Is there a reason the GA made me gatecheck bags with plenty of overhead storage left?
Jan 23, 2015, 8:57 am
#47
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Flying from LAX -> ATL -> SAV tonight. I am a professional photographer traveling on assignment, which means in my roll-aboard is probably $60k worth of equipment (medium format cameras, lenses, computers, etc, DYKWIA 
blah blah), basically everything I need to make a living. It all fits perfectly in a rather standard bag, which, albeit heavily, I am easily able to lift and put in the overhead bins. This is my only carry-on. I have marginal-at-best DL status, client was paying for transportation so I'm stuck boarding towards the end.
I get to the gate agent about 2/3rds of the way through the boarding process and immediately get a load of tone from the gate agent telling me how that has to be checked through to my final destination, full flight, overhead bins already full, etc. Before I can even say anything she is printing out the tags and trying to put it on my bag. Right in front of me on the jetway is a clearly startled family tearing things out of their bags because they'd also been told there was no room left on the flight, and they too, would have to take what they could from their bags and leave them in the cargo hold.
At this point I'm trying to discuss what's in the bag with the gate agent, of course she isn't having any of it and since I don't want to look like an idiot for holding up the line, painfully admit defeat here, and take out what I can (camera body, computer, etc) and cross my fingers that everything will arrive in one piece.
I walk down the jetway and get on the plane and see AT LEAST HALF OF THE OVERHEAD BINS ARE EMPTY.
This is absolutely infuriating. F/As of course won't let me go collect my bag, so I sit there fuming and full of anxiety for the entire flight over something that I was more or less lied to about. Why the heck would the gate agent be so absolutely convinced that there is no more room in the overhead bins for luggage, and be so clearly wrong? Of course the gear is insured and everything, but it's an enormous hassle, especially when on the way to do work and there is a very real possibility of lost/missing luggage on a time-sensitive assignment.
It of course sounds a little 'DYKWIA' of my to say 'well I'm a photographer, this is expensive stuff, etc' and that of course everyone's belongings should be treated fairly, but there was a somewhat comical amount of room left in the overhead bins. It was a 767, maybe 3/4 full in the rear cabins. I would be pissed even if I wasn't a photographer, just a normal guy who ended up having to deal with this, or god forbid a family of four with small children.
Hugely disappointing.
blah blah), basically everything I need to make a living. It all fits perfectly in a rather standard bag, which, albeit heavily, I am easily able to lift and put in the overhead bins. This is my only carry-on. I have marginal-at-best DL status, client was paying for transportation so I'm stuck boarding towards the end.I get to the gate agent about 2/3rds of the way through the boarding process and immediately get a load of tone from the gate agent telling me how that has to be checked through to my final destination, full flight, overhead bins already full, etc. Before I can even say anything she is printing out the tags and trying to put it on my bag. Right in front of me on the jetway is a clearly startled family tearing things out of their bags because they'd also been told there was no room left on the flight, and they too, would have to take what they could from their bags and leave them in the cargo hold.
At this point I'm trying to discuss what's in the bag with the gate agent, of course she isn't having any of it and since I don't want to look like an idiot for holding up the line, painfully admit defeat here, and take out what I can (camera body, computer, etc) and cross my fingers that everything will arrive in one piece.
I walk down the jetway and get on the plane and see AT LEAST HALF OF THE OVERHEAD BINS ARE EMPTY.
This is absolutely infuriating. F/As of course won't let me go collect my bag, so I sit there fuming and full of anxiety for the entire flight over something that I was more or less lied to about. Why the heck would the gate agent be so absolutely convinced that there is no more room in the overhead bins for luggage, and be so clearly wrong? Of course the gear is insured and everything, but it's an enormous hassle, especially when on the way to do work and there is a very real possibility of lost/missing luggage on a time-sensitive assignment.
It of course sounds a little 'DYKWIA' of my to say 'well I'm a photographer, this is expensive stuff, etc' and that of course everyone's belongings should be treated fairly, but there was a somewhat comical amount of room left in the overhead bins. It was a 767, maybe 3/4 full in the rear cabins. I would be pissed even if I wasn't a photographer, just a normal guy who ended up having to deal with this, or god forbid a family of four with small children.
