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Re: Carry on baggage

ancarro
Explorer C

Lindsey:

 

To the point of carry on luggage:  Are your flight attendants supposed to assist passengers when the overhead space becomes limited and the airplane door is about to close?

 

I am an A list passenger who was helping another passenger put her bag up.  There were some spots in the backof the plane however this passenger was row 9.  There was a spot above her however someone placed their small backpack and sweater.  I waved to the attendant at the front of the plane to assist.  She looked at me but did not approach.

 

I moved on to anther spot and upon lifting the passengers luggage up there was again limited space.  The attendant then approached because we were ready to taxi.  In a hurry I looked to my left and asked if the attendant could move the smaller bag a little to the passengers bag could fit and the attendant yelled out "say please."  Now yes that is a normal response I use offen as well ast thank you after a nice gesture is offered.

 

My question is:  Was that a duty of the attendant to assist earlier instead of coming after with an attitude?

Re: Carry on baggage

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@ancarro wrote:

Lindsey:

 

To the point of carry on luggage:  Are your flight attendants supposed to assist passengers when the overhead space becomes limited and the airplane door is about to close?

 

I am an A list passenger who was helping another passenger put her bag up.  There were some spots in the backof the plane however this passenger was row 9.  There was a spot above her however someone placed their small backpack and sweater.  I waved to the attendant at the front of the plane to assist.  She looked at me but did not approach.

 

I moved on to anther spot and upon lifting the passengers luggage up there was again limited space.  The attendant then approached because we were ready to taxi.  In a hurry I looked to my left and asked if the attendant could move the smaller bag a little to the passengers bag could fit and the attendant yelled out "say please."  Now yes that is a normal response I use offen as well ast thank you after a nice gesture is offered.

 

My question is:  Was that a duty of the attendant to assist earlier instead of coming after with an attitude?


Many of us would probably say the answer is "yes, but..."

 

...it is hard to tell everything that was going on here, what else was on the FA's mind when you waved the first time, maybe someone was talking to her where she was, who knows.

 

I've also observed for the FA to help arrange the frantic stowing of items at the end of boarding but also trying to manipulate peoples' luggage as little as possible - sometimes they would jump right in moving stuff around, other times they do seem to want you to try to do it first. I'm not sure what the job description would say here other than "depart on time. "

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Carry on baggage

LindseyD
Retired Community Manager

Hi @ancarro,

 

It sounds like there were at least a couple things going on here, the first being a Customer Service issue. Based on what you've written, I think we may have missed an opportunity to offer the Southwest Hospitality for which we're truly known. Regardless of the regulations surrounding the event, I think it goes without saying that nobody appreciates being ignored or having instructions shouted at them from afar. I'm truly sorry that was your experience. 

 

Flight Attendants are not required to lift or move bags around on the plane, and this is for their Safety. Our Flight Attendants have no way of knowing what is inside a bag or how heavy it is, and because their primary responsibility is ensuring the Safety of our Customers, they need to avoid situations that could potentially cause an injury. 

 

That said, I hope you'll come back and allow us to serve you again in the future. I'm confident we can provide a more pleasant experience than this one. 

 

Re: Carry on baggage

hazlip13
Explorer C

i have flown other airlines where you are only allowed 1 carry on outside of a purse. the boarding and deboarding are not any different with less allowed overhead bags. maybe if the airlines could require all bags to be checked and no carry on for the fact that no one would have laptops etc. and that way tsa screening would breeze thru and at random baggage would get lost or miss routed or items stolen by baggage handler it will make a 10 hour flight like hell.

Re: Carry on baggage

smhtoney
Explorer C

Don't give up on Southwest!  I too get irritated with the people who bring a steamer trunk onboard and expect it to fit in the overhead bins.  I liked your idea about special priveleges for those that do not have carryon luggage.  I don't use the overhead bins at all (I cannot reach them) and only take what will actually fit under the seat.  Perhaps you could have called a flight attendant for your middle seater and said " can you help this lady/gentleman with her/his extra bags, apparently they would not fit and I think she/he is reticient to ask"

Re: Carry on baggage

MCOAnne
Explorer A

wrote:

I am a loyal customer of Southwest. I have been traveling with SW for many years.  I travel approximately once a month. I normally travel to and from the same airports but have recently traveled with them to other locations outside of my norm.

