Luggage Versus Leg-gage

I was boarding a six-hour international flight. I sat down in my seat and found a backpack under the seat in front of me, where my bag (and legs) should go. 

My first thought was “someone left it from the previous flight”, the second thought was something related to finding unattended baggage in an airport… But my first action was to tap the shoulder of the guy in front of me, who was already sitting down.

Me: “Did you see anyone putting this bag here?”

Passenger: “It’s my bag.”

I thought “he’s probably new to flying”, so I told him:

Me: “You’re supposed to put it under the seat in front of you.”

Passenger: “Oh, I know, but then it gets in the way of my legs. So, I’ll leave it where it is, so it’s your problem now.”

I call the flight attendant:

Me: “Excuse me, I found this bag in the seat here.”

The situation was very quickly resolved, but he was very unhappy about it!

Mind you, from the time the air crew sat down to take off, he instantly reclined his seat… And left it there for the entire flight, just to get me back. Even during meal service, he refused to put it up when asked by the flight attendant.