Originally Posted by
chucko
It happens all the time. I've lost track of the number of flights where some ........ (usually plural) gets fubar in the concourse bar after checking in, causing the captain to announce they "won't be joining us tonight" and delaying casting off while their their bags are pulled. It take a few minutes to pull out the proper igloo with their bags (they keep track of that sort of thing), root around in it for the specific bags, and then re-pack.
Yeah, this is the real reason you sometimes hear repeated calls: "Pax Smith, your flight is in final boarding, board immediately or the door is closing". They're not really all that concerned if Smith misses his flight - he's either got a fully refundable ticket or they're getting to keep the $ whether or not he actually flies.
What they don't want to do, right when the door is about to close, is climb down into the hold and pull Smith's luggage.