A Flight Attendant Explains The Unwritten Rules Of Using The Overhead Bins That You Need To Know

If there’s one part of the air travel experience that is sure to leave even the most experienced of flight attendants and the most frequent of flyers stressed and frazzled, then it has to be the almost Olympic sport of finding space for hand luggage in the overhead bins.

As a flight attendant, I know all too well how frustrating it can be to find space in the overhead bins close to your seat for your carry-on baggage and valuables. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that it can be a pretty traumatizing experience.

I’ve written extensively about the challenges that flight attendants face during boarding, but after an airline blogger got booted from an American Airlines flight after getting into a dispute over the use of the overhead bins, I thought this subject was definitely worth a deeper dive.

As a reminder, frequent flyer and aviation blogger JT Genter was ejected off an American Airlines flight from New York JFK to London Heathrow after he moved someone else’s carry-on bag from one overhead bin to another in a different cabin further down the plane.

Genter admits that, in hindsight, he shouldn’t have moved the bag, but, at the time, he thought he was doing the right thing. It appears to have been an honest mistake, but it turned out that the bag he had moved belonged to one of the flight attendants, and he was ultimately removed from the flight.

Thankfully, these kinds of incidents are rare, but if you want to avoid a similar dispute with a flight attendant or your seatmates, then learn some of these essential unwritten rules.

---

The Story Of The Overhead Bin

But first, a little history lesson.

In the early days of commercial aviation, airlines based their cabin designs on railway carriages that traditionally had hat racks above the seats. Airlines copied this idea, and as the name suggests, hat racks were designed for smaller items like hats and other accessories.

To this day, some airlines still use the term ‘hat rack,’ but the purpose of overhead bins has certainly changed a lot over the last couple of decades.

Nowadays, travelers are not only used to basic economy fares that force them only to travel with carry-on luggage, but they also want to avoid waiting at the baggage carousel for their belongings.

The Two Clashing Opinions Of Overhead Bin Use

That being said, I am frequently met with two main takes on how the overhead bins should be used:

1. The first is that overhead bins should be reserved for people who don’t want to check in a bag and are only traveling with a rollaboard.
2. The second comes from people who are still happy to check in a bag and want the freedom to stow their personal items, jackets, shopping bags, etc. in the bins.

I have bad news if you side with the second take: Almost every airline now views overhead bins as stowage for larger rollaboards and not for personal items, which should be placed under the seat in front of you.

I don’t make the rules, and I get the frustration, but I do want to make that point very clear: flight attendants don’t have any problem with personal items being in the overhead bins if there’s plenty of space, but on busier flights, they will tell you to remove smaller bags and jackets to make way for rollaboards.

What Can I Stow In The Overhead Bins?

Rules vary from airline to airline, but generally speaking, the overhead bin space is reserved for larger rollaboard-style bags that can’t fit under the seat in front of you.

If there’s space at the end of the boarding process for smaller items, then feel free to fill the bins with smaller personal items, along with jackets, hats, and suit carriers.

How To Stow Your Baggage Based On Aircraft Type

Vertical, horizontal, on its side, wheels first or last?

This might seem like a silly question, but there are various types of overhead bins installed on different aircraft types, and how you stow your baggage in the bins can make a big difference.

I’m not expecting you to be an aircraft expert, but if you’re unsure, take a quick look at the safety card and then refer to this guide for some of the most common aircraft types:

