I agree with Boomer completely. If you are only inconvenienced by extra waiting, so be it. Yes, airlines often don't staff the counters properly. Yes, lazy people will benefit over others.

But part of being generous is realizing that you're going to be treated unfairly, yet tolerating that for the benefit of others. That's something we all could be better at.

And you never know why some people are late. I usually arrive at the airport about 90 minutes before a flight. But a few months ago, we spent 25 minutes trying to hail a cab in Manhattan, and by the time we got to EWR, it was about 35 minutes before flight. The cabbie dropped us at the wrong terminal, so we took the monorail and then waited in line. We got to the front about 15 minutes before, and they wouldn't let us on the flight. So we endured a three-hour wait for the next one.

Were we on a strict timetable, that could've been bad. Either way, it would've been nice to have been able to check in right away and make our flight. Yet it was the same generosity that I'm endorsing that kept me from asking others if I could pass them in line, despite my need.