I think that a large part of the flying misery has to do with airlines charging for checked bags in combination with constantly full flights. This puts the bar

I think that a large part of the flying misery has to do with airlines charging for checked bags in combination with constantly full flights. This puts the bargain shopping vacationing public in competition for overhead space with business travelers who go carry-on only. Back in the 80s & 90s, it used to be that boarding order did not matter. You could walk up to most flights 1 minute before the door closed, and still find a space for your bag. (and you'd often get an empty seat next to you). When they started charging (and starting running more efficient, full flights), overhead space became really tight, and your boarding order (zone, whatever) suddenly became critical. I don't see this changing anytime soon, since it mostly works to the airlines benefit. Eg, it drives membership in their frequent flyer programs and branded credit cards, as those often come with perks like earlier boarding and free checked bags. The one drawback for the airlines is the time it takes for them to turn around the plane, now that everybody is slowly looking for spots for their bags. Some airlines are now starting to offer an even lower fare class which is not allowed to use overhead space in order to allow them to turn planes around faster. I tend to just fly first/business now so that I mostly don't have to worry about it. I rationalize it by realizing that flying is so cheap now, that a 1st class ticket costs what an economy ticket did when I was a kid (in terms of inflation adjusted money), and that economy now is essentially a new dystopian sub-class.