Boeing 777	The Boeing 777 first started flying in 1995 when passengers didn’t travel with so much hand luggage. The overhead bin design hasn’t changed in the three decades since it entered service, so while they were considered large at the time, they aren’t nearly as generous as the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350. First, try to fit your luggage vertically, with wheels towards the back of the locker. If the bag sticks out even the tiniest amount, the locker will not close. You will then have to stow the bag horizontally across the width of the locker.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner	The Boeing 787 has far more generously proportioned overhead bins than the 777, but there are a couple of things to note: The outboard bins (closest to the windows) are larger than the inboard bins (towards the center of the plane). For outboard bins, flip bags on their side, wheels facing inwards. Use inboard lockers for smaller bags.
Airbus A350	The Airbus A350 currently boasts the largest overhead bins in the industry, but to make the most of all that space, you have to stow your baggage in the correct way. Just like the Boeing 787, bags should be flipped on their side and place in vertically, wheels facing towards the back. You can do this with both inboard and outboard bins.
Airbus A330	Most Airbus A330 aircraft have a shelf-style bin with a lid that closes downwards. Place bags vertically into the bin, wheels facing inwards. If the bag sticks out a little, first try to close the lid and see if it will lock. If it doesn’t, the bag will need to be placed horizontally. Some newer A330neo aircraft have the same overhead bins as A350 planes – in that case, flip bags onto their side. When full, the cantilevered bins can become very heavy.
Boeing 737	The Boeing 737 has been flying for decades, and there are different iterations of overhead bins that you should be aware of. Older 737s have the shelf-type bins similar to the A330 and bags should be stored in the same way. The most recent 737s, however, have cantilevered bins and bags should be flipped on their side, wheels first.
Airbus A320	Just like the Boeing 737, the Airbus single-aisle series of planes have varying types of overhead, although they are nearly always shelf-type bins. If there is strip-lighting running along the bottom of the bin, then you likely have larger bins and bags should be flipped on their side.

Do Passengers ‘Own’ The Bin Above Their Seat?

The simple answer is no. In fact, you might not even have an overhead bin above your seat.

For example, there might be a crew rest area in the area above your seat and, therefore, there isn’t space for an overhead bin. In other cases, there might be emergency equipment stowed in the space above your seat, and on some planes, airlines opt not to have bins above the center seats in premium cabins.

Some airlines do reserve bin space in specific cabins for passengers who sitting there, and these are clearly marked. The space is, however, still on a first-come, first-served basis.

Am I Allowed to Move Another Passenger’s Bag to Make Room For Mine?

It’s ill-advised to move another passenger’s bag unless you get their permission to do so – such as moving bags around in the same bin to make space.

Essentially, even if you think that a bag doesn’t belong in the bin, it’s not the passenger’s job to be moving bags from bin to bin. Instead, alert a crew member who will be able to identify a suitable solution.

Will The Cabin Crew Help Me Lift My Bag Into The Overhead Locker?

In most cases, flight attendants will not lift your bag into the overhead locker for you, although some airlines will allow their crew to ‘assist.’

There are a variety of reasons for this, and you might have heard that this is due to insurance issues should the flight attendant injure themselves in lifting a piece of luggage.

Even before getting to this point, however, airlines don’t want to delay or cancel a flight because flight attendants hurt themselves during the boarding process. If you’re unable to lift your own bag and no one else is willing to help, speak to the gate agent before boarding or a flight attendant onboard who can arrange to have your luggage checked into the hold.

What Happens If There’s No Space Left In The Overhead Bins?

If you’ve ever wondered why people are so keen to be the first onboard a plane, ponder no more. The vast majority of people who line up so keenly realize there is limited room on board for hand luggage, and they want to make sure that they get to stow their bag in the overhead bin.

There are various ways that airlines try to manage cabin baggage to prevent room running out, but if this does happen to you, first double-check the bins around you to see if there is a space available.

If you’re still struggling, find a flight attendant who might be able to identify a space somewhere else. Make sure you remove any valuables or medication and take note of the seat number that the bag had been placed above.

Why Was My Bag Taken Off Me At The Gate, But There’s Loads Of Room Left?

Gate agents are under a lot of pressure to make sure a flight departs on time, and part of their job is to manage the amount of hand luggage as this is one of the primary delay factors.

To do so, agents are often given a target number of bags to gate-check, but on some occasions, a flight has lots of spare seats, or there is an unusually high number of passengers traveling with only small amounts of luggage.

You might find that your bag is forcibly gate-checked only to then board and find lots of space in the overhead bins. It’s annoying, but rest assured, your bag was gate-checked with the intention of getting you to your destination as quickly as possible.

---

Have you got more hand luggage tips or have a question? Let me know in the comments below…