In the compartment

English : Can I stow your bag in the compartment?

French: Est-ce que je peux ranger votre sac dans le compartiment?

When offering to stow someone’s bag, you may need to specify that you’re putting it in the overhead compartment of the airplane.

Dans=in

Le compartiment (m)=the compartment

Instead of “dans le compartiment”, you will also hear the synonymous expression “dans le coffre (m)”.

You may also hear “dans le compartiment supérieur” or “dans le coffre supérieur.’’

‘’Supérieur’’ means ‘’superior’’, or ‘’upper’’, or in this case, ‘’overhead’’. Overhead compartment, or overhead bin.

For the sake of simplicity, in the context of an airplane, you usually only have to say “compartiment” and not “compartiment supérieur”. It will be understood from the context that you’re referring to the overhead compartment.

You may need to remind the passenger that the bag needs to be stowed just for take off and just for landing. In flight, they’re free to retrieve it again. As we’ve learned, you can add on ‘’just for take off/just for landing’’ ‘’juste pour le décollage/juste pour l’atterrissage.’’

Est-ce que je peux ranger votre sac dans le compartiment, juste pour le décollage/juste pour l’atterrissage?

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Can I stow your bag?

English: Can I stow your bag?

French: Est-ce que je peux ranger votre sac?

This phrase is especially useful as you prepare the cabin for take off or for landing, making sure that all bags are properly stowed.

Passengers sitting at certain bulkhead or emergency exit seats do not have space under the seat in front of them to stow bags. Any bags they may have will need to be stowed in the overhead bins for take off and landing, and not left at their feet.

Some passengers may be holding onto bags on their lap. Those will need to be stowed for take off and landing as well.

Also, some passengers may have tried to stow too many bags under the seat in front of them and now certain bags are protruding from under the seat and not properly stowed. You may need to offer to stow some in the bins.

Sac (m)=Bag

Je peux=I can

Est-ce que je peux=Can I?

Je peux ranger=I can stow

Je peux ranger votre sac=I can stow your bag

Est-ce que je peux ranger votre sac?=Can I stow your bag?

You can see that "Est-ce que" is a useful phrase you can add in front of any statement in French in order to turn it into a "yes/no" question.

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Do you need help?

English: Do you need help?

French: Avez-vous besoin d’aide?

We just learned how to ask “do you need a bag” “avez-vous besoin d’un sac?” Literally, “do you have need of a bag.”

A bag=Un sac (m)

Help=Aide (f)

Following the same structure:

Do you need help?=Avez-vous besoin d’aide?

This is another expression you’ll use fairly often, especially during boarding when you assist passengers with baggage, or assist any passengers with special needs. You can ask first if they require assistance and then proceed to assist in whichever way they may request.

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Want to learn to speak the French you need to work as a flight attendant? Learn even more with Canadian French for Flight Attendants.

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