Boarding South-Western: The Sound of One Hand Clapping
It long ago occurred to me that one way of making the process of getting on an airplane easier would be to line up the passengers in advance in the inverse order of their seats numbers (assuming you board from the front) then march them aboard. That way the passenger in seat 25 wouldn't have to wait while the passenger in seat six put his bag up. For a fancier version, one might do it by number and letter--first line up everyone with a window seat, march them in, then everyone with a middle seat, then aisle seats.
I was pleasantly suprised a few days ago, preparing to board a South-Western flight, to find that they were indeed lining passengers up in order. Indeed, they were doing it in three successive groups--A, B, C. I assumed that someone else had finally gotten the same idea I had and implemented it.
Until I realized that the number on the boarding pass had nothing to do with where you sat, since the flight was open seating--no preassigned seats.