Comments

1. Anyone have a guess as to why this gate check surge is happening?

2. Bag issues is typically within the top 3 reasons a flight cannot depart on time, and the only one an airline can control

3. Anyone have a guess why TK is comping Dem politicians ? Because Dem politicians enjoy the smells of Istanbul ?

4. Because Dem politicians are often turkeys?

5. The answer is simple. Gate agents do get disciplined should they dispatch a flight late if all “carry-on” bags do not fit in the overhead bins.

6. On the rare occasion I am told by the gate agent to check my bag, I let them put the tag on it, walk down the jetbridge, rip the tag off on the way down, and board like normal. I’ve never had a problem finding space.

7. Once airlines start charging to carry-on a bag (ideally at a higher rate than checked baggage), a lot of this problem goes away.

8. It’s easy. Ban carryon bags. Personal items only. No roller bags at all. The MAJOR delay in boarding and deplaning is customers negotiating their enormous, heavy, unwieldy carryon bags. If all bags were checked, people would get on and OFF the plane MUCH faster.

9. Why don’t they check every bag for size before you board? I see plenty of rollers that are over the limit. Maybe that would take too much time, but the agent can quickly glance at bags, and check questionable ones.

10. I was made to gate-check my bag by Air Canada at DFW last week. This wasn’t during boarding – it was when they checked my passport 30 minutes before boarding even started. They made everyone going to the counter put their bags in the sizer. Mine fitted, but apparently required too much force to do so. In other words, agents are making up their own rules. They made more people check their bag size during boarding itself. This was an A220 with plenty of bin space, much of which went unused.

11. Moronic orange-god cultists losing their minds about a corrupt idiot mayor is pure loser sausage sugar.

12. Just recently was given the pink tag – politely told the lady at the gate that I have a doctor/medical note stating I need to keep my bag on me as it contains temperature sensitive medication. She shrugged it off and told me to take it up with the FA.

    The FA did allow it without any issues, but still a little absurd that having a legitimate disability note wasn’t enough for the lady to say “oh no problem” or similar.

    I obviously wouldn’t want to take it that far, but I’m sure the ADA would’ve had a field day with Delta for denying that. Not to mention if they had forced me to check it and my medication had gone bad as a result.

13. @kimmiea – this is why https://viewfromthewing.com/why-airlines-make-you-gate-check-bags-when-theres-still-overhead-bin-space-free/

14. I blame the cheap SOBs that can’t splurge $35 to check their bag.

15. If all bags were checked, people would get on and OFF the plane MUCH faster.

    If all bags were checked, there might finally be a market for third-party “door to door” baggage delivery services, and people wouldn’t need to schlep their bags through the airport anymore.

16. Airlines have the whole luggage thing backwards. The first 2 checked bags should be free. Everyone should be allowed to carry on one personal item that must be placed under the seat in front of them. Each carry-on bag should be at least $50.

17. Also known as why I forego the aisle seat with easy access to the toilet and sit in the window seat: too many strong independent modern Western women attired in athleisure, egged on by nearby simping fratboys, baiting me to put up their oversized heavy carryons. I generally try to get in an early boarding group, put up my hat and small carryon containing my prescription medicine and my work laptop –yes, I admit that the Golden Age of Travel hat rack has expanded to include more than just a hat–into whatever hatrack space not yet filled by emergency gear and crew gear. Then I try to squirrel away in my window seat, crawl into my little shell, and avoid all eye contact with fellow passenger big heavy bag enthusiasts.

    I do note the picture of the seated passenger wearing a cap. He did not put his cap into the hatrack. But, hey, it’s not on backwards, you can beg to the fashion police.

18. Airlines have the whole luggage thing backwards. The first 2 checked bags should be free.

    No. Checked bags should also be charged, albeit slightly less than carry-on.

    Pay for what you actually use. Learn to pack light.

19. @Doug Thanks for the tip!
    I will try that the next time I’m being forced to check my fragile carefully packed carry-on.

    If I’m traveling light for a brief business trip I prefer NOT checking any bags because:
    1) My checked-in bag may get lost, or stolen, or damaged. There’s a chance I may never see it again. I expect the airline to deny all responsibility.
    2) My bag usually has fragile electronics subject to theft and/or damage.
    3) I don’t want to waste 20+ minutes at the baggage carousel with a crowd of passengers.

20. Prior to the invention of the roll aboard suitcase SWA used to specialize in 10 minutes turns (112 pax on and 112 pax off.). If it took longer than 10 minutes it was usually because the ramp was short one or two ramp agents to unload and load bags. Then along came the folding hand carts for bags and turn times increased to 15 minutes (more people with carry-ons.). Next step was the roll aboard suitcase and the increase in seating on the -200 (122 pax did away with lounge seating) and a 20 minute turn. With the -300 joining the fleet with 137 seats the scheduled turn time increased again to 25 minutes. Even with wheelchairs a 10 minute turn was possible because SWA installed jetways at all the stations. I think the average scheduled turn time for a through flight is now 40 minutes. Can SWA decrease this by limiting carry-on roll aboard bags . . . yes but at what cost? I suspect customers like OnePatriot77 will find another carrier before finding a smaller bag.

