Originally Posted by
bocastephen
I will make a deal with CO - I'll consider checking my bag if they do the following:
1) promise me that my bag will be either waiting at baggage claim, or among the first bags off. That means enforcing the EliteAccess checked bag program and making sure Elite bags are removed and expedited to the belt
2) on Elite-light flights, offer an option to claim checked bags in the jetway, a la COEx
3) Assign a CO employee to the under-terminal TSA inspection area to watch the screeners and make sure they don't steal from customer bags
4) If my bag is delivered to baggage claim after 'x' minutes, I will be paid a bonus mile penalty of at least 500m
The truth is, I already downsized my bag to the 22" limit by finding the right bag for the job (my double-layered Travelpro is, unfortunately, discontinued), so I am honestly loath to start checking it now.
Were this to ever become policy, I would gladly check my bag. Of course, the chance of this policy ever happening is zero. Still, I wonder if the productivity offset and turnaround time savings would offset the cost of an additional baggage handler or so.
Originally Posted by
CO 1E
A little over a year ago, I was harassed, yelled at (literally), and forced to check my 21" rollaboard by a TSA agent at MSP who used a standard sizer to determine that my bag was "too big" to carry on (that is a story unto itself beyond the scope of this thread). In other somewhat recent visits to MSP, I observed actual TSA agents using sizers at the checkpoints. It's been a little while since I have originated at MSP, so perhaps TSA has stopped that practice as of late.
I fly mostly AA which has the 45 linear inch rule. I left the tag on the bag that shows the total linear inches of 44 and change. I'm rarely harassed by the red coats at the baggage sizer (and usually just ignore them when they do harass me), but I'm happy to call over an airline representative if they do and point out that my baggage fits nicely within regulations.
Mike