Originally Posted by MSPeconomist

It always seemed to me that more people would be willing to check a bag if they could depend on the bag being delivered promptly, undamaged, not lost, and with nothing stolen from it. Having TSA do security has made it worse for delays and items bing lost/stolen/damaged. There's also the inconvenience of needing to sometimes to get to the airport earlier to check a bg or having to wait in a long line to do so. Checking a bag just opens a lot of possibilities for things to go wrong. Furthermore, if one is using public transportation or even a shuttle bus to a rental car, it can be hard to manage more luggage than can fit into the bin anyway.

Originally Posted by gooselee

This. I've tried to do carry-on only since well before bag fees were a thing. And even today I'm far more likely to check a bag on a non-US airline.

Part of it is concern about correct, timely, and unpilfered delivery of the bag. Part of it is a desire to remain flexible for VDBs, last minute schedule changes, IRROPs, etc.

Most of it is that I can't stand dealing with a bunch of stuff while I'm travelling, so I pack very light and find a laundromat on trips longer than a week.

Originally Posted by TrojanTraveler

Exactly. I think people forget about how this was before the fees. Lots of people didn't want to check their bags for these reasons.