Woman Flying American Airlines From Texas To New York City Volunteers To Check Her Bag. Then She Realizes Why It Was A Huge Mistake

A woman offered to check her carry-on bag on a flight. Then, she realized she made a major error. Here’s why.

Traveling seems to be getting more expensive by the day. Not only are ticket prices increasing, but the cost of checking a bag has skyrocketed in recent years. Airlines that used to offer free checked bags now make you pay for them—and in some cases, you can’t even bring a full-sized carry-on onto a flight without paying extra.

Even if you manage to make it all the way to the gate with your bag, the airline might not let you bring it on board. Mandatory gate checking is becoming more common. While some airlines will ask for volunteers for checked bags—which you can refuse—others will simply require that you check your bag at the gate, leaving you without access to your bag for the whole flight.

One woman recently shared her experience of volunteering to let the airline check her bag at the gate. Soon after, she wished she didn’t.

What Happened During This Woman’s Flight?

In a video with almost 2,000 views, TikTok user Natalie Collins (@nataliercollins) explains why she “hate[s] American Airlines.”

According to Collins, she expected to board a flight from Austin, Texas, to New York’s JFK Airport at 11:30am. While everyone was able to board the flight without issue, problems emerged soon after leaving the gate.

“We start to leave the gate. Then, all of a sudden they’re like, ‘Actually, we can’t do that,’” Collins recalls. “We were already on the plane for, like, 30 minutes, waiting on the tarmac, and they’re like, ‘Actually, there’s an engine issue. We have to go back so that way we can check it out.’”

Collins says she initially had no problem with this, as she “[doesn’t] want to fly on an unsafe plane.” However, it soon became clear that this would be a long wait—this put Collins in a bad situation.

“Guess who volunteered to check her bag that has her meds, because it was a full flight and she was in the last seat?” she asks, indicating that it was herself.

It Becomes A Rebooking Nightmare

Immediately, Collins says the airport was a mess with people trying to rebook. The problem is that there didn’t appear to be any other options than the flight they were presently trying to take.

“There’s no other American flights that are leaving. The one that was at 5 was already full before this even happened,” she explains.

There was some brief hope that their flight would be usable again. However, after two and a half hours of waiting, the group learned that their plane was not, in fact, ready to go—and that the airline might actually cancel their flight.

“So now everybody’s panicking, because they’re trying to rebook, and there’s no flights,” Collins details. “And now all the flights—because airlines work like…Ticketmaster, all the flights now are $2,000 to get to New York. Like, every single airline.”

There’s No Assistance

Collins then booked a flight to a different, nearby airport via Southwest. Still, as her flight wasn’t until 5pm, she had time to wait—and so, she asked an American Airlines worker if they could offer her any benefits or vouchers to make up for the wait.

“I go up there at 2:30, and I’m like, ‘Hey, it’s past the three hours. Can I get a voucher or anything?’ They’re like, ‘No, we don’t do that anymore.’”

She says an airline employee also told her that, while she could cancel her flight, she would not be able to access her bag unless the airline itself canceled the flight. In any other case, the airline would send the bag to her. This means that, in practical terms, Collins’ decision to check her carry-on meant that she was stuck with her original flight booking—and that her Southwest booking was effectively useless.

Collins then made the decision to cancel her Southwest flight and book another flight for the morning, keeping the original flight “just in case.”

In the meantime, she says they eventually gave her a voucher—for $12, which she says could not be used on alcohol.

“The only thing that’s $12 at the airport is a bottle of water,” she states. “Six-hour delay and not even promising me that the flight is actually going to happen—and you’re gonna send me $12? That’s f—– wild.”

What Is She Entitled To?

Unfortunately, the answer is “not much.” In the United States, flyers have fairly limited protections when it comes to flight delays and cancellations. Consequently, it’s often up to airlines themselves to set their own cancellation and refund policies.

American Airlines has a reputation for offering $12 meal vouchers in cases of massive delays—though the company recently renamed these vouchers to “food/beverage credits.”

According to an internal memo View from the Wing posted, this was changed because customers were expecting their meal vouchers to cover the price of a meal at the airport—something that is nearly impossible for $12.

Rules around baggage can be a little difficult to parse, especially in complicated situations like these. That said, it appears that, given American Airlines was uncertain about the status of the flight, they were under no obligation to unload Collins’ bag. This is why many experts recommend traveling with critical medication in your carry-on or personal item—and not letting that medication leave your sight.

Should They Have Rebooked Her?

Finally, it should be noted that, if the flight truly was delayed so significantly, she could argue that she should have been rebooked onto another flight. American Airlines’ policy says that when a significant disruption is its fault—and no American flights are available until the next day—it will rebook passengers on a partner airline at no additional charge. This is not subject to price, but availability.

If other flights truly were available, it could be argued that these passengers should have been rebooked onto the other flights.

Collins has not posted an update regarding what happened after the video concluded, or whether she was able to take her flight. Still, she can reach out to American Airlines to see if they will offer her a courtesy credit for her troubles—though it’s uncertain whether she’ll actually get anything.

BroBible reached out to American Airlines via email and Collins via email and Instagram direct message.