Why Airlines Force You To Gate Check Bags, Even When There’s Plenty Of Bin Space [Roundup]

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About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. The airlines forbid the 50-pound carry-on suitcases because they wised-up .

    The carry-on chicken was brought onboard by Brandon’s illegals while on his way to vote .

  2. I traveled a few times this month domestically within Canada. Checked luggage every time. It’s worth $50 and a 30 minute wait to avoid the overhead bin Hunger Games.

  3. Lying to customers is what airlines do and United is at the top of it’s game when it comes to that.

  4. Overhead bin storage is simply awful. I check every bag except a tiny carry-on. My flights are non-stop so, at least until today, I’ve never suffered a lost bag.

    With computers and bar codes lost baggage will become less of a problem. Check the darn thing and help the airlines load / unload faster. Of course, they could use the back door too . . . but I digress.

  5. The airlines will eventually deal with this by charging for both checked and carry-on bags, with a premium for the latter.

    Learn to pack light.

  6. but gate checking bags are a good thing , usually and in most cases its free. and you don’t have to pay the $40-50 fee when you check in. so in directly it can be a good thing.

  7. Can confirm. I always have a backpack and a laptop so I don’t get hassled but the people in front of me in line had to gate check. Flight to ORD had plenty of room left.

  8. It’s social engineering pure and simple. It’s the first line of push back on people oversizing their carry ons. And most definitely the skies are full of flying moms with 3 toddlers and one massive carry on with the other arm full of shopping bags.

  9. If I have to bring a carry-on, it’s always a duffel bag stuffed with jackets, clothes, pillows and the like. You want to gate check it for free? Fine. You want to crush it in the overhead bin? Do your worst!

  10. Gary- I call fowl- it’s only carrion if the chicken tries to cross the road, and gets run over.

  11. That’s why it’s always just a mid-sized backpack for me, nowadays. I’ve had one too many bags lost by airlines to check anymore, and I can’t stand waiting to get a gate-checked bag back after a flight. I travel for months at a time, and everything I need fits in the backpack. I’ve carried it on to every flight– even the tiny, domestic European flights– and I can always squeeze it into the overhead and they never approach me at the gate with a gate check tag.

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