Editor’s Notebook
If you want to get a conversation going amongst people who fly often, bring up the subject of taking your carry-on luggage on a flight. It is a sensitive subject.
CONVENIENT ACCESS
Like most people, I like to have my carry-on in close proximity to where I am sitting. I consider the space directly above my seat to be my space where my bag goes.
The new Boeing 777X is presently undergoing test flights, with positive reports from those on board. Boeing states: “The 777X will deliver the flight experience of the future.” Passengers will enjoy a wide, spacious cabin, large overhead bins that close easily for convenient access to their belongings, larger windows for a view from every seat, better cabin altitude and humidity, less noise and a smoother ride. It sounds great, but we are going to have to wait until 2021 before the future is delivered. I’m looking forward to having a better view of the clouds from my preferred aisle seat.
ROOTED IN THE PAST
And while Boeing is delivering the future, they are still dealing with people deeply rooted in the past. I mentioned an instance I was involved in when I was at the Cocktail-reception to bid farewell to Ambassador of Chile HE James Sinclair and Mme María Eugenia Lecaros. Ambassador Sinclair’s warm, outgoing personality will be greatly missed. For a number of years, he was President of Changi Sailing Club’s Ambassador Cup, enticing more Ambassadors to join and organizing a lively event.
Like the fellow I was talking to at the Cocktail, I don’t like my bags behind me. Towards the front, no problem. But when they are behind you it is like being a fish trying to swim upstream. Depending on the passengers, it can be a battle to get your bag. My new acquaintance told of a Russian fellow he observed boarding a plane. He found his seat and opened the bin to find a bag where he wanted to place his. “This is my space,” he stated as he removed the bag and put it on the floor. Then he put his bag in ‘his’ space. I’ve never done that.
IS THERE A LAW?
I don’t know if there is a law or a rule, but there is an expectation that your carry-on goes in the space above your seat. Many times I’ve opened the bin to find it stuffed full of blankets or with first aid and safety equipment. When Boeing says: “Passengers will enjoy a wide, spacious cabin, large overhead bins that close easily for convenient access to their belongings …” does that mean they have created space elsewhere for blankets and safety equipment?
I got yelled at for the first time ever by an air hostess when I was flying back to Singapore from Thailand on Jetstar. I always try to get in my seat as quickly as possible while willing to help vertically challenged people (like my friend Greg Hackett, see page 7) get their luggage into the overheads.
By the time our row was called – near the front – most passengers in that area were already seated and the space directly above my seat was taken. The bin was closed, and the Inflight Attendant told me there was space several rows back.
GENUINELY MIFFED
The space right behind me wasn’t full so I gave a bag a gentle push to make space for mine. That was when the Air Hostess lost it. “I don’t appreciate you pushing my bags!” she snapped at me as she grabbed two bags and flung them into the space she wanted to put mine. She was tossing bags like the baggage handlers.
Previously when I’ve helped make space for bags the Air Hostesses have thanked me. Not this time. I quietly took my seat thinking, “I wonder how she will react if something serious happens.”
FLOYD COWAN
WAS SOMEWHAT SHOCKED WHEN AN AIR HOSTESS SNAPPED AT HIM WHEN HE WAS PUTTING HIS CARRY-ON BAG IN THE OVERHEAD.