Gate checking
 

How does gate checking work? Do they check the bag only for the segment, or for the whole itinerary?

Typically to your final destination. I think on some of the smaller commuter jets, they'll gate check it to the next leg of your journey.

Gate Check is if there is not enough space or your bag does not fit into an aircraft that would otherwise take larger rollaboard bags. These are checked through to your final destination.

Pink tagged bags are those that are give a pink bag tag on aircraft where rollaboards and other larger carryons do not fit. These bags are only checked for that segment and will be available once you deplane.

I had a flight last week that was jammed and they told the people in zone 3 that there probably wouldn't be room for their bags and they could gate check them at the gate for free.

To people in zone 1 or 2 it didn't matter !

Bob H

So all that is necessary to have a hopelessly oversized "carry-on" bag checked for free through to my final destination is to take in through security and not the airplane until they call for zone 4?

That may work. If enough people do it often they can start charging people for gate check, with a 'should have done this at ticketing' surcharge. You've seen the threads on the baggage sizer crackdowns, right?

No. Please elaborate?

I guess you could do that - but it is possible that the GA will not let you board with a "hopelessly oversized" bag and charge you before you board. I have heard GAs make this threat in announcements but haven't stuck around to see if they actually follow through.

Boarding in zone 4 shouldn’t exempt passengers from checked baggage fees when said baggage is oversized per the published carry-on rules. Indeed, I've seen diligent gate agents charge late-boarding passengers to gate check oversized bags (even though all of the overheads were full anyway).

But I wouldn't have anything to lose trying, right, since I'd paying if I didn't?

Fair enough. And in many cases more recently GAs will offer to gate check bags for free even before boarding to speed the process up.

As long as the bag can fit through the X-Ray you should be alright.

So you are looking for a way to cheat Delta out of a published charge. Just don't complain if they suddenly decide to cheat you somehow. I am not a fan of baggage fees, but there are honest ways to avoid them -- properly sized bags for carryon or flying WN -- and less honest ways, like you propose.

I'm not sure if its improperly sized or not. I'm assuming it is because I haven't measured it yet, but there is chance. I'm just trying to collect information at this point.

Me thinks you are back-pedaling.

That doesn't seem like a hypothetical at all?