I was talking to someone about this before boarding two weeks ago. We were sitting there wondering why people were in such a hurry to go be crammed in a hot jetway and then in a hot airplane
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I took this attitude until the last flight I got on I waited to be one of the last people on the plane, only to find zero overhead bin space. Had to put my bag about 15 rows behind me, couldn't get it until everyone was off the plane. Wasn't ideal.
jul 10, 2025, 2:08 pm • 1 0 • view
i just take the opportunity to check the bag at the gate, why not get something for free other people pay for
jul 10, 2025, 2:25 pm • 10 0 • view
but then you have to wait for your bag on the other end instead of just leaving the airport
jul 10, 2025, 2:31 pm • 0 0 • view
depends on the airport but ours and most i fly to the way out is where bag claim is anyway and there's not a whole lot of waiting after you account for waiting to get off the plane, going to the bathroom, and so on. plus that waiting is in AC, whereas the other waiting is in hot crowded jetway
jul 10, 2025, 2:36 pm • 3 0 • view
This is the only reason unless you are in First Class and want to get that drank on.
jul 10, 2025, 3:40 pm • 1 0 • view
it's the overhead space, that's the only reason. if you're not in the first half of boarding, you're not getting a bag on
jul 10, 2025, 3:19 pm • 42 0 • view
i don't want a bag on! i let them check it for me for free, thereby getting something for free that other people pay for, and don't have to deal with carrying it around anymore
jul 10, 2025, 3:20 pm • 43 0 • view
Are you checking a laptop, or do you not travel with one?
jul 10, 2025, 4:19 pm • 0 0 • view
that's what my backpack is for
jul 10, 2025, 5:44 pm • 4 0 • view
Ah, a bulky backpack is usually what I want overhead space for (airline seats are already too cramped).
jul 10, 2025, 6:00 pm • 0 0 • view
I don't ever want to wait for a checked bag, especially at airports like Louisville where that can be an extra 20-30 minutes on arrival. Most of my flights, I want to be off the plane and out of the airport as quickly as possible.
jul 10, 2025, 3:22 pm • 35 0 • view
This is exactly it. I stood in the Nashville airport for 90 minutes once waiting on a gate checked bag. I still had a 2 hour drive to the middle of nowhere Tennessee after that.
jul 10, 2025, 3:50 pm • 2 0 • view
45 minutes on average in my experience for bag claim at STL's Southwest terminal. Shitshow every time.
jul 10, 2025, 3:28 pm • 4 0 • view
yeah, 20-30 is generous. we had one where it was over an hour, which is crazy for an airport with 24 total gates
jul 10, 2025, 3:31 pm • 3 0 • view
It's so bad at STL that famously cheap Southwest is chipping in to upgrade the bag claim system.
jul 10, 2025, 3:32 pm • 2 0 • view
That is ridiculous. At that point, just go with the tiny airport model of getting your bag on the tarmac and walking inside.
jul 10, 2025, 3:55 pm • 2 0 • view
Especially if there’s lightning in the area. The new ground stop policies make bag checks especially dicey
jul 10, 2025, 3:33 pm • 1 0 • view
i just never mind that extra 20-30 minutes! and in most airports they have gotten super good at having the bags already at the carousel by the time i get there. i've never had to wait in Denver
jul 10, 2025, 5:51 pm • 2 0 • view
My experience (not with value airlines*) has been if you wait to check the bag at the gate (which they always ask on full flights) you get the bag check free and those bags are last on/first off so they wait for the bag is minimal
jul 10, 2025, 5:59 pm • 3 0 • view
This is 10% of it for me. The other 90% is I simply do not trust the airlines to not lose my bag
jul 10, 2025, 3:30 pm • 4 0 • view
Some dumbshit grabbed my carryon from the overhead by accident and bolted in Madrid last year, didn't even need the airlines assistance
jul 10, 2025, 3:52 pm • 1 0 • view
It's remarkable how bad the general population is at getting off airplanes. I flew to Memphis via Chicago there and Baltimore on the way home and on all 4 flights people from the back rows rushed the front. You gotta wait your turn!
jul 10, 2025, 3:54 pm • 2 0 • view
For reasons I haven't yet learned (probably frontloaded infrastructure expense), American airlines don't use the most efficient boarding/deboarding procedures. We should be getting on and off at both the front and back of planes.
jul 10, 2025, 4:07 pm • 1 0 • view
I will have comple loyalty to whichever airline implements and enforces a "wait your turn to get off the plane" policy. Even if it's more expensive
jul 10, 2025, 3:56 pm • 1 0 • view
But also I am careful to actually follow the carryon rules. Some of these bags people bring on are comically oversized
jul 10, 2025, 3:31 pm • 4 0 • view
oh yeah for sure. my flight on Monday I watched a woman get very angry as the gate agent explained to her that her bag (literally twice the size of mine) wasn't going on (along with her three personal items)
jul 10, 2025, 3:40 pm • 7 0 • view
It's pretty remarkable when you've gone through a bunch of airports in your lifetime to remember that every time you fly there are still tons and tons of people there who have never flown before and don't get the rules.
jul 10, 2025, 3:42 pm • 4 0 • view
Much worse are the people who have flown for years and don't get/don't care about the rules.
