Paid for checked bag: will I have to pay if they force me to gate-check it?

Question

I have an overseas flight booked with Eurowings discover which includes a checked bag.

I plan on carrying a suitcase, which fits the dimensions of a carry-on and a rucksack, which is larger than the allowed size for the personal item. I do not plan on carrying a larger suitcase.

If I do not hand over my suitcase, but am forced to gate-check it because only one bag of that dimension is allowed on board, will I have to pay a fee?

EDIT: clarifications: I am allowed to bring

• 1 piece of luggage (checked)
• 1 carry-on suitcase
• 1 personal item (significantly smaller than carry-on suitcase-size)

I want to bring

• 1 carry-on suitcase
• 1 rucksack that is larger than the allowed personal item

What I would like to know is: If I decide to not check my suitcase, but bring it on board with me, will I be forced to check it in at the gate (because I am only allowed one object on board that is larger than a personal item)? If so, do I have to pay for it to be checked-in (even though I have one checked bag free and haven't used that)?

Why I would want to do this? Because it saves me a lot of time at both airports.

Answer 1

While I haven’t found a page which states it explicitly in the case of Eurowings (it’s more explicit on some other airlines’ websites), generally the gate-check fee is independent of any purchased hold luggage: the fee for hold luggage is valid only if you drop the bag at check-in/baggage drop, not at the gate.

The price is actually quite different and much more expensive in the case of a gate check.

Note that:

• This applies only if they notice you are over the limit. If you are not or they don’t notice and they are just running out of space, gate check is normally free.
• I think this is implied in your question, but carry-on + personal item requires the “two cabin bags” option or one of the fares which includes it (Smart or Biz). Basic fares only include the smaller item.

Answer 2

I have flown with Eurowings recently. I had purchased a ticket, which included checked in luggage, plus I had a backpack, about the size of allowed carry-on and another bag with sufficient food/entertainment/etc for 3 children, which was way bigger in size than the "personal" item allowance. Each of the children had their own carry-on backpacks.

At the gate, the agents asked me to put each of the bags (including children's backpacks) into the sizing frame for carry on - and then happily let us onto the plane. So, in short, they just checked that each item that was taken onto the plain was within the allocated size. To me it seemed that they just treated the allowance as "two carry-on items".

This happened on three out of four flights of the itinerary UK-DE-GE, then GE-DE-UK. The last DE-UK leg they didn't care about anything, as the flight was being delayed to accommodate the delay of our incoming flight, which had half the passengers of DE-UK leg, so they just rushed us onto the plain without checking anything.