Originally Posted by sltlyamusd

On my flight Thurs out of SEA, there were repeated announcements in the boarding area for people to volunteer to gate check their bags due to the flight being "nearly full," and also warning that everyone in groups D and E would need to gate check their carryons if they didn't get enough volunteers. We were on a -900ER which, of course, had space bins. The flight left with at least 20 empty seats and I saw no sign of anyone unable to stow their bag(s) after boarding. Do gate agents account for whether the plane has space bins or not before making these announcements?