AIRLINES & ALLIANCES

Airline Outrage: Why Passengers Keep Getting Forced To Gate Check Bags When Overhead Bins Are Empty

An American Airlines passenger encountered a situation on two consecutive flights where the overhead bins were nearly empty, yet passengers were still required to gate check their carry-on bags. Despite the ample space, passengers weren't allowed to keep their bags with them in the cabin. This scenario is a common complaint among travelers.

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An American Airlines passenger encountered a situation on two consecutive flights where the overhead bins were nearly empty, yet passengers were still required to gate check their carry-on bags. Despite the ample space, passengers weren’t allowed to keep their bags with them in the cabin. This scenario is a common complaint among travelers, alongside issues like damaged checked luggage. 

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The core issue stems from airlines’ policies regarding cabin space. While passengers are permitted to bring carry-on bags, their allowance is contingent upon available space on the aircraft. Thus, boarding early or securing priority boarding can increase the likelihood of finding space for your carry-on. 

In contrast, airlines that charge for checked luggage see more passengers attempting to maximize their carry-on space, often leading to overcrowded overhead bins. Even with larger overhead bins being installed, the increased number of carry-on bags means that some passengers are still forced to gate check their luggage. 

Historically, passengers could bring two full-sized carry-on bags without such issues, due to lower passenger volumes and the fact that checked luggage was usually free. Today, however, the combination of more passengers and extra charges for checked bags contributes to the frequent problem of overcrowded overhead compartments.

• A quarter-century ago, U.S. airline passengers could typically bring two full-sized carry-on bags without facing issues with overcrowded overhead bins.
• This was due to lower passenger loads and the absence of fees for most checked baggage, which meant passengers didn’t fully utilize the available space.

Carry-on bag restrictions started after 9/11 when federal security measures were implemented. To reduce the volume of items needing screening and expedite checkpoint lines, limits on carry-on bags were introduced.

The trend of more passengers bringing bags into the cabin became significant around 2008, when airlines began charging for the first checked bag. This led to an increase in the number of carry-on bags. Southwest Airlines experiences fewer issues with full overhead bins compared to United, Delta, and American, as they allow up to two 50-pound checked bags free of charge.

Airlines have since expanded overhead bin sizes to improve customer satisfaction and streamline the boarding process, as having to gate check bags can cause delays.

• When passengers discover that overhead bins are full at the last minute, they often have to retrieve their bags after already boarding the plane.
• This can cause delays of five to ten minutes per flight. Repeated delays across multiple flights accumulate, leading to cascading delays and missed connections, which can deter customers from booking those flights due to their inconvenient timing.
• As a result, airlines experience decreased fleet efficiency, meaning they require more aircraft to maintain the same flight schedule.

Unfortunately, larger bins aren’t a complete solution. Even when bins are theoretically sized to fit a full-sized carry-on bag for each passenger,

1. This necessitates placing carry-on bags on their side, a practice that many passengers don’t follow. Moreover, efficient use of bin space isn’t consistently achieved.
2. Passengers might store multiple items in the bins, their personal items might end up under the seat, or they may bring additional items like jackets in colder weather.

Airlines continue to monitor flights for the need to gate-check bags, even with larger bins. Gate agents may begin requiring gate-checks while there is still ample space available and may not always communicate this decision to the cabin crew.

They often start checking bags before confirming that the bins are completely full, as waiting could mean having passengers already on the jet bridge with their carry-ons. Under significant pressure to ensure flights depart precisely on time, agents may act preemptively to avoid delays.

• A gate agent isn’t typically rewarded for making sure passengers can bring their items onto the plane.
• They might face criticism from supervisors if too many carry-on bags are allowed onboard, as gate-checking bags can delay the flight by a few minutes.

Gate agents are often incentivized to gate-check more bags than necessary, even when larger bins could accommodate everyone’s carry-ons.

This situation explains why passengers now bring more bags onto planes, why airlines have installed larger bins, and yet there is still insufficient space, leading to the continued need for gate-checking bags.

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