My daugher and I were taking a mini vacation to Lagos, Portugal. We booked Portugal Airlines (TAP). Amsterdam to Lisbon to Faro. We arrived at the gate early, the plane was there, the crew was there, the passengers were there, but we still boarded the the plane 40 minutes late. They held the plane for us in Lisbon. So far, so good.
On the way back, we arrived early at the Faro airport to see a notice that the flight was delayed. We got through security, and hung out, as the time kept getting bumped back. Finally after a one hour delay, with no explanation, we took off. We knew that we, along with just about everyone else on the flight, would miss our connection, but they told us they were holding the planes.
We got to Lisbon and to the gate, to find they hadn't started boarding the Amsterdam flight at all. Curious. In theory, it should have left. The gate was packed. Not enough seating. Within a short amount of time, they put the Zone designations up over the 3 cordened off lanes. So we got in ours, Lane C. Where we stood for the next hour and a half! They, again, kept bumping back the time. What they did not tell us was they were waiting for another flight.
They announced that the carryon limits would be strickly enforced. I knew this ahead of time, so I upgraded us to so called Business class, which is just basic with slightly larger seats, as I found out. Zone C or Business class boards last, so imagine my dismay at finding all the bins full! I thought they would protect the bins for those who were in Business and yet to board. Silly me. We noted that several of the bins had oversized bags taking up the entire bin. It looked like sporting equipment. Golf clubs?
I manged to shove my regulation sized bag under the seat in front of me. My personal item was at my feet. They didn't care.
Another note, as least with the flights we were on, the bins for the last two rows are designated "crew only".