LGA & JFK have curbside check-in. I guess it may depend on the airline. Last month we flew Delta and we pulled up to the curb, right in front of the kiosk and they took our bags and gave us our boarding passes. Of course it was chaos inside and we had to stand in a security line for 90 minutes. It was the first day of the liquid ban!

Welcome to FLyerTalk

While you can't print luggage tags, you can make sure you have the seats you want and get your upgrades processed through the online checkin process.

On the two or three times a year I need to check luggage, I do it curbside. It is usually quick and costs just a few bucks to the skycaps doing the checkin. They give me another copy of my boarding pass (which is now good to give to the TSO if you have anything to declare and don't want to carry around a marked up boarding pass).

- Alan

Who checks bags?

People who have business trips that last longer than a week or so! And there are a few of us, at least.

My most common trip is 4 - 7 weeks. In that period, there is usually some change in season. Packing now for Chicago. The leaves will turn and fall while I am there and I bet I will see a temp range from 60's to 80's.

Also, I like to have my own stuff and did pack quite quite a bit heavier than I absolutely need to. In for a penny, in for 50 lbs.

OLCI's gretest benefit (at least to me) is a possibility to choose where exactly I would sit (especially if said airline do not handle seat assignments at the time of booking). just imagine what is the difference of sitting (in Y) in the middle seat vs grabbing a seat at exit row - for example if it is 10 hour flight
AX

For me checking bags is not an option no matter how long the trip or where I am going. The huge amount of lost time and productivity due to checking bags, plus the giant PITA when a bag is lost means I just use the hotel laundry on the road and buy clothes if I need them. When I am going to cold then warm places, I just pack a few older shirts that I don't want anymore, then toss them when I go to the warm place. Or vice versa.

I travel all over the world on business usually going from a few days to a month and I always do it with one shoulder bag and one laptop bag. The expense of hotel laundry and buying a few items is tiny compared to the productivity I gain.

Another big problem with checking bags (if you are a serious business traveler) is when you have to change flights at the last minute for whatever reason. If you bag is in the bottom of the plane you were previously going to take, you are screwed.

I never thought of just tossing some of my older shirts. At this time of year when I travel from Florida to the Northeast, to Texas and to the Rockies, I am always having to try to plan for what the weather will be like next week or at the end of next week. I just never thought of getting rid of some older clothes. Thanks for the tip.

That is why (except for leisure travel), I never check bags. I can't count the number of times I have been at the boarding gate and the cell phone rang with a request to go somewhere other than where I was headed.

- Alan

Well, I am a serious business traveler, though I try to laugh now and then. We just have different patterns. I take 4 to 6 long trips a year, but each time I am in one place for quite a while. Four 4 1/2 week stays each year. So I don't have to face the changes in schedule or as many changes as you. I would certainly have to change my way if I did.

Not only do I travel heavy, but I keep 4 -6 banana boxes of stuff in two cities: printer, kitchen gear, good speakers for my iPod, a box of office supplies.

Nimble it isn't. In a way, I travel a lot for (serious) business, but I don't fly nearly as much as many here. 50 - 60, thousand miles a year and that only because 3 of my long stays are in Europe.

We all have different pattens and different requirements. That is the reason I responded to the crack "Who checks bags?" For some, it makes eminent sense.

Best wishes!