Holiday travel advice

As we approach Thanksgiving (in the US) and Christmas (even if you celebrate different holidays I assume you understand the chronological point to which I refer) I want to offer some air-travel advice.  I again assert that I am in no way the foremost expert on travel but there are a few things you should know when traveling during the holidays.  Generally airlines allow you to take one personal item (purse, brief case, etc) and one carry-on (small roll along luggage).  You also must follow the TSA rules, too.

Here are some courtesy rules to remember:

1. The airports are going to be crowded!  Give yourself extra time when arriving for your flights
1. Expect long lines
2. Don't take your frustrations out on the nice people trying to help you, namely the gate attendants; if you need them you want them on your side
2. When going through security know the rules and be ready when you get to the conveyor belt
1. Remove everything from your pockets, take off your belt, and put them all into one of your carry-on items while in the security line. Do this before getting to the guy that will check your ticket and ID
2. Have your liquids and gels in a plastic bag near the top of your stuff or in a separate pocket so when you hit the conveyor belt you can quickly pull it out and put it into the bin
3. You don't need a plastic bin for everything, your bags, purses, and shoes can go directly on the belt
4. Once through the check-point gather your stuff off the belts and take it to the seats provided immediately inside the terminal to get everything back in order, don't do this at the conveyor belts
5. Take a quick inventory of your stuff.  You don't want to leave anything you need at security
3. Boarding is a slow process and is done in waves, be patient you will get on board
1.  There is no need to crowd the gate 
2. Check your boarding pass for your loading zone, or whatever your airline calls your group for boarding
3. Little helpful tip for Delta passengers, "Zone 1" is not the same as "First Class"
4. Generally you are allowed one carry-on and one personal item
1. Full flights do not have enough room for everyone to have a roller bag as a carry-on, you can check your roller bag for free at the terminal gate.  You will be able to pick it up either on the jet bridge as you leave the plane or it will come out with the checked luggage at your destination.  Be sure to ask which it is.
2. If you have 2 items it is poor etiquette to put both in the over head bins.  One should go under the seat in front of your feet.  If you only have one, feel free to use the overhead so you have a little extra leg room (temper your expectations, there isn't a lot of leg room to start with
5. Deplaning is also a slow frustrating process
1. Etiquette allows those in the front to get out first, it is very annoying when people budge in front of the rows ahead without permission
2. If you are close for a connection ask people if you can please get ahead

 This is a lot longer than I wanted but there are a lot of little things that will make your travel experiences more enjoyable.  You may also accidentally make another person's travel experience better.