Flight Attendant Friday: Lift My Bag

While this is a hypothetical question, infused with a bit of humor for entertainment value, perhaps you can see the underlying issue.

Q.  (Asked by a 6′4″ burly looking guy, with two large (and heavy looking) carry on bags in one hand, and a cell phone glued to his ear with the other.)  Hey – put this bag up over ahead for me, will ya?

A.  Uh. . . no!

The two activities that result in the highest number of Flight Attendant injuries are using the beverage cart and lifting bags.

We are not going to jeopardize our safety, and potentially our career, to lift a bag that is heavy.  If a bag is so heavy that it cannot be lifted overhead, it needs to be checked.  Asking someone else to do it, so you won’t get hurt, is not the way to go. 

The bigger issue in the hypothetical scenario (although I’ve seen it all too many times) is someone unwilling to put down the cell phone and attend to the business at hand.  That is not going to convince me to risk injury to help you either.

We jokingly say, “if you can pack it, you can rack it” when we talk about not packing more than can be safely lifted. 

We’re willing to help, but not at the risk of an injury.

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