A customer service failure experienced by an 86-year-old United Airlines passenger concerning her request for assistance lifting her carry-on bag should not be conflated with whether flight attendants should be required to lift bags.
No, Flight Attendants Should Not Be Required To Help Lift Carry-On Bags
An 86-year-old woman traveling from Dublin (DUB) to Chicago (ORD) on United Airlines was wheelchair-bound and 4-foot-10-inches. She asked a flight attendant for help lifting her bag, but was “snottily” told, “That’s not my job! Ask a passenger!”
My mom flew @united yesterday from Dublin to Chicago. During boarding the FA yelled at her to get her bag out of the aisle. She’s 86 & 4’10. She asked the FA to help put her bag up & she snottily said that’s not my job ask a passenger. Do better United! Pic of mom who is amazing! pic.twitter.com/VTRRb0HbOe
— Colleen ☘️ (@cmcubfan) October 7, 2024
Of course, the woman was taken aback and so was her daughter…it’s rude and unacceptable customer service.
But the flight attendant was right that flight attendants are not required to help passengers lift bags. This is a contractual issue but it goes beyond even that.
I used to believe that flight attendants should be required to lift bags. Why not make it part of the job description? In any case, the “good” flight attendants already do this…
But I’ve changed my mind over the years. First, flight attendants are not necessarily guaranteed disability, leave, or even medical care for injuries sustained from lifting bags. Second, in the US there are no weight limits to carry-on bags. I’ve seen carry-on bags weigh more than 50 pounds when fully stuffed and that is way too much for a flight attendant (who isn’t a bodybuilder) to lift.
So I now believe that flight attendants should no longer be required to lift bags. If you bring a carry-on bag that is too big for you to lift, you should not expect others to lift it. Chances are, you’ll find a nice seatmate to do it. But asking flight attendants to do it is a no-go.
Does that mean senior citizens should not be allowed to travel? Of course not! But it does mean they should travel with someone who can help them if they are unable to lift bags themselves…
image: @cmcubfan/X // hat tip: View From The Wing
I disagree. They should help if the bag is not too heavy and the passenger is frail. It is not too hard to gauge weight.
How about checking-in her 100 pound bag in the first place ?
She can take her meds with her in a handbag .
How do you gage the weight of a bag without actually or partially lifting the bag? Some bags can appear to be heavy because they are bulky when they are actually not while other bags are small and compact but can weigh 50 pounds or more.
If a customer can not lift their own bag then they should check their bag to its final destination, which they can do at the gate free of charge. I agree with Matt on this one no flight attendants should not be lifting passengers bags even if the passenger is old.
@proschwit … +1 . Yep .
100% agree, I shouldn’t have to risk my health due to you a pax not checking what s/he can’t handle themselves
Hmm yeah take a risk that then means I’m ineligible for sick pay or income insurance if I’m injured when I depend on this salary to survive… I’m going to say no
@Andy … +1 . Yep .
No, a flight attendant is there for safety and service, not lifting heavy bags. Imagine they would need to lift 30 bags a flight. When they aren’t physically made for it.
As a flight attendant myself I do check to see if a bag is too heavy. If it’s not heavy I have no problem helping someone with their bag but some people have bags that feel like there’s bricks in them and I will not injure myself when it can be checked.. if I do injure myself and have to get off the flight then the plane is delayed for who knows how until they can replace me
As a 43 year , recently retired flight attendant here’s my take. I’ve had multiple shoulder surgeries , unpaid leave , months to rehab .
I have a herniated disc . I’ve lifted THOUSANDS of bags . Not because I had to but because people needed help and that is how I was raised. Looking back , with all the repetitive injuries that are chronic to my profession, I would not have done that. The lifting and twisting takes a toll , physically and economically. If you can’t lift it and are unwilling to ask another passenger for help , please don’t carry it on .
I had to have an inguinal hernia repair SURGERY after helping a pax lift a bag and they decided, halfway up to no longer help with THEIR BAG.
Plus, the repetitive motion of lifting like that is hell on the shoulders and rotator cuff.
You bring YOU sling it. You pack it YOU stack it. I touch it, I tag it.
I, too, have come to believe this should not be a FA responsibility. Part of this epiphany came on a DCA-LAX flight when my “carryon” was a box of paper documents which were exhibits for depositions. It had to be 40 pounds. Asking an FA to manage that, and equally heavy carryons of other passengers over several flights a day truly becomes taxing and an unreasonable expectation.
