<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">When I fill out late reports, I can honestly say I have NEVER put the blame on the passengers. In fact, I don't know any agent who has. Do you?</font>
Sorry, no. I was being my usual facetious self. It's not AC "the people" I was complaining about, but AC the policies.
Every boarding pass shows 35 minutes before departure as the "boarding time" regardless of the flight. And almost invariably at check-in, that 35 minutes is pointed out to me.
And yes, I do arrive when the boarding pass says I should -- i.e. 35 minutes early. But then I usually just spend 10 or 20 or 30 minutes staring at the floor, when I could have been in the lounge, for example.
All I know is that the 35 minute policy was allegedly put in place to help insure an on-time depature. But notwithstanding that people actually do arrive 35 minutes early, boarding still doesn't start for quite awhile. So whether they make it 40 minutes, 60, or even 90, it does nothing to help on-time departures.
All it does is make passengers perceive that yet again, the flight is late. And they'll have to wait.