This was a huge deal with UA more so than AA a few years back, but happens in the US and the term is funny, but apt. That said with my home airport being SFO, I remember a flight to IAD on a Sunday morning being well over half GS and 1K for a full 757, so hard to avoid a pile up on the old queuing rules.
US airlines now have much more fine grained boarding grouping and take more than a half-hearted stab at enforcing this. CK first, then F, then status passengers etc etc. At outstations for BA in Europe no one cares and reverts to local custom. In Italy you don't queue, you scrum, and for those familiar with the layouts of departure areas in places like PSA it is a scrum. Pisses off the brits no end
