What's the negative to getting gate checked?
 

I have been happy to have my rollaboard gate checked during boarding... so far. Best of both worlds. Don't have to lift it into the overhead, don't have to go to baggage claim. It's a standard 22 x 14 x 9, usually overstuffed. Never been put in the measuring box. What happens if they choose to make an issue of it?

Not all airlines will let you get it without going to luggage claim, some will require you to get it with all the other bags.

To me the biggest issue is it is not tagged the same as the others. It doesn't have a bar code tag (usually) and doesn't have the scan history. If it gets lost, it may take much longer to find because it's not in the system. It also doesn't have a destination code on it that the automated sorters can recognize, so it has to be hand sorted at any connections which may or may not work all the time.

There is also some question as to the airline's liability should something go wrong, as it's not really a checked bag.

You also have to bring it through security, which limits what you can have in it, and have to lug it around till you get to the gate.

Also, I've had to wait over 10 minutes while they found/brought my bag out.

Also, you might have to check it by surprise and leave something in your bag that you wanted during the flight.

I usually think it's win-win as well, but am annoyed when I have to reclaim it at baggage claim rather than at the gate. One downside is if you accidently leave something in it that you'd like on the flight. I've also seen some people frantically searching for things within them before they get checked, so that's a potential downside.

Do they ever refuse to gate check a bag once it has made it through security?

They don't measure bags on the tunnel.

I had a very tight connection in PHX and had no choice but to gate check on the way there from SFO. So the extra 5 minutes waiting for the bag to come up was... stressful. I got to the next gate 1 minute after they closed the door...

Had I had the bag in the cabin (impossible on the CRJ, but you get the idea) I'd have made the connection normally saving those few minutes. (I actually got the m to let me on)

I had to witness how the ground crew abused my luggage right in front of my eyes.

There have been several instances where I've had to wait to claim a gate checked bag in poor weather, such as rain or snow. This usually happens on the outbound leg of my trips from ATL into smaller airports where some or all gates use steps instead of a jet way. This combination usually means the poor weather is also later at night when I'm tired and still have a car rental and hotel check-in ahead of me.

For this reason, I've gone to a horizontal laptop/overnight roller (TravelPro Wall Street VIP Deluxe Expanding Computer Brief, replaced by the ExecutiveFirst line) that's large for its class but has never required gate-checking. Unfortunately it's only good for about 2 nights of travel, so longer trips require a 20". I'm considering going to a 20" full-time anyway (likely TravelPro Crew 8 20") but I'm going to see how often the new job puts me in CRJs.

If another passenger picks up your gate checked bag and walks off with it, you are in big trouble especially if you are far back in the plane and have to wait for others to deplane before you get your chance.

I gave up wheels and now use a RedOxx bag that fits even on a regional jet without risk of having to be gate checked. A huge relief of stress.

Isnt this true of any checked luggage?

To sum up: on the small regional jets, the overhead bins will not hold a standard 20 or 22 inch rollaboard anyway. On them, gate checked baggage is reclaimed planeside so there is no real downside...unless the plane is overweight and your bag has to go on the next flight. On large planes, the overhead bins will hold a standard rollaboard, but if they fill up or your bag is too overstuffed to fit gate checking is more risky because there is no planeside reclaiming of bags. You will retrieve it at baggage claim with the potential of lost or delayed luggage that goes with that. The moral is, pack your truly vital necessities in your second "personal item" bag that fits under the seat in front of you, at least on the way out. On the way home, having your bag arrive sometime later than you do is not such a worry.

Of the countless RJ flights where I've had to gate check my bag, there has never been an instance where all the pax didn't beat the gate checked luggage to the jetbridge. Now that people are trying to avoid the checked bag fees, it's takes a lot longer to get the gate checks unloaded and back to the waiting pax.

My carryon contains one change of clothes, a toothbrush....and ~$8000 worth of photography and computer equipment.

I keep it or I take another flight.

If it's a planeside check - you get the bag on the jetbridge on the way out - that's great. But at least on USAir, that's only for RJ's and you know that going in. For larger jets, if the overheads are full and you need to check the bag, it goes to baggage claim, which can we an interminable wait.