Originally Posted by
omaralt
but are you saying there isn’t a difference between short checking and being forced to gate check a bag because of lack of overhead space? That is extremely stupid IMO. I don’t want to check my bag in. If I’m being forced to then at the least I should be able to get it at my next stop
Regardless of how a bag is checked - the POLICY is that short checking is absolutely not allowed. Period.
There is no guarantee your bag is coming on board. You were forced because you were late and there wasn't space.
It's not a question of what you want - its a question of what's operationally necessary.
And it's not stupid, it's actually quite smart; the only people who would want to short check would be violating the airline's CoC. Otherwise, it would be really stupid to force a connecting passenger to leave airside during a connection, just to wait for a retrieve a bag - potentially causing them to miss their connection.
That just isn't how things works. This policy actually makes sense, and the policy wasn't on your side. You were late and it wasn't AA's fault; you said your ticket had problems, and when that happens, you're just lucky to get a seat on the plane, forget about your bags.