Catman, your suggestions are good but not likely to happen any time soon. Recent reports suggest that the carriers have cut staff by 10% while the customer base has grown. The airlines have no intention of adding new staff now and they certainly won't when the crowds subside. A move to computerized check-in, a la e-ticket kiosks, is the way to help the problem. I suggest the following: Everyone checks in at computerized kiosks for a boarding pass. Those checking luggage are issued a separate "computerized stub" which they take to a separate luggage drop. The stub is scanned and automatically generates a luggage tag and receipt. The bag handler only has to put the tag on your bag and you're good to go! Eliminating a sceen check saves time. The only people who interact with a live person are those who need to change their tickets. The airlines, who are cheap and not very comfortable with technology or change, won't do this because it costs money for the kiosks and scanning equipment.

As far as boarding, the solution is not restricting carry-ons. Am I the only one to notice that it STILL takes just as long to board with one bag as when you could bring on 2 or 3? The real problems are that everyone wants to get on as soon as possible and doesn't care what row they're calling, and the fact that planes are boarded through a single door! Using all doors would help somewhat but many planes have only one option. An alternative would be to have "baggage packers" for each flight who collect your large carry-ons at the gate before boarding and pack the plane's overhead/under seats accordingly (i.e. placing your baggage near your seat and maximizing room). My guess is that over 75% of people are in the gate area well before boarding making this feasible. Again, until one airline takes such a radical step we FFs will see no relief.