Be very wary of forced gate checking. I'm just back from Chicago and had an AA Super 80 flight. In first class a fight broke out over use of the overhead bins. Several people refused to put any bags under the seat in front of them.

The FA solved the problem of telling people that bags that didn't fit in the overheads due to that space being used up would be required to be gate checked.

I boarded at the end of the first class group and had no bin space at all. I think some economy folks had taken space in first class as well.

I had the dreaded bulk head seat. The FA said that since I ONLY had my RedOxx Sun Chaser she could put it into the closet.

The FA's did not demand that people use the under seat storage!

This is a bad situation and puts at risk our comfort and even safety as some folks were really hot. The last people to board first class was forced to gate check a small bag.