Comments

1. A good job by the gate agent for American Airlines at ROC.

2. A good job by the gate agent for American Airlines at ROC.

3. And are they charging you for gate checking the bag? It would appear that this prohibiting carryon bags and gate checking them would hamper the on time departure as all those bags then have to be sorted and boarded at the time of boarding. How are they selecting the Customers who they ask to gate check their bag? Obviously it is not all passengers.

4. If the flight is over 90% sold then chances are not all bags will fit. Maybe they will but if they don’t then that delays boarding and pushback. Bags checked at the gate are free. Personally, at least on AA checking bags can be a hassle because if that flight is cancelled or you need rerouted on a connection your bag will not be with you. But the average flyer has no clue.

5. Empty overhead bins = faster boarding and deplaning.

   I wish all airlines did this. Fed up with people blocking the aisles wrestling with their bags instead of quickly finding their seat (times 220 on a typical narrow body).

   Oh, and it’s not a problem on Southwest!!!

6. @American – I’ve never been charged to gate check a bag, even when I’ve done so voluntarily.

   A general comment (not directed at you, @American) if you’re LIVID about having to gate check your bag, then your life has been too easy. I can see being annoyed about it, but get some perspective. The airline is not requiring you to check your bag to piss you off. They’ve made a calculation and concluded the overhead bin would likely be full by the time you boarded. That turned out to not be the case (maybe, we don’t know how real this story is, or are in general) but I’m sure it wasn’t intentional or lazy.

   I do agree we need a better solution to the overhead bin problem. Personally, I’ve started checking my bag all the time now, unless I’ll be super pressed for time on the other end. It’s nice to eliminate the stress of the Overhead Bin Wars, and it’s nice to not have to schlep a bag around the airport. I also have status and don’t pay, so it’s an easier decision from that standpoint.

   Running a major commercial airline is really hard. The logistics are mind-boggling. I wouldn’t want to do it.

7. A good job by the gate agent for American Airlines at ROC.

8. Ottawa has their Parliament
   and MPs in the news
   and its kinda like their hockey team
   they talk a lot but don’t produce

   3 cheers for Ottawa
   they think they got a shottawa
   they must be smokin pottawa
   cuz the stanley cup will never go 2 ottawa

9. How ’bout those Longhorns!

10. Gary, you mixed up the stories. The GA was holding the child to put a gate check tag on it.

11. What’s the ideal solution to all this forced gate checking and checked baggage fees? I really don’t know, but it seems an entrepreneurial mindset, combined with the mindsets of both frequent and infrequent travelers have some ideas that are worth exploring.

12. To all females out there: please do not EVER sit the way Queen Elizabeth was sitting, with her legs crossed like that… it is the WORST repetitive thing you’ll ever do to your knees. The un-natural angle cause incredible pressure underneath your patella. You’ll eventually have constant, unrelievable pain from the scraping of the patella at that angle. Her Grace looks lovely and 1st-class, but if you ever want to use your knees later in life, please DO NOT sit the way she’s sitting!!!!