It seems unwise to gate-check a bag with a laptop anyway, given the way the luggage handlers throw bags around. Gate-checking a roller board suitcase with clothing is one thing, but I wouldn't check anything fragile or particularly expensive.
I flew out of Beijing recently, and there all check-in baggage was immediately scanned for batteries. If they found what they thought were batteries, you had to remove them from the bag and take it on carry-on.
Sometimes there is no choice, e.g. in the case when I carry two or three laptops for work reasons, and the weight limit of carry-on baggage means only one fits in hand luggage.
A laptop packed properly in a hard bag full of clothes isn't very likely to take any hit, though. If the baggage handlers run over it by a truck, then it may be damaged, but not in plane.
What airline actually checks the weight limit on carry-on bags? I've never had mine checked for weight and I carry a backpack that looks like it shouldn't meet the size guidelines, but does.
It depends on the route, but I saw this done on many flights from mainland China to Europe, on several airlines.
(And considering the amount of carry-on luggage that people routinely bring in Chinese domestic flights, this is not surprising; there's a limit to what the overhead lockers can take, not to mention that pathetic slot where your feet should be.)
Not OP, but anecdotally, this happens a lot outside the US. The most recent airline to make me weigh my carry on was Qantas, but I don't think it has ever been required of me within the US.
Ironically, for people who travel a lot, the exact opposite happens and we are frequently "encouraged" to use our baggage allotment to reduce courier costs for the company.
Particularly for confidential things, or when in real hurry, I really can't ship it, I have to carry it along.
A typical case is that we have software in development, I'm about to demonstrate it to a customer tomorrow, and before I leave for the trip, I'm making the final build and tweaking of demonstration data set at office and installing in the laptop that I use as a demo server.
By the time I'm ready, the DHL shipments for the day have gone and if I ship it, it would be there one day after my demo. So it has to be in my luggage.
Yes, checked-in luggage may also be lost and delayed, but with direct flights, I'll be fine as long as I'm not going to CDG (Paris).
