02 March 2023 , 14:02
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A flight attendant has shared her top tips for seamlessly dealing with cabin bags.
Being funnelled onto a plane with a load of other passengers can be a stressful experience, particularly when it comes to storing your hand-luggage.
The delicate dance of letting people through to get to their seats while making sure you've got your inflight entertainment sorted before heaving the bag up into the storage lockers is a difficult one.
One experienced flight attendant has offered some tips to make sure the process is as simple as possible.
In a recent video on her TikTok profile, Kat Kalamani (@katkamalani) shared her "life-changing tips" for travellers with cabin bags.
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It can be tricky navigating the overhead lockers (Getty Images)Most airlines allow passengers to bring one full-size carry-on bag and one personal item on their flight for free, making it easy to dodge costly charges for checked luggage.
But with so many travellers eager to save money, squeezing cabin bags in the overhead lockers can be a struggle.
To save yourself from embarrassment during a busy flight, Kat, a flight attendant of six years, suggested planning ahead.
She said: "I have three tips that are going to help you with luggage anxiety, and they're going to be life-changing for you."
Her first rule of thumb is to only take hand luggage if it isn't too heavy - "if you cannot lift it, don't bring it".
She makes sure to see if she can lift the bag above her head at home before heading to the airport, and if she can't, she repacks.
Kat says this is important not just to save yourself from embarrassment.
Many airlines explicitly state that "you must be able to lift your hand luggage into the overhead storage compartments yourself".
Another tip shared by the flight attendant was to look inside the luggage compartments for small notes with useful instructions.
Kat said: "Most airlines have these little placard cards that show you how to store your luggage. So it's either going to go horizontal or vertical. If you can just take a look at that, it saves so much time and it's so much easier."
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Cases should always go on wheels first, before jackets and coats go on top of the bag with smaller bags under the seat.
The third tip Kat offered is to kindly ask flight attendants for help getting your bag up if you're struggling - but don't expect them to always say yes.
She explained: "Everyone thinks it's a flight attendant's job to lift your luggage into the bins but it's not.
"Actually our airlines - a ton of airlines - tell you do not do this because there are so many injuries. So if we get injured, it's not even covered."
Instead of asking for plane staff to do it for you, Kat suggested asking for assistance - and they will "totally help you put it up there".