Some training might be helpful on how to be more diplomatic in turning down such requests would enhance the customer experience.
@jfh … +1 . Exactly .
I would add that this person ought to have gone to bag check-in at the front desk .
I side with F/As on this. You pack it, you lift it.
Some people will say “it’s only a couple of bags, so what’s the big deal?” It is a big deal because those “couple of bags” add up for F/As over the course of multiple flights over multiple days.
@Evan … +1 . Yep .
It depends. Some airlines like Singapore Airlines have a 15 lbs maximum limit on carryon bags. If that weight limit is actually enforced, I think it’s reasonable for flight attendants to help lift the carryon bag.
As we all know, they don’t weigh carryon bags in USA so no, FAs should not be forced to lift them up for pax. I’m actually more surprised the daughter let her 86 year old wheelchair bound mom travel alone. The poor mom. 🙁
Agreed.
Interestingly, United doesn’t specify a weight on their baggage page for carryon bags. Previously when flying with Lufthansa where were carry-on specifications of 18 lbs (imperial) and I’ve even seen them weigh it at check in and mark the bag “cabin baggage”. This is common for nearly all European carriers I am aware of.
Generally if someone is flying domestic business, perhaps a heavy carry on is not an issue but I found it interesting when those fancy, expensive aluminum carry ons weighed at least 9 lbs basically 1/2 of the baggage allowance for a European carrier.
Now granted, this may happen only once but image they try to fly Spirit or a carrier that weights their carry on and they get dinged.
Now onto the topic at hand: I agree that it’s important to set a legal precedent: If FA’s start stowing bags as a courtesy for one, it will apply to all and if that bag slipped out after “contents had shifted during flight”, and hit a passenger in the head (even if it wasn’t the FA’s fault), the airline faces a lawsuit.
That said, the FA can be polite about it, even if it’s necessary to train them, to say something such as: “For legal liability reasons I cannot do that. Please ask a fellow passenger.” Simply saying “It’s not my job” implies an utter lack of empathy.
As an amusing factoid I recently read, the smallest “unlimited weight” USPS box you can ship as it turns out would cost more to send even if packed with the most dense metal available, osmium. I was wondering if it would be economically viable to ship bricks by unlimited weight USPS boxes.
That sounds reasonable.
My mom, an amazing 90-year-old, has a tough time lifting a carry-on (or a jacket or anything) into the overhead not because of the weight or bulk but because she’s only 4’10”; she only brings a wheeled carry-on which will fit under her seat. And, as far as “letting” her travel alone, yours is a rather age-biased statement IMHO–you don’t necessarily lose personal capability or desire to travel alone due to age, some people do and some don’t. My mom would slap my wrist if I tried to thwart her solo travel plans! I have another friend in mid-80s who travels solo regularly with wheelchair assistance from ticketing to gate (but not needed into the plane) to make it easier on her worn-out knees to get around big airports. Again, a number in years does not equate inability to travel solo–it’s up to each traveler’s ability and desire.
You can have a policy and still be a decent human being and help a senior citizen.
Agreed. Seems there was no compassion here.
@Matthew
You failed to mention United flight attendants at United are not paid for boarding or deplaning so that flight attendant wasn’t getting paid either for lifting bags
To me the important issue stated in the posting is: ” First, flight attendants are not necessarily guaranteed disability, leave, or even medical care for injuries sustained from lifting bags.”
I would never ask or expect employees to do something for me if I put their health or income in jeopardy. No insurance? No income? People expect them to lift numerous bags into those bins on how flights a day? For all those advocating that they have to, those people should step forward on the flights and offer assistance.
Check the bag – those handlers are paid for that service.
@jsm … +1 . Exactly . You are rational .
@Matthew, several airlines specifically state that disabled pax are offered assistance with storing/retrieving/accessing their carry-on items (AC, AS, B6. DL, WN), while UA lists it under their ACAA section. FWIW, I couldn’t find anything on AA.
Did a quick search, and this is what ACAA says 382.111(e): “Assistance in stowing and retrieving carry-on items, including mobility aids and other assistive devices stowed in the cabin (see also 382.91(d)).”
