Ms. Beltway and I don't have the opportunity to fly Alaska very often, as we live on the east coast. Every time we're waiting to fly Delta or American, we always hear the call to gate check because "the flight is full." My other half is particularly insulted because the only reason she carries on instead of checking is to have access to her bag, but by gate checking she loses that and can't bring full sized liquids. To her, she'd check a bag that meets carry-on requirements (size, weight, etc.) aside from liquids in a heartbeat, but by the time we get to the gate it's already too late. The other day, she suggested to me that airlines should see how busy a flight is at check in, and offer to check carry-on sized bags for free. To me, it seemed like a pipe dream up there with more pitch in Y, domestic meal service in Y, etc.

Lo and behold, this morning we went to check in for our Alaska flight, and were greeted with the following.


We haven't even left yet, and our short vacation is off to a great start. Thanks Alaska!