Flying to Hawaii from East Coast with an overnight layover in LA. I called AA and they said we could check our bags all the way through. This is helpful so we don't have to deal with them in LA and can carry on our overnight stuff.

Do our bags wait in LAX somewhere and then get put on the plane with us? Will they be waiting for us in Hawaii? Is this a bad idea? I late/missing bag would not be a tragedy for this sort of trip. We'll throw bathingsuit and shorts in our overnight bag but I am trying to assess the likelihood our bags will get lost.

Thanks

Your bags are suppose to wait in LA and get on the plane with you. You are braver then I am. I would NOT do it, I would pick up my bags in LAX and recheck. IMHO, bags sitting around for that logn have a higher chance of lost and MUCH higher chance of "let's rummage around and see if there is anything to steal"

Actually we did were able to do this when we flew back from Europe even - loved it. Upon check in our bags were checked to PHX. We were surprised as like CarolA we thought they had to fly with you but when we landed in Chicago, got our bags and cleared customs, there was no problem in giving them right back to the reps to put on the belts to be on their way even though the tags clearly stated they were for a flight the following day. We spent the night in Chicago (had an overnight carry on) and when we arrived in PHX the bags were locked up in the baggage area. So if it were me, I'd do it.

Bags do not have to go on the same flight as the passenger. The key phrase in the law is "for the convenience of the airline." That is, although the passenger has no say in what flights the bags may travel on, an airline has the right to transport a bag on another flight if it deems it necessary for whatever operational reason.

A common reason, often seen with commuter flights, is if the aircraft is overweight. Then sometimes the airline will do a quick scan and see if any bags have a long layover at the downstream station and hold them for the next flight, without any impact on their ultimate arrival.

I have also seen bags checked on a heavily booked flight being sent on an earlier, lightly loaded flight.

I am definitely not worried about someone stealing our suitcase full of old shorts and t-shirts! I think we'll try to check all the way through. This isn't a trip where I'd be heartbroken if our bags came late. We are taking a few things in the overnight bag with us. I'll let you know how it goes!

Follow up - they would not let us check our bags all the way through since the connecting flight was more than 24 hours after the original flight. Not sure if that is just an AA policy or the norm.

That's the norm, and you have a stopover, not a connection now.