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For most people priority boarding is all about getting the carry on in the overhead bins. For frequent travelers that spend a ton of time on the road, checking bags and baggage claim is just one more thing to wait on. Also one more place where things can go wrong. It also gives you more flexibility during delays and cancellations. You don't have worry about your bag if get rebooked on another airline or rerouted to another airport etc.
The only time I check a bag going outbound is if its too big to carry on. Coming home I'm more inclined to check it, but won't if it looks like I could run into delay/cancellation situation or if I am connecting to the last flight of the night.
You can't really control the situation when it comes to air travel. Keeping your baggage with you gives you some control and flexibility. There are some other things you can do but by and large you are the mercy of the airlines.
It does irk me to some extent when I see someone break the rules or other common courtesies, but at the end of the day you can only really control your own actions and letting some jerk raise your blood pressure really isn't worth it.
As the wife of an airline employee who has flown more times than I care to count, it's hard for me to believe it's about overhead space. Since my husband is an employee, we fly as "non-revs". This means we are among the last to board, and only if there are seats available. Even so, I cannot recall a time where we have not been able to find space in the overheads for our carry-ons, and most times right over our seats. But we flew Continental (now United) the vast majority of those times. Perhaps it's different on other airlines.
It absolutely depends on the plane and the flight. If it's a popular business route then everyone travelling for work is trying to avoid checking a bag.
There are certain 'pleasantries' or 'behaviors' which you will find are associated with air travel.
You don't recline your seat, for one.
And you don't 'hog' the overhead bin space.
Some people get on with an assigned seat in row 43.....but they dump their legions of crap in the bins right over the first couple of rows of seats so they don't have to lug it to the back of the plane. Unless you are on the plane first to 'defend' the space over your seat (which in my mind is part of the space for which I paid) you have a good chance of finding someone's tourist purchases, shopping crap, farm implements, camping gear, and lord only knows what it is that people cart around with them, in the bin above your seat.
I am sort of ashamed of my behavior, but if the bin is full, and the immediate one's around it are full, I ask the people in my row if the stuff is theirs, and if it isn't , I 'make space' for my stuff over my seat. Sometimes you just 'shrink it', other times you move it, and other times the cabin attendants will move it to another location. If it is BIG, they will simply put it down below. They "get it", but I am sure they are sick of dealing with it.
That's the primary reason for boarding sooner rather than later.
Most of my flights are on Southwest Airlines. where people are more likely to check their bags as there is no charge for checked baggage. Generally, the overhead bins are NOT filled.
If airlines would follow THEIR OWN POLICIES, there would NOT be have the problems that we see. There are always a handful of flyers who do not believe that the rules apply to them.
Back around 9-11, some airports had a template that would not allow you to carry a bag through security that was larger than the allowable carry-on. I wish they still had that.
Back around 9-11, some airports had a template that would not allow you to carry a bag through security that was larger than the allowable carry-on. I wish they still had that.
I still see them in airports all over ... at the ticket counter, before security, at the gates ... they're just largely ignored by passengers and employees.
Unless I've got a connection within 30 minutes of gate arrival, I'm fine with gate check. The most I've ever had to wait was 10 minutes. But if I'm one of the first to board up front, say in the first 5 rows, and I notice there are more bags in the overheads than people in my section, I will mention it to a flight attendant. As someone mentioned earlier, there's a special place in hell for people who are sitting in the back yet put their bags up front. That just screws it up for everyone else.
Back around 9-11, some airports had a template that would not allow you to carry a bag through security that was larger than the allowable carry-on. I wish they still had that.
Pre-TSA Security was done (Contracted out) by either the dominant airline at that terminal, or by the airport authority.
United Airlines (pre-take over by Continental) put the Templates at the security (xray machine) at Dulles airport (and other airports) , Continental sued United and won. UA was imposing its check-in size by "Default" on all travelers. CO has upgraded its planes to have a bigger carry-on size.
Non-UA flyers had to request that the template be removed, But the UA Contracted security would give the travelers a hard time when that would request it, or just not do it. Sending the CO passengers (and others) back to check there bags. Thereby incurring cost for CO (and others) and some passengers missing there flights due to having to go back to check there CO baghs that were the correct carry-on size for that airline.
I'm a professional musician, and I fly at least several times a year for performances. I have to put my instrument in the overhead bin—it's too fragile to check, and it won't fit under my seat. (And yes, it takes up more horizontal space in the bin than one roll-aboard, but per airline and FAA regulations, I am allowed to bring it on board.) I always have the instrument, a laptop bag, and a suitcase that I check.
Because of this, I do whatever I can to make sure that I get on early and store the instrument near my seat. I actually prefer regional jets, because most roll-aboards won't fit in the overheads, but if I'm on a large jet I always pay for priority boarding. I've never had a problem—if the bins are full, flight attendants are usually very understanding and offer to stash it in a crew closet for me—but it's worth the extra $25 to not have to stress about it.
8 pages of responses, and only one person attempts to delve into the psychology if it all. Boarding order is just another manifestation of status and pecking order! He who boards first, can gloat in appearance of being superior. Everyone is crammed into the same aluminum tube, so everyone is equal in that sense; but those with the "privilege" of boarding earlier are more equal than others.
As for the whole question of insufficient overhead space for luggage, I submit that the main culprit in recent years is the proliferation of rollerboards. They are incredibly voluminous and space-inefficient. Years ago, when people carried duffel bags and conventional suitcases without frames or wheels - soft things that could be stuffed against each other and compacted - the same amount of junk could be packed in a smaller space. Now people schlep those ridiculous armored boxed-on-wheels which hold a baseball cap and two pairs of underwear, while occupying a cubic foot (or more) of precious space... all for the putative luxury of rolling their luggage instead of actually carrying it by hand.
For me and a lot of people who fly, it is about carry on bags. For first class it is about more comfortable seats and leg room. I could care less about people seeing me board first. If you fly southwest it is about carry on space and a seat not in the middle.
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