21. Too many gate agent sizer shenanigans or lying about “a completely full flight” to believe I have to gate-check the bag. I’m not sorry about it either. And no, it’s not for safety, I don’t fly RJs – only mainline so my bag is fine in the overhead bin.

    When the staff stops making shit up, I’ll start listening.

22. Folks need to stop taking wheeled bags on board planes. I use a backpack and it’s always enough to carry what I need. Your wheeled bags are why the plane takes so long to load and then to deplane later. Stop with your huge wheeled bags. I have no sympathy if you get gate checked.

23. This passenger is in the wrong the same way those townspeople were, in letting that wolf eat that boy. In the end I’m sure someone paid the price (emotionally if not physically) for ignoring instructions to respond when the shepherd cried wolf. But do I feel sympathy for the boy? Not really.

    Airlines constantly misdirect and withhold info from passengers for the airline’s own benefit. If there is truly a SAFETY concern, then you need to explain it. Someone needs to explain why it is necessary to check bags when there is all kinds of overhead space left on the plane.

    A sucker is one who just blindly follows seemingly nonsensical rules (or politicians) just because someone says, “just trust me”.

24. Whenever possible I ignore the gate check instructions, particularly when flying biz class. Never a problem if you can snake past the GA. That said I’m typically in one of the earlier boarding groups, so never a problem in USA. Overseas is a different matter, they seem obsessed with weight, not volume.

25. What is out of control is the amount and size of luggage passengers are carrying on, and the lack of enforcement by the airlines of their own rules (I won’t take issue with the arbitrary nature of some of these rules, only the enforcement).
    I want a very small bag in the overhead, allowing me a small amount of comfort with under seat legroom, and often I can’t because of huge suitcases.

26. The Reddit link in the article explains why they were checking baggage on that flight. So, it was justifiable.

    At LHR terminal 5 (British Airways), there was someone stationed just before security that told me that I had to check my bag because the flight was full. Funny thing is that there are hundreds of flights going out, so I wondered how they knew that my particular flight was full. I’m not one to make a scene, so I pretended to be getting a call and backed away. Walked around to another entrance and nobody challenged me about my compliant carry-on. Somewhat similar, when checking in at LAX, a Qantas agent told me that my carryon was too big. I did stuff it quite a bit, so it was a close call. I asked if I could bring it through since I’ve used the same bag on the flight before and it fit without problems. He said OK, but the gate agent might make me check it. Guess who was the gate agent? The same guy! He let me pass with a smile.

27. The absurd amount of crap that people feel the need to carry with them is insane, through in the people with all that stuff who put it in bins several seats causing the people in those seats to find space and suddenly you’ve got a delay in boarding.
    I’d rather take off on time and wait on my bag. Worried about losing your luggage? Don’t pack anything you can’t replace.

28. When will people including this blogger start to understand that checking bags at the gate on airlines other than Southwest has nothing to do with onboard space at all, but everything to do with turning the plane around?

    If you can get 50 people on each plane to gate check, and on average their having baggage slows down boarding by 10 seconds (between hoisting their heavy stuff, having to rearrange the content of bins, asking for help if they’re not strong enough to lift, impeding others from going by etc), then It takes 8 minutes less to board, plus on the other end another 8 or so minutes less to deplane.

    Finding 15 minutes at each turn for each aircraft is worth a ton of money. That’s why Southwest includes checked bags in their fares.

    Forced gate checking, and empty overheads, is here to stay until US airlines wise up and copy Southwest and remove the idiotic bag check fee and unlock the increased profits of flying airplanes instead of having them stuck on the ground a loong time by people jostling with their heavy bags.

29. Let’s see what happens at WN. If WN becomes “full service”, and continues to not charge for bags, “bags fly free”; that will pressure the big 3 to think carefully about their own baggage policies.
    (remember change fees/)

30. Y’all have lost your minds. “All bags should have to be checked”, “People are too cheap to pay $35 to check a bag”, “The carryons people have are too big”, “blah blah blah”.

    A bunch of entitled infants that feel the need to attempt at every turn to impose your will on the world, regardless of how asinine it is or how it impacts others. These are no doubt the same kind of people whose children won’t speak to them.

    Some of us fly 30+ times a year for work. Sure I could check my bag and eat 20 extra minutes at the airport. That would mean an extra 20 hours a year I’d spend in an airport instead of with my family or working. But hey, it’s what you think is best for everyone, so who cares how it affects others.

31. Another question is why airlines have a mock up of an appropriate size carry-on before you past gate check in, yet majority of carry-ons cant fit in it. I dont blame the airlines, flyers are out of control with the size of most carry-ons. American has it right…they allow carry on check-ins for free when getting boarding passes at check-in.