They always have to be accurate with W&B. American Eagle found out it has to be accurate on every flight, otherwise you get a $2.5 million fine from the FAA.

The ops agent counts each cart bag and they're assigned a standard weight--16 lbs I think--and that's entered, along with standard passenger weight of 174 lbs. In the winter, they add 5 lbs since they assume people will have more clothes.

This isn't a W&B issue. This is likely a "we want our $25." I'm not sure how well this will work in PDX or SEA. I didn't see any sizers there on Saturday, and besides, those two airports have a terrible overcrowding problem in the QX gates.