I dont understand why the overhead baggage is allowed to be overused, abused and not controlled more by ground crews or whatever crew needs to 'control' this.

I have consistantly seen bags larger then allowed to be crammed in and still not fitting until a flight attendant takes the bag out and readjusts and reorganizes. Clearly, the bags are too big.

With SW policy of 2 free bags, WHY oh WHY is SW allowing this type of on boarding and off boarding conditions.  On my recent flight a woman walked up to the boarding attendant with 2 bags and asked if one could be checked?  WHat !  Didnt she realize before getting to the gate that she had 2 bags!!!!!  This of course took time for the boarding staff to explain to her how to check her bag at the gate. This held up the boarding passengers.

On my last flight I took an aisle seat.  The passenger in the middle seat , sitting after i had taken my seat, had several items on the floor in front of her. I beleive to have been a bag and a coat. 3 Flight attendants looked at this ...mess...and did not say a word to her.  THREE !!  Not sure why! But, this is NOT acceptable for inflight safety!  She was also talking on her phone until just 30 seconds from take off.

I beleive that those of us who do not carry on should be rewarded and 1st board/unboarding should be given to us.  Why should I have to wait for everyone to get their bags from some obscure overhead compartment when I dont carry on and SW is offering 2 checked bags FREE!  FREE PEOPLE FREE !!!! I would love to see how much actual time it takes for board and unboard flyers without all the overhead baggage. When I ask people why they carryon they say The Wait time at the baggage carousol is too long.  I havent found that to be the case. I think we spend more time waiting for everyone to get their carry-ons down.

As I mentioned earlier, I am a frequent flyer, I always (always) recommend SW to anyone that is looking for flight recommendations.  I have been very loyal.  But, recently, the crammed seating, the overhead situations has gotten to be too much for me.  SW you have lost a good customer and and loyal friend.


Once a month is not a frequent flyer. Coats are not considered carry on items.  The seating on the 737’s WN uses hasn’t changed in over a decade. Me thinks thou doth protest too much. Perhaps a netjet membership might be more to your liking. 

Re: Carry on baggage

chgoflyer
Aviator A


Once a month is not a frequent flyer. Coats are not considered carry on items.  The seating on the 737’s WN uses hasn’t changed in over a decade. Me thinks thou doth protest too much. Perhaps a netjet membership might be more to your liking. 


Surely someone who flies Southwest frequently knows that seating has actually changed several times in recent years, most importantly the "Evolve" interior retrofit, which added 6 seats (an extra row) to each plane, reducing seat pitch and customer comfort significantly.

 

 

Re: Carry on baggage

MCOAnne
Explorer A

wrote:


Once a month is not a frequent flyer. Coats are not considered carry on items.  The seating on the 737’s WN uses hasn’t changed in over a decade. Me thinks thou doth protest too much. Perhaps a netjet membership might be more to your liking. 


Surely someone who flies Southwest frequently knows that seating has actually changed several times in recent years, most importantly the "Evolve" interior retrofit, which added 6 seats (an extra row) to each plane, reducing seat pitch and customer comfort significantly.

 

 


The slimline seats take less space. Pitch hasn’t changed. 

Re: Carry on baggage

chgoflyer
Aviator A

The newest change uses slimline seats and is known as the Heart interior. This is not Evolve, which happened in 2012.

 

Evolve seats aren't true "slimline." The seat and seatback padding was reduced, which allowed WN to claim pitch hadn't changed. But, "seat pitch" semantics aside, the retrofit used the existing frames, with thinner seats, placed closer together in order to add an extra row of seats to each plane.

 

The change was controversal at best. Nearly universally disliked by long-time Southwest frequent flyers, the seats were a passenger-negative change that reduced overall comfort. This is likely what the previous poster was referring to. (There are many forums that discuss the change, including Flyertalk, if you'd like more information regarding passenger reaction.)

 

My comment was in reference to the incorrect claim that, "seating on the 737’s WN uses hasn’t changed in over a decade." This is, obviously, wrong.  😉