I'm always a bit peeved when airlines start boarding earlier than the published boarding time. Ultimately carry-on space comes at a premium,and when they start boarding super early, it means you hold to show up at the gate even earlier to get certain you hold space for your bag. Which is sort of frustrating, and since time spent sitting on the plane before takeoff is often "wasted" time.
I saw a bit of an extreme example today,which I just hold to share. I was flying from Chicago to Tampa this afternoon, and in the Admirals Club I asked whether the flight was oversold and they might need volunteers. I haven't bumped in years, and it sounded sort of exhilarating to do it again. She said the flight was indeed oversold,so I headed to the gate about 1hr10min before departure to add myself to the list, which is super early.
The gate agent there was friendly and protected me on the later flight. She explained I'd be offered a $300 travel voucher, and whether they need more volunteers,I'd be offered whatever the highest offer is. I stood near the podium, so it would be easy for her to "process" me whether/when it was time.
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Source: boardingarea.com