jul 10, 2025, 3:55 pm • 5 0 • view
Every time I fly I find myself muttering under my breath the Costanza line about living in a society
jul 10, 2025, 3:42 pm • 3 0 • view
The number of times I’ve heard “your purse counts as a carry on no matter how small it is”
jul 10, 2025, 3:46 pm • 1 0 • view
And if you have a connection, I would avoid checking a bag if possible.
jul 10, 2025, 3:24 pm • 4 0 • view
You mean to tell me you don't sit down for a nice steak dinner at baggage claim?
jul 10, 2025, 3:25 pm • 2 0 • view
I’ve waiting 45+ minutes in Denver. But on the other hand, if I have a layover, the gate check makes it very convenient
jul 10, 2025, 3:42 pm • 0 0 • view
Having had multiple sets of luggage destroyed by baggage handlers, they have to pay me if they want me to check a bag.
jul 10, 2025, 5:31 pm • 1 0 • view
Landing at midnight and waiting for a bag sucksssss though. But I mostly agree that I love a good gateside free check.
jul 10, 2025, 3:22 pm • 3 0 • view
My time feels more valuable than that free checked bag. I don’t feel like standing around baggage claim waiting for it. Now, different airports have faster baggage delivery times than others and sometimes I will utilize the free checked bag, but usually I’d rather just go about my day & not wait.
jul 10, 2025, 3:24 pm • 1 0 • view
Now were talking. I do this shit every time. I got my phone loaded with movies in case my seat back screen isn't working and I don't want to fight with jabronis for overhead space. Don't need anything else.
jul 10, 2025, 3:26 pm • 6 0 • view
Carry-on includes a switch/charger/airpods and that’s it. Flight is 1 hour or ten, does not change.
jul 10, 2025, 3:42 pm • 0 0 • view
Yeah, I get so mad when those SOBs try to steal my bag from me. Fucking thieves. However, as long as I live I will only ever pay the cheapest price available for a flight, so there's a bit of a conflict here.
jul 10, 2025, 4:04 pm • 0 0 • view
I would add you are stuck in the back of tube on deboarding
jul 10, 2025, 3:20 pm • 1 0 • view
I feel like the answer would be overhead space and wanting to claim that. Now the OG Southwest flights it totally made sense to want to board before other people
jul 10, 2025, 2:05 pm • 0 0 • view
And why fight for a seat in the airport, when you're going to be sitting for five hours straight? I try to stand and walk as much as possible when waiting to board.
jul 10, 2025, 2:11 pm • 2 0 • view
Same. I was waiting to board a 9 hr flight 3 weeks ago, boarding was chaotic because no one could understand the announcements from the gate agent, and people were getting really antsy. I turned to my wife and said I'm going to be on this plane for 9 hrs, I'm in no hurry to board.
jul 10, 2025, 3:14 pm • 0 0 • view
Overhead bin space. That's the whole thing! Also Southwest
jul 10, 2025, 2:06 pm • 1 0 • view
searching for overhead bin space when they'll check your bag for free at the gate?
jul 10, 2025, 2:26 pm • 14 0 • view
Avoiding baggage claim is worth the extra time on the plane
jul 10, 2025, 2:44 pm • 0 0 • view
It allows me to not wait 20-30m for my bag and beat the rush to taxi / Uber line
jul 10, 2025, 2:35 pm • 0 0 • view
0% change my bag gets lost/damaged if in overhead bin.
jul 10, 2025, 3:07 pm • 3 0 • view
*chance, dammit.
jul 10, 2025, 5:28 pm • 0 0 • view
Walked off Intl flight this morning. Skipped all the people waiting for their bags and was first in line at the car rental. There's a cost to gate bag check (we were the only flight arriving so I knew that getting off first was key)
jul 10, 2025, 2:28 pm • 1 0 • view
Anxiety. My brain HATES “waiting to do stuff”. If I’m traveling my anxiety is skyrocketing and each completed step gets me closer to it being over. Getting onto the plane and strapped in means I don’t have to do anything but chill.
jul 10, 2025, 2:58 pm • 1 0 • view
that's the thing,! you can't do shit on the airplane because it's hot and people are constantly being idiots around you, whereas whatever your wait at baggage claim is (which, again, for me is generally no wait at all) you can Get Work Done in comfort
jul 10, 2025, 3:02 pm • 0 0 • view
I’m guessing that a lot of this has to do with the difference between people who fly all the time and people who only fly for vacation.
jul 10, 2025, 3:24 pm • 0 0 • view
Flying is never about getting anything done for me. It’s just getting it over. The stress I feel in the airport makes any attempt at productivity impossible. (To be clear, I’m medicated for this- meds are no match for travel).
jul 10, 2025, 3:21 pm • 2 0 • view
Getting your bag in the overhead. That's the only sane reason
jul 10, 2025, 2:35 pm • 2 0 • view
They give you a glass of champagne.
jul 10, 2025, 3:04 pm • 4 0 • view
I really hate everything about flying, so I always just want to get the next step over with ASAP
jul 10, 2025, 3:25 pm • 0 0 • view
I usually travel with camera gear so for me personally I just want to make sure I have overhead space for it! I don’t trust them checking the bag and tossing it into the cargo bay. Otherwise yeah, arrival is the same time no matter what. Why needlessly bleed money.
jul 10, 2025, 2:28 pm • 0 0 • view
Yeah camera gear storage in the overhead bin if I need it is the main reason I get on early. I also feel bad asking people to move for me cos I’m always in the window seat
jul 10, 2025, 2:32 pm • 0 0 • view