Believe me they would NOT have happy customers after I was there for a day. This baggage issue is my biggest flying pet peeve. I would be militant about if it doesnt fit in the sizer "no carry-on for you"!!!! *smile*

Wow, you are really judging people tonight.

FWIW, I do not feel that I am more important than other people. I do not feel that I can't be seperated from my luggage. I pack wisely and have very minimal luggage and I carry it on not because I am important, but because I want to be able to switch flights in case of bad weather in Atlanta or I want to go standby and if you have luggage checked you cannot do that.

What holds up boarding are the once a year flyers who have no clue how to get on a plane.

Boarding is set for 1/2 hour. I have never, ever been on a flight (and yes, I fly planes bigger than CRJs) that have taken an hour from first boarding to door closed. Lehava, I know you mostly fly CRJs so I don't know how you can be sick of these larger bags and of the long boarding times. Do they allow you to carry on a roller to your CRJ in BGM instead of making you plane side check it? Not wonder it takes forever for you to board.


And NO ONE is following the rules??? I think I'm tired and better go to be before I get into a big arguement here. :)

Until we get clarification from the OP this is just speculation, but I believe the second bag was disallowed because it was too big to qualify as a "personal item", not because it wouldn't fit into the overhead.

Why not? That would make this thread even more fun.

Probably a good idea, since every word I have said in this thread you seem to be translating to mean YOU and that was NOT at all what I was saying. While you may be a perfect flyer and follow all the rules the MAJORITY of passengers (which is who I was referring to) do NOT.

You are right on CRJ's rollaboards are not the biggest problem, in that case it seems to be shopping bag and packages that are way over the legal size, duffel bags and other oversized bags. I flew 4 segments this week on RJ's and can say on 3 of the 4 (the avro seemed to be somewhat sane) the boarding was RIDICULOUS and the hold up was people trying to fit way too much and way too big of carry on baggage into the overheads. And with a lot of the smaller airports waiting for people to stow their crap means standing outside in the cold waiting to board the plane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It does not help any that on most RJ's the airlines have now allocated the bins for the first row to the FA's supplies, which already puts the number of passengers and the amount of baggage space in a negative position.

On the bigger flights I have been on (more lately than I would like). Boarding has taken well over a 1/2 hour for the same reason. Too many bags that would NEVER have passed the sizer test.

In the "good old days" when the airlines were sending flights out 1/2 full this was a lot less of an issue but now that more and more flights are going out full this baggage issue is going to become more and more of a factor I fear!

Oh. The one time I gate checked anything on a mainline aricraft, I was handed a tag that I filled out myself, tore the carbon off and left it at the end of the jetway. The GA never touched the bag, he just handed me a tag and a pen. Bummer, I thought I had something going there...back to the drawing board I guess.

If someone meets the carry-on requirements set forth by Delta/FAA, and if they are a elite member of the airlines alliance program, then why should they have to check a bag when they are in compliance with the aforementioned requirements?

If the cabin is really that full, maybe people should use the space under their seat? @:-)

I did that ONCE in my misbegotten youth, a mistake I've never repeated. It was on an SFO-ORD flight in the winter, of course UA lost my bag. I had to get home from ORD coatless, and I came down with a cold the next day.

I always have a basic change of underwear and outdoor clothing suitable for the arrival climate (and for possible inbetween climates, in case of a disruption/redirection), and whatever else I need to last 24 hours, since I've been stuck overnight on bad connections six or eight times. (In CDG, FRA, EWR, and others). Bottom line, I'm with the OP on this one, and I agree- for me early boarding is the most important perk of elite.

And the early access to storage space onboard!

A little trick for the op to prevent him/her being picked on in the future...

If you are wielding a rollaboard, small carryon, laptop bag plus overcoat, etc, it's wise to approach the GA and ask if you can check your bags. He/she will tag your larger bags and allow you to board, secure in the belief that you won't be taking up valuable stowage space. You will board and instead of leaving your bags at end of the jetway, simply walk aboard and stow them in the overhead bins.

I have been in situations where my bag was well within the size limits (18 in roller, fits in the size container), but they made me check anyway, all the way to my final destination (this was on NW once and AF once). This was a huge pain, since my heavy brief case bag straps onto the roller, and I had to carry it during all of my connections (it's a good thing I work out). Not to mention having to carry in-flight necessities in a little plastic bag. Airports are so much more dull when it's not convenient to walk around, shop, etc. The GAs didnt care if there was still room on the plane, if I was elite, boarding early, that the bag was within the limits - they just said the flight is full and I had no choice.

sucked.

Yeah...probably a great time to hit the sack.
And, BTW, you misspelled "argument".
:p :p

The elites you would also be taking it out on aren't the problem. I travel with a laptop bag and a roll-aboard. My roll-aboard is probably bigger than the rules allow. I doubt it would fit in the size-wise. That said however, I can get that bag in the overhead and my laptop bag under my seat in much less time than it takes the average person to figure out which aisle they should turn down.

It's infrequent flyers with a ton of luggage that hold up boarding, not the elites.

I have had this happen to me before. It's really annoying when you want to get to your destination ASAP but have to wait 30 minutes for your bag. I also gave in because I didn't want to bother arguing with the gate agent.

I dislike the DL concept on gate checking where you give them your bag and pick it up at baggage claim. On other airlines when you gate check a bag, you get it back in the jetway when you land.

On a related note, I'll share an anecdote: Whenever I see people try to stuff their oversized ( >24" rollerboard) and other bags into the overhead bin and have to check it, I recall the story from my grandmother's trip many many years ago (probably late 80s or early 90s). She was on a flight either to or from NY- Orlando (on TWA) when a passenger carried on on a twin sized mattress aboard. This didn't exactly fit in the overhead bin but the person was allowed to store the mattress in the bulkhead (taboo today) or near one of the closets. This is obviously an extreme case but people still bring oversized bags on these days.

Fear not I would not discriminate to only elites. Everyone would get treated the same. Bag in sizer regardless of your status, and it either fits or doesnt.

You may be able to get your bag in the overhead fast, but as you admit yourself it is over size limit it is taking up space that should be someone else's space so it is going to take them twice as long to find space for their bag. It all dominos!!!!