Hugely disappointing.
Then I would explain that it would take me at least 10 minutes to remove all the lithium batteries in the bag.
I've never been forced to gate check, for some reason.
Jan 23, 2015, 8:58 am
#48
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Boarding legally with zone SKY should guarantee bin space or something is very wrong.
Jan 23, 2015, 9:00 am
#49
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I would insist on buying insurance and require that the Gate Agent state, in writing, that everything in the bag was covered, taking full responsibility for any loss or damage. I would explain that we would both go through the bag and itemize everything in it in the event that a claim was necessary.
Then I would explain that it would take me at least 10 minutes to remove all the lithium batteries in the bag.
I've never been forced to gate check, for some reason.
Then I would explain that it would take me at least 10 minutes to remove all the lithium batteries in the bag.
I've never been forced to gate check, for some reason.
Jan 23, 2015, 9:23 am
#50
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Request "supplemental insurance". Since the camera gear is not normally covered, the insurance would be the only way to protect it with Delta. That insurance must be sold at the ticketing counter, causing massive issues for the GA. I've faced this a few times, and each time, when I requested supplemental insurance If they were going to check it, the GA and FAs miraculously found room on board.
Jan 23, 2015, 9:57 am
#51
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What requiring to buy the insurance solves is the requirement to gate check. Selling the insurance takes time, which the GA won't spend.
Jan 23, 2015, 10:03 am
#52
Join Date: Feb 2013
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I'm in the same line of work, and often travel with two medium format digital camera backs that together are worth the value of a Mercedes. It's never easy. If the flight is looking like it's packed, I've requested to pre-board. I've also purchased early boarding on airlines other than Delta, to increase chances at overhead bin space.
Bottom line is, I find a way to get the gear on board that is most crucial to the job. If needed (like on an RJ sometimes), I'll pull the backs from my roller and place them in my briefcase, as they're the hardest to replace on short notice, along with a camera body and a lens. That way, worst case scenario, I can still do something if all of my luggage is destroyed.
Jan 23, 2015, 10:08 am
#53
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I mis-typed, it's actually called "Excess Valuation": http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...age-value.html
Jan 23, 2015, 10:26 am
#54
Join Date: Aug 2011
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A medallion behind me based in ORD said that this particular red coat does it often. When he knows it's going to be full and they need bags checked he just starts requiring people to do it through out instead of at the end.
Jan 23, 2015, 11:02 am
#55
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I would agree that sometimes it is to get the flight out quicker and speed up the boarding process. I once had a GA have me check a small rollerboard on a Delta shuttle from LGA to BOS. When I boarded, there was plenty of space in the overhead bins, which I have found to be typical of those shuttles during the week with lots of people just making a quick day trip. I didn't fight when they asked me to check it and was just thankful to get on the flight (it was one of those crazy days in LGA with several flights delayed/cancelled and where Delta was actually giving out Amtrak's number over the PA as an alternative means of trasnportation).
Of course I wasn't so happy when my bag never showed up on the baggage carousel in BOS and was never to be found. So unfortunately for Delta in this instance, having me check my bag eventually caught up with them financially. I am sure that this is a rarity though and could have been something beyond Delta's control (e.g., theft at BOS). And when you travel enough, I guess at some point you are going to have that one piece of luggage that never makes its way back to you. On a good note though, this is the first piece of luggage that has never made its way to me eventually, I was only on an overnight trip to NYC with minimal items in the suitcase, and Delta promptly reimbursed me without hassle.
Of course I wasn't so happy when my bag never showed up on the baggage carousel in BOS and was never to be found. So unfortunately for Delta in this instance, having me check my bag eventually caught up with them financially. I am sure that this is a rarity though and could have been something beyond Delta's control (e.g., theft at BOS). And when you travel enough, I guess at some point you are going to have that one piece of luggage that never makes its way back to you. On a good note though, this is the first piece of luggage that has never made its way to me eventually, I was only on an overnight trip to NYC with minimal items in the suitcase, and Delta promptly reimbursed me without hassle.