The airlines chose to turn a simple logistical procedure into a silly game of caste and cash. Passengers chose to play the game and try to win, beating their fellow passengers. Moving 100 people 100 feet takes 45 minutes and 5 crew members to organize. Instead of everybody working together to make it smooth, passengers compete against each other and the airlines. Passengers try and get the largest bag possible on the plane free of charge. They try to get on before other passengers so they can take up lots of overhead space and normally try to put their bags in bins closer to the front than their seats. Later passengers who sit up front then have to put their bags closer the the back of the plane and then fight to get back there when it is time to get off. They shove, squeeze and smash bags into the already filled bins rougher than any bag handler could dream of in a desperate attempt to avoid checking. The designers and players of the game all seem to work very hard in making the simple task of getting on a plane very difficult, slow and unpleasant.

The whole game is so bizarrely penalizing that passengers actually want to be first to get onto a cramped plane and sit down, where they will be cramped and sitting hours on end. While flight is a modern miracle, flying is like the Jerry Springer show- it is humans at their worst and is depressing to watch.

Why don't they just put seat numbers and dividers on the bins? Your luggage fits in your bin or it gets checked at $25.

Travelling for one week or less and all my luggage (clean underwear and toothbrush) fits into a small backpack that I still can't find room for when I board late. Being tall means under the seat does't work well since my feet are there. Anything less than ten hours drive is a road trip for me.