GM, Apple, and Uber are all testing in the Phoenix metro area, so I don't think that's valid - more likely good wide roads, weather, and regulatory environment.
The Turkish change affected me over the weekend. The local mobile carriers didn't update their settings and thus my phone automatically updated to EEST. Fortunately my flight was much later in the day and it was rectified by that point.
How is JIRA's UX maddening? It's so highly configurable that it really depends on how it is set up, and what the patterns of use are within your organisation.
From my experience, the boarding problem is pretty specific to the US, where everyone seems to have carry on bags perfectly sized to fit the overhead compartments, of which there are not enough to satisfy everyone's need to not check in any baggage (and thus avoid check in charges)
In my opinion the solution would probably be to discourage as much bulk in carry on, rather than herding cats at the gate.
This is terrible advice, especially in the New Zealand context. Playing ignorant will get you into a lot more trouble than being honest, and will just fuel the fire more.