Wow I apologize. Didn't want to hit a nerve or even cause a divorce. NWA has a pretty restrictive 22x14x7 policy (43 inch) policy. I wish it were AirTran which is a generous 55 inch and I wouldnt have any issue at all. Thanks for the information, I am out of the debate.
You didn't hit a nerve. 43"-44" is industry standard. Any bag longer then 22" (and even some 22" bags) won't fit in the bin wheels first. The question isn't if the airline measures the bag, few get measured. The issue is if what happens when your bag won't fit in the bin wheels first.
Airtran doesn't know what they're doing. They have a size limit of 55" but the bag has to fit in the bin. Heavy bags have to be stowed under the seat in front of you. According to a couple of posters some FAs are interpreting that to require all bags fit in the bin wheels in or be gate checked.
Passengers may have grounds to dispute paying to check a bag under those circumstances but are still in the position of having very little time to remove items that shouldn't be checked from a bag.
Look inside the bin. It should list the maximum weight that can safely be stowed. Something like 84 lbs.