Gate checking vs valet checking a bag.... when, how?
 

Don't gate check with the gate agent. Valet check at the bottom of the jetbridge. It will be delivered back to the jetbridge at your CR9 destination. There's usually a pink tank from the gate agent for that.

Hi,

Gate checking will be done at the podium in the terminal before the boarding pass scanner and going down the jetway. ( bags will be tagged to final destination and will go to baggage reclaim)

Valet checking will be done prior to boarding the aircraft as the overheads on the regional jet are smaller and bags wil be put on a cart. At arrival the bags will be loaded onto another cart and will be brought round and you collect them before going into the terminal building

Regards

TBS

Hi,

I will leave that to experts to answer as I do not fly on AA that often but I belive they will let you get to the plane to valet check( they may attach the valet check tag whilst you are waiting to go through the podium) and there will be a lot of people with bags for valet probably.

Regards

TBS

AA always seems to provide for valet checking on Canadair and E 14X series jets where the overheads are so small that not even standard roll-aboards will fit into the overheads.

Gate Checking will tag it through to the final destination as hold baggage. You’ll not see it again until you arrive at your destination, generally speaking (separate ticketing and long connections over 12 hours will require retrieving the gate-checked bag and checking it in again).

Valet checking they’ll generally give you a tag to affix and often either have you position the bag on a trolley or area or take the bag down the jetway to the ground ladder door. These bags will generally be brought up the ground ladder to you while you remain waiting in the jetway outside of the cabin door. At some locations they’ll bring a cart with the valet bags and you retrieve them from that (e.g. LAX Eagle’s Nest or smaller airports where you disembark onto the apron).

Then you proceed airside normally to your ne t flight with the valet bag now cabin baggage, as your next flight is on a 75L.

If it's a qualifying carry-on - meeting the max dimensions for carry-on published by AA

CORRECTEDCarry-on requirements

• Shouldn’t exceed 22 x 14 x 9 inches / 56 x 36 x 23 centimeters (including handles and wheels)
• Must fit in the sizer at the airport

they will let you through security and out to the gate.

A regular size rollaboard carry-on bag does fit in the overhead of the newer CRJ-900 / CR9 (as compared to the CRJ-200 / CR2 and E145, where it definitely does not fit). My luggage is 21 x 14 x 9 inches and it does fit in the CR9 overheads, although it is a tight squeeze, there is no room to spare. Two bags of the specified dimension fit lengthwise per bin.

On Delta the GA will let you board the CR9 with this size bag, especially if seated in F (they tend to gate check later in the boarding process and obviously oversize bags). But on AA, they tend to give a gate tag to everyone and insist that it will not fit, presumably because they don't want to be bothered to use the sizer and a lot of bags that people bring are too big. I have seen limited success on AA with people taking the gate tag and then ignoring it and boarding the plane anyway. Your odds of this are better if seated in F as you board first and put it up right away and there is no question it fits. But you will occasionally be told by a FA at the door to the plane that no roller bags are allowed on the plane at all. In that case, what others have said about gate checking vs valet checking is true-- you will be given the chance to valet check your bag, and it is not worth arguing. Thus the only question is whether you will be able to bring the bag on the plane or retrieve it in the jet bridge, you will not have it sent to the carousel.

To be clear, what I am saying only applies to truly "legit" carry-on bags that meet the dimensions and fit comfortably in the sizer, not some of the enormous/expandable bags with crap sticking out in every direction, that "fit" in a mainline plane.

One other point - make sure you get a 1st Class Valet tag, if it's available. In theory, they pull these bags and bring to the door upon arrival before the rest of the valet bags.
It's been awhile since I've done it and don't recall exactly if it's a different color (seem to recall that they were?)