Might 3 smaller soft bags that can fit under your seats may serve you all better? Nearly all flights I’ve ever flown always have room for a small soft bag under seat in front of me and/or arranged in overhead bin.
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I always carry a laptop size backpack as my personal item. It fits medicines, my iPad, chargers plus some extra clothes and easily squishes under the seat in front of me. If they happen to take away my rolling carryon, I’m still OK and there’s no last minute shuffling of items.
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On flights I have been on, I have seen the flight attendants actually hand passengers their small items that belong under the seat (coats and those small bags, and brief cases or computer bags) that have been put in the over head bin instead of under the seat where they belong.
Folks…please leave the overhead bins for roller bag carry on bags. Your small stuff belongs under your seat, not taking up a space for someone’s carryon suitcase.
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Actually my feet belong under the seat in front of me - “stuff” belongs in the overhead, it’s there for “stuff”. I realize someone might prefer to put their suitcase in there, but that’s what that big, empty hold below the passenger deck is explicitly designed for.
If airlines want me to put “stuff” where my feet go, then they have to add distance between the rows.
My logic is this:
- feet are rather inconvenient to check - I have to carry those on.
- stuff that I will need/use DURING the flight I’ll carry on, and absolutely will store them overhead while not in use.
- stuff that people bring to use at their destination, can go overhead IF they can fit it, otherwise it gets checked.
Sorry, I’m a too grumpy of an old man to be told to defy logic. 
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I’m OK with the concept of save overhead space for larger items, but I DON’T agree with the rolling part, or even suitcase part. We have 40 liter backpacks that have just as much “right” to be there as suitcases.
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When we travel I usually take a roller bag and a soft sided Vera Bradley duffel (that has my small purse, iPad and toiletries, headphones, etc in it). I typically pick an aisle seat, which has a very small foot space, and while I have tried to squish the duffel at my feet, it tends to stick out just far enough to my feet (and I have tried sitting it both ways) that the flight attendant makes me put it in the overhead. So I take out my small purse, iPad , headphones -‘a sweater and stick the bag in the overhead. Sometimes can fit it on top of my other bag, but not always. That said, usually I am in comfort plus and the overheads are reserved just for comfort plus passengers, so it usually is all good.
That’s what I mean. Just not your personal items.
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Up until the early 2000s, overhead space was not an issue. Airplanes were built with one overhead storage space for every seat. Then the airlines started adding rows to increase cabin capacity, and now here we are - fighting for storage space and stuffing bags where our feet should be.
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And being begged to gate check our bags or the plane won’t take off😡
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Soon this will go full-circle: There’ll be “Economy-Minus”, where you’ll fold yourself into the overhead bins.
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Yes in hindsight 3 small bags would have served us better but it doesn’t take away the unfairness of it. Why do some people put 2 items each overhead for a 1 hour starting flight and our family of 3 get zero for our 23 hour flight?
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The stressful scenarios throughout this thread really make me question how far the corporate profit motive can go.
E.g., I’m not a tall person and I feel a good bit claustrophobic in my teeny Frontier seat! I get it, I paid less. The space constraints seem excessive, though!
@sly123, sadly fairness is NOT a item airlines even consider. It’s all about THEIR convenience and how THEY can squeeze more $$$ out of each of us.
I think each person should be able to put 1 item in the overhead bin, anything else carried on should fit under the seat. I resent being asked to put my only carryon at my feet because someone decided they deserved 2 overhead bin spaces and neither of their items will fit under their seat. Grrr, makes me grumpy just thinking about it!
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Just flew back to US from Munich (Lufthansa). They roll a scale w/ size allowance guides to each gate and are very strict on what is allowed to be carried on board, then gate check out-of-compliance bags. Personally, I like my backpack under the seat to access chargers, books, etc. H wants his in the overhead. It always works out.
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Actually, they did not have overhead bin space for a roller bag for every seat. What did change was charging for the first checked bag on most airlines other than Southwest. That made overhead bin space much more competitive as passengers sought to avoid baggage fees.
The larger Boeing Space bins and Airbus Airspace XL bins are relatively recent.
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We have mostly been fairly lucky and are often in economy plus so have a bit of extra leg room. We also board early for medical reasons. Lately, we have also been checking our rolling suitcases as well and just board with a small backpack and medical equipment. We are easily able to fit our items on the plane, under our seat or overhead. We used to be able to fit our suitcase overhead but H prefers us to check them.
In that case, there should now be plenty of room in the (pressurized) cargo hold, now that all the luggage is in the overhead bins.
Since I have to bring my own drinks, sandwiches, nuts and entertainment options anyway (and some won’t even let me buy it with my credit card mid-flight), they might as well allow me take my seat BELOW where I can enjoy again all the leg room I used to have 20 years ago.
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You can fly Frontier where there is plenty of overhead space because they don’t allow any carryon unless you pay for it and you personal item has to go under your seat. My daughter had a backpack and they charged her $75 at the gate as they said it was too big (I can tell you I would have started putting all those clothes on my body and worn them onto the plane before I paid $75, BUT I don’t fly Frontier because I hate them). For $75 she got to put it in the overhead but if you don’t pay for the carryon, you can’t put anything in the overhead. I think it is $25 or $35 to prepay for a carryon but if you get to the gate and haven’t prepaid, it is $75.
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Airlines charged for checked bags in part to increase the available hold space for revenue cargo hitching rides on passenger flights.
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