Winter air travel comes with a predictable side effect: coats. Lots of them. Nearly 70% of Americans live somewhere that sees real snowfall, which means for a solid chunk of the year, most of us are hauling an extra layer — often a very bulky one — through the airport. Consider this your seasonal reminder of proper winter-coat-on-a-plane etiquette.
It’s genuinely this simple: Don’t put your winter coat in the overhead bin.
For one, it’s gross. As Paddle Your Own Kanoo’s Mateusz Maszczynski has pointed out, overhead bins are among the most high-touch, least-cleaned surfaces on an aircraft. They’re rarely, if ever, sanitized, which means your coat is effectively soaking up whatever grime those carry-ons have accumulated along the way. The difference, of course, is that you don’t have to wear your carry-on on your body.
More importantly, though, it’s inconsiderate.
For the uninitiated, no one is entitled to overhead bin storage. It’s generally first come, first served, with a few clear exceptions — first class, for one (if you’re not seated there, those bins aren’t for you), and seats near the bulkhead, which typically don’t have under-seat storage.
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That said, more passengers are flying carry-on only than ever before. In 2013, just 19% of travelers flew without a checked bag. By 2022, that number had jumped to 41%, according to The New York Times, largely as a pandemic side effect. There’s no newer data, but it’s a safe bet that the trend has only accelerated. The point is that overhead bin space is scarce. You’re allotted one carry-on, plus a personal item designed to fit under the seat in front of you. Using that limited space for something you could reasonably wear or stow elsewhere makes the system worse for everyone.
Multiply that behavior across a full cabin, and the bins fill up faster than expected. Passengers boarding later are left scrambling, bags get gate-checked and boarding slows to a crawl. And if you’ve ever experienced the uniquely anxiety-inducing moment of having to fight your way back up the aisle to hand your carry-on to a flight attendant because there’s nowhere left to put it, you know it’s not an experience worth inflicting on others.
There are, of course, exceptions. If boarding is complete and there’s clearly extra room (and you aren’t disturbed by the grime), go ahead and toss your coat up there. If the flight is half-full or the crew explicitly encourages it, unburden yourself. Otherwise, be prepared to wear it, stuff it into your carry-on or tuck it under the seat in front of you.
Ultimately, this is about being a better, more considerate traveler or simply not being an asshole. Small choices — like waiting for your boarding group, not crowding the baggage carousel, not racing to the front of the plane immediately upon landing and not taking more than your share of overhead bin space — have real downstream effects. Like arriving on time every once in a while.
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