NickB, that's also more or less what I imagined the worst case, by-the-books scenario would be. If I could avoid checking a bag, the solution would be obvious; but as I'm obliged to do so, I'm hoping to find a way out of it...

It seems crazy to fly through the very place I'd now like to go, held prisioner merely by a bag I can't retrieve. Can you (or anyone else) think of a creative, convincing strategy to help avoid such an absurdity?

Thanks in advance for the brainstorming.

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