing empty overheads. Or one that has next to nothing in it! And did I mention that people are still loading onto the plane! UGH!
There are reasons
Apparently, there’s a method to THAT madness. Yep, there are reasons why flight attendants do that. And once you know the reasons, it makes their actions sliiiightly less frustrating.
It’s first/business class
Some of you who fly a lot probably already knew I was going to say this. But if you’re going to spend that much money (or points) to get a seat in first or business class, the airline wants to make sure you have space for your stuff in the overhead directly (or almost directly) above you. And since some A-holes make it their business to put their carry-ons in the front of the plane before they go to their seat in row 37, it’s a small way to not encourage that behavior.
Of course, if you’re flying internationally, and it’s a big plane, and first/business is to the left while economy is to the right, it’s less of an issue. But U.S. domestic flights? Happens all the time. Because A-holes.
It’s an exit row
People who sit in the exit row aren’t allowed to store anything under the seat in front of them. So flight attendants may proactively close the overheads above them – again, due to A-holes – so there will be enough room for the carry-ons AND personal bags of the people sitting in the exit rows.
They expect something to go in that bin & it hasn’t arrived yet
Sometimes flight attendants learn about something that’s going to be brought onto the plane and are simply planning in advance for it. Medical equipment. Some sort of oversized something or other that was approved. Keeping the overhead closed will help deter people from putting something in there.
To stand under
OK, this final one is kind of funny. But if a flight attendant is standing in a certain row as they greet arriving passengers, keeping the overhead door closed could prevent them from hitting their head on said overhead door. And yeah, I’ll give them that one, LOL!
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
