Gate agents are faced with several competing priorities, especially on smaller planes / regional jets. They want to help customers, enforce the boarding order and any carrier rules about carryons, but most of all, they are trying to get planes out on time. An on-time departure is one of the most important things to airlines, and many (most? all?) gate agents are rewarded if their flight leaves on time and / or penalized if the flight is late
Forcing Passengers To Check Carryons
It has become a common occurrence to hear of passengers (near the end of the boarding process) being forced to gate check their carryons, because the plane will “run out of room”. And then to find that when they board the plane, there is plenty of room in the overhead bins. This causes frustration for passengers, because whether you are on Team Carryon or Team Checked Bag, most people agree that having to gate check your bag is the worst of both worlds.
(SEE ALSO: 5 things you should never pack in a checked bag)
(SEE ALSO: Is It Rollaboard Or Roller Board? Or Roll-Aboard?)
Recently, I had an experience with this process that I thought I’d share
Being The Last One To Take A Carryon
I was on a flight a few weeks ago from Chicago to Cincinnati on American Airlines. I was boarding in Group 6 (out of 9) due to having an AAdvantage account. I generally tend to try to be at the front of my group, especially if I know I have a carryon that I need to put in the overhead bins. So I was one of the first, if not the actual first person in my boarding group to board.
And right after I scanned my boarding pass, I heard one gate agent tell the other “He (meaning me) is the last one”. I looked behind me, and sure enough, they were making everyone else behind me check their bags.
First… The Overhead Bins WERE Full
I was all ready to write a post about how they started making people check bags even though there was tons of space on the flight, but… the overhead bins actually WERE full.
I barely had an empty place to put my rollaboard suitcase in the overhead bin.
Then… The Flight Is Diverted
I settled down for the short flight from Chicago to Cincinnati, but unfortunately, our slight delay upon leaving was compounded because we were flying into the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. We tried to land 3 times at CVG, only to eventually be forced to divert to Columbus.
When we landed in Columbus, at first they did not bring out any of the checked bags. Needless to say that this was IMMENSELY unpopular with passengers, since many of us were trying to make alternate arrangements to get to Cincinnati (or other destinations). Eventually, American Airlines relented and took the bags to baggage claim, but I was glad to not have to deal with trying to get my checked bag and then get BACK into the secure zone of the airport.
The Bottom Line
Gate agents have a vested interest in making you check your bag (even if there might be room in the overhead bins), because above all else they want the flight to go out on time. Recently, I was on an American Airlines flight where I was literally the last person who got to carryon his suitcase. So I was surprised to find out that the overhead bins actually WERE full (or nearly full).
Ever had to gate check your carryon? Was there room left in the overhead bins? Leave your experience in the comments below
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I’ve seen the overhead bins pretty much full on AA almost all the time.
So many times they are not full but they make people check bags anyway!!!Also if peeps would not put their tiny bags and backpacks or their 2 and 3 rd bags in overhead bins where would be room!!