382.91(d): “…you must assist passengers who are unable to carry their luggage because of a disability with transporting their gate-checked or carry-on luggage…”
It appears as though it *is* a requirement. The airline has to help with carry-on bags (and not just mobility aids), but whose responsibility is it if F/As can’t do it due to injury risk (and/or contract provisions)? What’s the solution? Bring baggage handlers onboard?
Interesting comment, Tennen. I will look into this further.
Please also understand, the verbiage in there says to offer assistance…. this does not mean that the job fall solely on the Flight Attendant. If the passenger in question is not able to participate in lifting as well then it is 100% on the Flight Attendant and there outside the scope of requirement. As for the comment lower on in this thread about “aisle donkeys” being required to lift 50lbs to be eligible fir the position, that was in the past. When over wing window exits were designed to be lifted out. most if not all modern day commercial aircraft are fitted with gullwing windows that require a simple tug down on a lever or something of that nature. All that to say that requirement was NOT intended so Flight Attendants could lift 45lb bags 10, 14, 20 times per flight per day per pairing…. Flight Attendants are not warehouse workers.
That’s great and all but the contract says that flight attendants are not covered for insurance for injuries incurred from doing actions outside of their assigned duties, of which moving and stowing bags is not one. Why would they take a risk to their income because a passenger can’t be bothered to check their bag?
@Andy … +1 . Yep .
@Stephen, @Andy, and @Alert,
…Hence my questions in the last paragraph. If there’s a discrepancy between the F/A contract and what the airline has to legally provide, where does that leave disabled pax? Both F/A safety and accessibility are important, so there has to be a way to balance them…
It’s easy to say, just check bags, but a lot of things can’t/shouldn’t be checked. Mobility aids, medicine, and medical equipment take up space and weight, not to mention all the other stuff – documents, electronics, valuables, and essentials.
@Matthew, I hope you can find out more because it seems as though disabled pax are stuck between a rock and a hard place. :-\
If you have a disability, don’t fly with a US airline. I can’t imagine an Aer Lingus crew member behaving like this.
Well on Air Lingus, you would probably have a 15 lb carry on bag and not a rolling suitcase. The attitude was bad with the response tho
With a weight limit on the bag, payment for boarding and disability or other medical payments for injuries I would think they should. Otherwise no. But this is a case of a cranky b*tch and no a helpful employee.
Stopping the bag fess would help too.
It is not about lifting the bag or not. It is about the disgusting behavior of the FA by saying “That’s not my job! Ask a passenger!” That person should be placed under customer service training to learn how to talk to someone that is the reason the FA has a job. There are nicer ways to say the FA cannot lift the bag. Not surprised it comes from a United FA. It is part of their corporate culture to act that way.
@Santastico … FA ought to have said : “No . We must Gate Check your bag.” End of .
If there was an Emergency Evacuation , she would likely have wished to take the huge heavy carry-on with her .,
That is a huge safety concern .
Can’t/won’t lift a 20 lb bag into the overhead but claims to be able to dummy-drag passengers off a burning aircraft in 30 seconds…..or whatever bs they claim. 90% of flight attendants should be forced to return to their previous employment at Taco Bell. Is it not a requirement to be able to lift 50 lbs to be eligible for a job as a flight attendant anyway?….why then?
Just more laziness from these aisle donkeys.
You and @JoeUnited are a pair- first, the contract says the FA aren’t to lift the bags, so most likely any serious injury that occurs as a result of doing so wouldn’t be covered by disability. Secondly, being ABLE to do something in an emergency that is PART of your job is different from doing it regularly when it is NOT part of your job. It has nothing to do with being female/male either. It has to do with repetitive stress injuries and the increased likelihood of getting them when lifting heavy objects over your head and turning to put them in a bin, over and over. I am 5’1″ and 120 pounds, and can easily lift my heavy roller bag into the overhead bin on an A380 when I travel internationally, once a month, so it is not a matter of being ABLE to do it, it’s a matter of doing it every day and the toll that takes on you, regardless of your size.
@Lara … +1 . Also , if a male gets a ruptured hernia , would the lady apologize ? Don’t wait for it .
