I was waiting to board a Compass Embraer 175 this evening in MSP when the gate agent announced over the PA, "This is a tiny plane, so we're going to have to check
many of your bags to your final destination." (His emphasis.)
At the boarding door, a second gate agent flagged down about a third of the people with roll-aboards and told them that they had to check them. As near as I can tell, she was selecting bags that, in her estimate, wouldn't fit into the bins wheels-first. (She said my roll-aboard was "too tall.") I didn't see any bags that wouldn't have fit into the bins sideways--that's how I've previously placed mine on the 175.
I should emphasize that the GA was pleasant about the whole thing and the passengers were reasonably compliant, but the experience struck me as strange. We left with a lot of empty bin space.
Is this a Delta policy or just an aggressive GA? Secondly, if gate checks are the norm with the 175, why can't they place the bags in the jetway on arrival, as they do with other RJs? That's a much better experience than risking baggage loss/misconnects and having to wait at bag claim on arrival.
