American Airlines flight attendant Gailen David dreads the pre-takeoff ritual that's becoming as irksome as taking shoes off at security checkpoints.

Passengers laden with carry-ons resemble a scene from "Survivor" or "The Amazing Race." They scramble to stow gear before others fill overhead bins, drag bags heavier than allowed, slip aboard with more than the two items typically permitted — and clip seatmates while cramming in belongings.

Because the number of flights has decreased and planes are flying fuller, and because major U.S. carriers except Southwest Airlines and JetBlue now charge fees of $15 and up to check a bag, planes' overhead bins are bulging.

"The worst we've seen in the past couple of decades," says Corey Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Association of Flight Attendants. The Transportation Security Administration and carriers don't track carry-ons, Caldwell says, "but many more people are flying on the average flight, and the bins are filling up faster than before."

The problem has become so pressing since major airlines began charging for the first checked bag on domestic flights in mid-2008 that Congress is considering legislation to limit and standardize carry-on size and ensure enforcement at TSA airport checkpoints.

"It's a fight for the overheads," says veteran flight attendant David, who answers questions about luggage and more on his Web site, www.dearskysteward.com. By the time the last boarding group races for space in the compartments on a typically packed flight, "everyone has started to panic," he says. Some passengers are left standing in the aisle with no place to put their belongings.

"It makes me mad that I have to rush to get on the plane just to get a spot to stick my carry-on," says Matthew Luft, 25, an ATM technician from Midland, Mich.

Leading U.S. airlines usually limit carry-ons to one bag (of varying dimensions) and one smaller item such as a purse or computer case; infant seats and musical instruments may be excluded from the limit. Travelers increasingly flout the rules, passengers and flight attendants say.

The sprint to squish in carry-ons has both groups huffing with anger, or puffing from overexertion. And the busy holiday travel season ahead promises more battles for cabin luggage space.

"This time of year is worse, because we have coats and jackets" to store, says 20-year US Airways flight attendant Steve Schembs, an Association of Flight Attendants officer.

Retiree Bob Heavenrich of Ann Arbor, Mich., hates what he calls "gate lice" — passengers who clog the front of the boarding area, impeding others, so they can rush the plane when their zone is called. The goal: Get bags in bins and avoid having them taken and checked at the plane door. (Winners in boarding wars are premium and very frequent fliers, who get on first and are guaranteed compartment space.)

"The airlines have brought this on all by themselves by charging for checking bags," says pilot Harlan Weinberger, 51, of Milwaukee. He is annoyed by passengers jerking "heavy, cumbersome bags out of the overheads" and hitting people with them. "Selfish 'me, me, me' people."

No official carry-on numbers exist, said David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents major U.S. airlines. "We don't have evidence across the board that there is an increased number of carry-on bags," he says.

Check-in and gate agents are told to police bags; templates for carry-on sizes sit at ticket counters and gates. But "airlines are taking a hit in staffing, and that leads to (less) enforcement," says Caldwell, whose association represents 50,000 attendants at 21 U.S. carriers.

Bags deemed too large at the boarding gate, or checked when there's no room on the plane, fly free — a fact that has not escaped a growing number of travelers.

"Gate-checked bags are usually the last ones loaded into the baggage compartment, the first ones out, and generally the first ones on the (baggage) carousel," flier Brown complains. "There should be an inconvenience penalty for gate-checked bags."

Says consultant/business analyst Kevin McKeen, 51, of Austin, a frequent business traveler: "Airlines need to double the fees for gate-checked bags, because it holds up the boarding process and delays departure. Learn how to pack, people!"

Some fliers purposely bring large bags through TSA checkpoints to get a free gate-check. That practice would change under the bill introduced in June by Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill. It mandates a maximum carry-on size.

Now, airlines' domestic policies on carry-on weight and size differ greatly, from 16 pounds per piece (Virgin America) to no weight restriction (a half-dozen carriers) to a maximum of 56 inches of combined length, width and depth (JetBlue). Under the bill, no bag larger than 22 inches long, 18 inches wide and 10 inches deep could pass through a template at TSA checkpoints.

Passengers used to European and Asian carry-on rules, which generally permit less onboard and are more strictly enforced, are aghast at the carry-on chaos on U.S. domestic flights.

Ken Richards, 53, a surgeon from Greeley, Colo., has another solution to bulging bins: Charge for carry-on bags, not checked luggage. "I think that business travelers would still pay to use the overhead bins" to save time, he says. "Might make everyone's life a little easier."

For now, life for fliers juggling carry-ons is anything but simple. And there is no sign that major airlines' fees for checked bags will go away. In fact, many have increased such charges.