So I was traveling this weekend, and while trying to get through security at Newark was stopped by a Gateway agent and told that my 26" overnight bag was too big to be a carry on. After explaining that it doesn't matter how tall a carry on is when you take an RJ - it's still going to get tagged and put in the baggage compartment - I was told that this was an airline policy. I explained that this wasn't the airline's policy in CVG, and I have only had this problem in Newark. (Never mind the fact that this guy didn't actually work for the airline). I spoke to a supervisor who was only concerned with getting me to check the bag. The only answer these people seemed to be able to give was "No". When I got to CVG, I had to hunt the bag down since someone failed to put the carousel number on the board.

My question is this:

1. Is the traveling public actually required to listen to what these people say? They're not airline employees and not TSA. They're just there. If they were ticket/gate agents or flight crew I could see them having real authority. Isn't it the ticket/gate agent's job to determine whether a bag should be checked?

2. Is this what we want the traveling public (read: Airline CUSTOMERS) to have to deal with? There is already a severe lack of customer service in this country, and people don't want to get more of the same when they travel. Do we really need another barrier to decent service? The employee in question turned away another 4 people while I was checking my bag.

Now, I understand that I travel free. That's really not the point. Imagine how mad I'd be if I was a paying customer and had to pay $15 to check a bag that didn't really need to be checked. It's a huge inconvenience to have to unpack and repack your bag on the floor of a busy airport so that your important items will fit into the one bag you're allowed to have because some guy that should be saying "would you like fries with that" can't use his head when you explain to him how this stuff works. (Nevermind that you shouldn't have to explain it, he works there, he should know.)

And yes, I am irritated by this on a personal level. That doesn't make the above any less valid.