There are plenty of women that work on the ramp that lift and stack hundreds of bags all day, every day at work for years. How is a flight attendant going help passengers evacuate a plane in a crash if she can’t isn’t strong enough to lift a carry on bag over her head. Is that flight attendant going to just climb over a
handicapped or injured person to get out of the airplane after a crash or a fire. We have all repeatedly heard the speech that “ flight attendants are primarily here for your safety.” Really? Hotels have gyms. Flight attendants should his them on their layovers.
I think the airport service used to get a wheelchair ride in the airport and assistance to board the plane should include lifting any bags necessary, ditto on the opposite end with the passenger waiting to be assisted off the plane- the service they book should include assisting with luggage. If it doesn’t, and this should be on the person booking the service to ask, the airline should make clear any baggage carried on needs to be put under the seat in front of the passenger. This cannot be the first time this situation has occurred and this should be coordinated at the gate at the very least by the wheelchair assist person and the gate agent. At a guess though, this is not consistent across airports (who I think provide vendors who perform the wheelchair service) or airlines. This should all be clearly communicated to passengers whichever way it is.
Or yes, it is the responsibility of the passenger to get their bag up and into the bin or ask someone else to kindly help them. Of course the FA could have been nicer about it in this case. But, in no way is it the FA’s job to lift bags into bins.
@Lara … +1 . And the wheelchair assistant will take her to the front desk bag check-in . I have had wheelchair assistants who are slight females . The bottom line is the passenger’s consideration for others , and for evacuation in an emergency . The airlines ( especially transoceanic ) should simply Ban All carry-on suitcases weighing over five pounds .
human kindness, human kindness, human kindness.
Truly disabled people know all about : individual responsibility , individual responsibility , individual responsibility .
Frankly, it is my opinion that the flight attendant should be ashamed of themself . It was obvious that the lady as elderly and only 4’10”. They could have at least checked if it was heavy or not. They manage to lift their own cabin bag up there. If necessary there is normally at least one man on board.
Awww . She could have gone to bag check-in at the front desk , no ?
I’m not disabled and I don’t densely, heavily pack or overstuff my carry-on. Nevertheless, though I am a woman of average height, it can be awkward or just hard to lift over my head so I will kindly ask any gentleman or young man to help and even other women have stepped up. Just be nice to people, it is rare that someone won’t do it. I have even done it for others…… c’mon, we’re all human and need a helping hand. I’m sure this elderly woman’s carry-on did not have to be body-slammed to get it in the overhead.
There is a free bag check-in at the front desk , isn’t there ? Someone would give her a helping hand to Locate it .
I am disabled and I would never consider asking a FA for anything , except for more champagne .
I use a cane and wheelchair service when I fly because I simply cannot walk that far in an airport. I never expect a FA to lift my bag into the overhead, however, last year when I flew on United, a lovely FA offered to do just that for me! I resisted and said “it’s not your job!” But she insisted and did a great job very happily.
I hope nobody on here ever ends up disabled or in a wheelchair and is then not to travel or “if you can’t lift the bag, bring someone with you”. A bit cold hearted from some of the people on here.
But do airlines really not provide insurance for on the job injuries? That’s usually a standard benefit for most workers, and certainly for a union job.
They do provide insurance for on the job injuries, but because flight attendants don’t get paid until the plane blocks out, they’re not technically “on the job” during boarding, therefore, no insurance coverage.
@jm … +1 . Yep . Better to avoid any lifting injury in the first place . The FA was quite right , and ought to have simply stated : “No . We need to gate-check your bag.” End of problem .
Are you sure that how it works? We both know it doesn’t and after they check in for the flight they’re covered insurance wise. Anything else to justify their laziness?
@Josh … I am a disabled person , and my bags are checked-in at the front counter . The whole carry-on bag business has become a farce equal to the “emotional support dog ” business , “add-on fees” business , and the rest of the nonsense .
It’s very simple. Do not bring anything into the cabin you can’t lift into the overhead bin yourself. Period. If you can’t lift your bag into the overhead, you can check it. No lifting required.
That said, US airlines are notoriously lax at enforcing carry-on weight limits, something done by almost every other airline in the world.
A senior doesn’t always have someone to lift the bag for them. However, they can always check the bag, and then no one needs to lift it. As you said, flight attendants are no not covered by insurance for this kind of injury, and many are injured this way with bags being so heavy or not even able to do it. And when they are out needing shoulder surgery no one covers the medical cost or being out of work. But the main thing to remember is that flight attendants gets asked numerous times a day. Imagine having to life other people’s heavy bags 20-30 times a day. That would be impossible!
