Originally Posted by
jayenoh
I have a question about the reverse situation. Can I request that the bags come out on a connection <4 hours?
I flew SEA>PIT thru ATL last week and wanted to drop off a bag in ATL, but the agent refused due to "security issues." Last time I flew thru AMS and had a 20 hour connection, the agent gave me the option to have the bags come out in AMS or be checked to my final destination.
You can make the request, but there is no guarantee that the agent knows how to or even will short-check (to an intermediate connection point) a bag in such situations where it is all on one ticketed itinerary. Odds are quite high that you will run into a non-cooperative agent, so best not to count on it happening (or happening consistently).
"Security" is just a made up excuse that people love to throw around nowadays -- the only thing such restrictions protect is DL revenue. Bags that are gate checked can be short-checked pretty easily; and if an agent wants to get creative and/or do it manually, then it can be done at check-in too