OT checkilng luggage atht the plane's door

Checking baggage at the airplane door :

Define "too big" in a little more detail. Will the bag in question fit through the x-ray machine at the TSA checkpoint? If not, it's back to the ticket counter you go.

Assuming it will fit through the x-ray machine, will the bag in question contain items that can be checked at the ticket counter but would not otherwise be allowed through security? Items such as more than 3.4 oz of liquids, that set of brass knuckles or your favorite permeation device for calibrating air quality? If yes, they'll probably confiscate the offending item(s) before they let you through.

BTW...some airlines may charge you extra for a gate-check even if it would have been free at the ticket counter. They are aware that if there weren't consequences, then lots of people would do it and it would slow the boarding process down.

I'm at the airplane door. Of course the suitcase went through TSA (although if somehow it did not, I don't care. I know I didn't put a bomb in it.)

You're still stuck at the x-ray machine. I'm at the airplane door.

Good to know. I didn't even know they have policiies

Despite all this, several people were leaving their suitcases at the plane's entrance. Now it occurs to me that it's possible they were small enough to fit in the overhead bin, but they had run out of space in the overhead bins.

I saw a Ford Trimotor fly over us on Lake Eire when I was a teenager. Apparently it carried tourists from Ohio out to some island at the time.

That's intended to be for bags of a size/shape/weight that would normally fit in the overhead bin, but there isn't room because the people who boarded before you used all of the available space. The other category of items are baby strollers and similar items that you'll need right away when you land, where waiting for baggage claim would be inconvenient, but you can game the system under some circumstances. Just ask the person at the check-in counter or at the boarding gate.

One example of gaming the system is where an airline charges $XX to check a bag at the check-in counter, but if you decide to gate check it it'll be free. No need to be sneaky; they know people do that and they frequently encourage it.

I usually fly Delta, with United and American as my backups. Those three do gate checks. I'm not sure about any others, but I assume they all do.

I think it's inconvenient so I never do it, but I see others doing it so I guess they see a benefit somehow.

Flight attendant. I don't know when the last stewardess exited the scene but it may have been 40 years ago.

Yes. People who gate checked a bag are the ones who are standing in line just outside the aircraft door, or should I say standing in the way, as others are trying to exit the aircraft after landing.

Nope. If you're gate checking a bag, you drop it just before you enter the aircraft, and upon landing you'll look for it at exactly that same spot. Don't go to baggage claim and look for it there.

Okay. Thanks. I guess I couldn't hear everything the steweardess was saying.

wow, okay.

I'm going to visit my brother tomorrow, and Southwest permits two free checked bags. I'm only taking one. But my last trip abroad, Delta allowed one bag and charged $100 each way for more than one. $100!!! And I got the idea some people were checking bags at the gate to avoid paying $100. But since I had to change planes, with 3-hour and 6-hour layovers, going and coming, it would have meant dragging the bag around during the entire layovers. AS it turned out, they didn't charge me for the return trip, at least I don't think so. No one said anthing but I should check the bank statement..

Show me where in your OP you said you were at the airplane door with your bag. The only thing you said was that was 3 ways that people check suitcases that were too big.

Show me where there is *anything* that indicates that you have already gone through the security checkpoint.

Now you're just being a dick..

Back bvefore 9-11 I had to travel with some tools - ools which if lost in the hold would have been a SWEIOUS issue - but which might make some people nervous in the cabin. They were checked into the cockpit with the captain who handed them to me on the way off the plane. Heading back home where the tools arriving with me was not as critical I just checked them in as baggage.

More like a micky

mouse.

Original post:

"the last method".

Now you're being insulting.

Uh oh, now you're going to get complaints months from now in the middle of some other thread about insults. For the record, my interpretation of his question was the same as yours. He said if you have a suitcase too big for the overhead bin/under seat size requirement, can you check it at the gate? I'm not sure I fully understood Jim's response either. He started off saying that's intended for the situation where the suitcase meets the size limit for carry on, but there isn't enough room left on the plane. I agree with that. But then he seemed to leave it open to being able to do that with any suitcase? Seems to me that if you wound up at the gate with one that was clearly three times the allowed size, they would frown upon that and might hit you with some hefty fee. I mean if they allowed this to become the norm, they would be checking a lot of the luggage at the gate instead of at the curb or counter where they are equipped to easily handle it.

"the last method" is nothing more than a reference to a method.

None of the methods described indicate where the owner of the bag is. They simply denote one of several places to check a bag.

Riddle me this:

In the toilet In the shower In the neighbor's back yard.

Where am I?

If you'd like, we can also discuss the fact that the "gate" is not the entrance to the plane, so you've actually offered 4 methods, with "the last method" being 2.

No, I didn't mean it that way. I meant to limit my response to luggage that would fit in the bins if there was room, and odd items that clearly won't fit in the bins, such as strollers, perhaps musical instruments in their cases, etc. Large suitcases would never get handcarried to the departure gate, let alone up the jet bridge.

Wow, you folks do enjoy your arguments.

If you check at the curb, you'll likely want to slip a couple bucks per bag to the skycap. This is by far the most convenient method.

If you check at the checkin desk or kiosk, you don't have to carry your bags through security. Do note that there are baggage weight limits that will be enforced or charged for (and when checking in, the bag will be assigned to a particular cargo compartment for load balancing).

If you take your bag past security and it doesn't fit the carry-on size and/or weight criteria, you'll be asked to check it at the gate check-in counter. They may or may not charge you for the checked bag at that point.

If the flight is full, they may ask for volunteers to check their larger carry bags, in which case they're tagged at the checkin counter and conveyed to the baggage compartment prior to departure, usually without extra charge.

If the aircraft has limited overhead (e.g. Regional Jets or Turboprops) and your bag doesn't fit the size tester at the gate, they'll tag it (gate check) and will store it in a special baggage compartment and will have the bags waiting at the airplane door or jetway on arrival.

OK, that's the page I'm on. And at that point, not clear why you would want to check it at the gate as opposed to carrying it on, unless you have to because there isn't enough room. If you check it at the gate, then you're going to have to wait for it at the destination.

Agreed. This whole thread was just micky being micky.

I made it a point to always try to have a carry on that would fit in the overhead and often did it on trips that lasted over a week.

What pissed me off was all the other junk they allowed carry on's. A couple of times my overhead was full with other passengers junk from those sitting in back of me.

micky's point (appears to be) that you are purposely taking a bag that is too big to considered carry-on for the express purpose of checking it at the gate. It's not that there isn't enough room for any more carry-ons, it's that it's not a carry-on item.

The (his) reason being "... it would save time, not waiting in line at the ticket counter, and it would involve less tossing around of the suitcase..."

And, you do risk being flagged and taking it back to check in. Happened to someone I know.