Keep your stuff out of that nasty seatback pocket (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
How do you use your seat back pocket? We received an interesting observation and query from TravelSkills reader J.U. this week that led to a discovery.
I love reading your daily column, and learn a lot. This is the first time I’ve had a question I thought you could check out. Yesterday I flew on Southwest, and was startled by an announcement at the beginning of the flight, saying that we were not to put any personal items in the seat back pockets! The flight attendant actually said, “The seat backs are for our magazine and safety information. You are not to put any personal items in them – no water bottles, no books, no computers, …” I noticed that the seat back pockets have in fact gotten very tight, with hardly any room for anything other than the magazine. (I had in fact put my water bottle in there, and it barely fit.) This seems very strange to me – what next!? Maybe we will have to pay for a seat back pocket with a little more room? Have you heard anything about this? The person sitting next to me was also a frequent traveler, and neither of us had heard of this before. I would love to know if you have any information on it.
I could not think of a time when I’d heard an announcement like this, so I grabbed a Southwest spokesperson who told TravelSkills that this wasn’t new and in fact an FAA regulation designed to prevent encroachment into space needed in case of the need for a quick exit.
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The verbiage from the DOT rule about seatback stowage.
I also kinda cringe when I think about seatbacks and avoid them like the plague (pun intended). Did you know that seatbacks are the dirtiest part of the plane and the place were nasty germs like MRSA live the longest? So I’d refrain from putting any personal items in there on account of that! Maybe the FAA rule is there to protect us from germs, too.
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Michael Schaible says
March 22, 2015 at 7:01 amThe described seat pocket is a product from yesterday. Most modern carriers have already or about to implement the slim-line seats where the seat-pocket made of hard plastic and not stretchy.
Anyway, I have never seen or heard of any regulations ruling what and how much to put in the seat pocket.
I believe there are more annoying and security/safety concerning issues in an aircraft.
Boswell says
March 22, 2015 at 6:18 amChris,
That was not a pun. A professional writer should no better.
Keith says
March 21, 2015 at 5:18 pmWhat about the danger involved as many travelers have to unbelt, rise and open the overhead bins to gain access to their effects which are not allowed to be stored in the seat back pocket? Does this not create safety risks…items falling from the bin, passengers losing their balance and falling, etc. There is no free lunch. The FAA has many rules which do not seem to be justified by the minuscule risk of the forbidden behavior. Flyers are at times treated like children. It’s ridiculous.
BlackStratCat says
March 21, 2015 at 9:21 amThat is a very strict interpretation of the F.A.R.. The airline I work for has determined that an iPad like device is ok for seat pockets, but laptops are out. When I walk down the aisle doing compliance checks, I look for anything that sticks out too far, or (like a laptop protruding from the pocket) would become a nasty airborne ‘missile’ should anything ‘bad’ happen. It seems like the FAA has left it to the airlines to determine what is acceptable in the 3lb limit. One should always adhere to each individual airlines’ policy, please! A good rule of thumb is that to imagine what would happen to your stuff if g-forces are applied, if you are upside down or if you are trying to get out in a hurry…