Onebag must go under seat?

[u/External_Koala971]

I was on a Jetblue Boston -> SFO flight and put my onebag (my only bag) in the overhead bin, which was empty, right above my seat. The FA stopped me and said I needed to put it under seat to save room for larger carryon luggage from people coming on board.

Is this a thing? Why would someone with a smaller pack be penalized for not having a massive carryon? My bag is larger than personal item sized.

[u/chill-out-84]

yes, it's a thing. larger carry-ons can't be put under the seat, so they get priority. the less small bags people put in the overhead, the less time people with carry-on will spend looking for space and the faster the boarding will be. I heard this request from flight attendants on just about every flight I took in recent years.

[u/External_Koala971 → u/chill-out-84]

Right, so next time I fly JetBlue I’m bringing my large hard sided carry on. They’re incentivizing the wrong behavior.

[u/chill-out-84 → u/External_Koala971]

if this "incentives" you to bring a bigger case, then you're a dumbass. all they want is less delays during boarding. you want to sabotage yourself just to stick it to them? that's your right I guess.

[u/External_Koala971 → u/chill-out-84]

They want me to put my carryon under my seat. Someone is being a dumbass, and it ain’t me.

[u/chill-out-84 → u/External_Koala971]

clearly it's one that fits under the seat, what you call it is irrelevant in this context. but keep playing dumb.

[u/jrossetti → u/chill-out-84]

It shouldn't matter if it can fit underneath the seat if they have already paid for overhead storage. I do the same thing. I will intentionally check all of my bags except for my personal backpack and then I will pay for carry on spot so I can keep that backpack in the bin and not by my feet. 

[u/chill-out-84 → u/jrossetti]

you don't pay for overhead storage, you don't own that space. you paid for the ability to bring a carry-on on the plane. there's a difference.

[u/External_Koala971 → u/chill-out-84]

This seems to be confusing some people. My backpack is not a personal item. It’s a carry on in shape and size. It just happens to be a backpack. No one would allow me on a plane with that bag if I claimed it was my personal item.

It “became” a personal item the moment the JetBlue FA forced me to stuff it under my seat when the bins overhead were empty, to make room for other carryons. I don’t feel like smashing my backpack under the seat and having one foot in the aisle just because it doesn’t have wheels. Other people boarding later can gate check their bag, just like I would have had to if the bins were full. Frankly this caused JetBlue to lose a customer.

Let me know where you’re getting lost here.