Originally Posted by
kalia960
I don't understand the security implications. It seems to me (perhaps naively) that bag on flight without passenger is a problem, but passenger on flight without bag is not.
On the other hand, there are certainly commercial implications. Allowing short-check allows passengers to stay at the intermediate stop while paying the fare to the final destination (if the latter is lower).
If short-checking is such a serious issue that agents could "jeopardiz(e) the security of other passengers , not to mention their own careers", then the AA computers should be programmed to not allow it.
I dont know of many people who would check a bag if they were not going to make the final leg.
SABRE will allow short checking when certain requirements are met in the PNR, this is why agents still have the ability to do so. Short checking when these requirements are not met will get the agent in trouble.