Originally Posted by
B747forever
Many times when they gate check a bag you drop it of at the end of the jet way. Thus, once you pass the gate agent just rip of the bag tag and board with your bag! Have worked every time for me.
That all depends. If your bag carries a standard printed bag tag, AA now shows the bag as "missing" because it has not been scanned onto the aircraft. Had two flights recently delayed while GA came onboard and located the scammer and had him identify his bag in the OH so that it could be moved to the hold. Neither passenger was offloaded, but both were threatened with it.
All of this has to be accounted for in weight & balance. Worth thinking about when you have a short connection and are stressing while your aircraft sits at the departure gate seemingly doing nothing. Carry-ons and checked bags are accounted for differently in the calculations.