@Julie … +1 . Yep .
At 35 years at my airline, we have always had a company provided Baggage Services that checks your bags and handles them throughout your trip. They are trained and have heavy, expensive equipment just for this purpose. I have approached it to passengers in just this manner. “Since this is to heavy to lift I will be happy to check your bag here at the gate, and our baggage service can handle the bag for you! You can just pick it up at your final destination “…..they get just as mad and angry anyway. I am the meanest person ever. Bad customer service. They just CHOOSE not to use our service we pay and provide and expect a different work group to lift it anyway.
And to be honest we have countless flight attendants out on leave with wrist and shoulder injuries at any given time just by shutting and pushing the luggage bins closed with heavy bags which we are required to do. Our company can’t afford shortage of inflight crew. You should see our crew rooms filled with injury statistics with information on what to do and not to do.
@Kim … +1 . Exactly so . The entire carry-on bag fiasco is becoming a health Tragedy for the FAs , and these types of injuries will follow them and worsen throughout their lives .
I never carry on a bag I can’t easily lift. That said, I was on a train in Europe a couple of years ago with a full-sized, but not overly heavy suitcase. The train car didn’t have a luggage storage rack so I lifted it to the overhead rack and tore the rotator cuff in my left shoulder. I don’t blame flight attendants for not lifting carry-ons. They truly can be injured.
Three simple words to resolve this:
Check. Your. Bag .
If yes, then the job requirements will change; You won’t be hired if you have health or muscular back problems.. “Must be able to lift heavy carry-ons.”
How is it that a passenger, by whatever means, takes their bag from their home to the airport, through the airport, through security, past the gate, possibly on and off a bus, either down the ramp or up the stairs, and to the entrance of the plane, take it down the aisle, and then suddenly it’s the FA who is supposed to assume the responsibility for the last 3m/6ft of the bag’s movement?
If you can’t lift your bag overhead then either bring along a personal assistant who can, or check your bag, or take your chances on the kindness of strangers. Air travel, even when personally necessary, is still a luxury form of travel. There is no “right” to have another random human being assigned as your caretaker unless that’s what they agreed to do (i.e. health care workers). FAs don’t sign up to be baggage handlers—different job classifications and descriptions of essential job duties. Public carriers are required by law to provide “reasonable” accommodations to those who need them, but that requirement does not include providing personal attendants for personal needs.
I often offer to help struggling passenger lift or take down their overhead luggage, but that’s my personal choice and not my obligation. Often I worry that, without my assistance, they will end up injuring me, themselves, or other passengers. But that potential safety risk is still a matter of the passenger’s own creation and doesn’t automatically transfer to the airline and the FA for handling.
@InLA … +1 . Good analysis .
Not disputing your logic, just want to share that when my wife took my 90 yo father-in-law to the airport last month, she asked for a passenger-escort pass from the check-in agent who initially balked but ultimately my wife pulled a “Karen” and got a manager and he greenlit it and my wife took him through security to the gate. Not only is my father-in-law elderly, but he also doesn’t speak English although he’s in better shape than most people I know due to his career as a gymnast.
When my mother travels, she has requested wheelchair service and tips them.
So we need a consistent system to allow relatives of the elderly and disabled to take them to that last 3m or so. Allow the seniors to gate check their heavy bags without a charge (if not already).
I was amused when I told the gate agent I didn’t mind checking our carryons so that my family could walk around the airport unburdened and free up overhead space for rushed passengers. Win-win but the gate agent said no and then, of course, about halfway through boarding announced gate-checks and took my bag later anyway. I know she couldn’t do this until the announcement but imagine if they made this call earlier as I suggested and freed up the gate-lice.
That said, this is all first-world problems which is a good thing.
I don’t know about that but I did have a GA refuse to take off my old bag tag on ET. Well no problem, I’ll just do it myself. That sucker was on there so good, it took me over a minute of pulling to get it off! I even asked for a pen or scissors but she didn’t have any. Apparently that wasn’t part of her job. LOL
No. Don’t travel with anything that you can’t handle yourself. Simple.
Increase their health and leave coverage for injuries then have FAs lift bags for the weak. Otherwise under current circumstances, no.