"GS" wrote in message
et...
[...]
Now here's a question for you. How is it that I am not allowed to strap
my laptop into the bag yet I am allowed to strap a cello into a
(purchased) seat?

I don't know. Possibly the FAA Administrator has issued a waiver (blanket,
or to the specific airline) for that particular situation. Possibly there's
some other rule I didn't bother to look at covering cargo that is too large
to fit under the seat or in a storage bin or locker. Or possibly the
airline simply looks the other way so they can sell a plane ticket.

Regardless, I don't see how the question is relevant to your original
situation. You were told what you were doing was against the regulations,
and it was.

[...]
agreed and that is why I did immediately comply. the problem today is
that there are tons of unpublished rules and regulations (Op Sepcs, FA
handbooks, etc.) and there is a small minority of FA's who claim "due to
new security regulations you can't do whatever." if that is truly a
security regulation why is she the only FA to follow this regulation.

Who is "the only FA to follow this regulation"? You never said that the
flight attendant you asked you to put your bag on the floor claimed it was a
security regulation. And it's not a security regulation...it's a cargo
carriage regulation that has likely existed for a very long time.

It is certainly possible she made it up as a veil to not deal with some
customer. Numerous frequent fliers have asked on other boards about other
circumstancs so I am not alone on this matter. So it is within every
customer's right to question her or the carrier on it *after* complying
with it otherwise we're a bunch of blind and stupid rats.

IMHO, it is counter-productive to try to and question the flight attendant.
Maybe if the request is just blatantly ridiculous, but I doubt that happens
very often (none of the examples you've given seem blatantly ridiculous to
me). You are unlikely to change the physical nature of the situation by
questioning the flight attendant, but you DO create tension and stress as
well as a feeling of conflict. These are not useful mental states in the
context of flying on an airline.

By all means, bring it up with the airline after the flight is over. But
every passenger should be doing their best to avoid conflict, especially
with the flight crew, except when completely unavoidable (which should
practically never be the case).

so is it allowed to be the only passenger standing in the back of a 757 in
order to stretch on a 5+ hour flight? According to 99% of the FA's, no
problems at all and they start chatting with the passenger. 1% of the
FA's claim it is against the new security regulations? Hmmm, sounds like
that FA is using it as an excuse. If it is truly a security regulation
are the other 99% of FA's not following the the security regulations?

I have no idea. I have paid very little attention to the new security
regulations, as it's my goal to never have to deal with them. I have
avoided the airlines like the plague ever since the TSA started dictating
new security regulations.

Given how absurd the other security regulations are, it wouldn't surprise me
if the security regulations quoted do in fact exist. Even if only a handful
of flight attendants enforce them. Your percentages are obviously made up,
but even if we accept that a minority of flight attendants are enforcing the
security regulations, that's not such a surprising situation, and it
shouldn't be used to make it harder for the flight attendants who ARE trying
to do things by the book.

If you have done the research to determine for certain that a regulation
doesn't exist, then by all means point that out to the airline. But absent
that, why go out of your way to make assumptions that lead only to conflict?
What's so hard about giving the flight attendant (who is presumably
better-educated in the regulations than most passengers would be) the
benefit of the doubt.

I'd find that a safety of flight issue that should be reported. What if
the passenger gets a letter from their doctor saying that due to say low
blood pressure the passenger is required to stand and stretch. Who does
the passenger speak to ahead of time to get this information passed down
so it isn't an issue onboard?

AFAIK, the TSA does not make allowances for medical reasons. If there
actually is a security regulation, I'm not convinced that there is a legal
way to circumvent that regulation, especially not just with a doctor's note.
If the current regulations dictate that a passenger cannot comply with
medical requirements, then that passenger should probably not be flying on
the airlines.

Beyond that, I can't tell you who the passenger would have to talk to. I'd
guess that the best first step would be to try to explain the situation to
the gate agent, providing them an opportunity to discuss with the pilot
prior to the boarding of the flight. But you're unlikely to get a waiver
from the TSA, and so if there is a regulation to be circumvented, it won't
happen legally. Given that, the exact person you need to clear things with
isn't going to be something that's a published policy item.

Pete