Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Queuing to board?

215 replies

holachicatita · 12/07/2026 11:19

So.. currently waiting to board my flight and me and my husband have had a disagreement. Seats are already allocated but I still like to queue and get on the flight once the gates open. He likes to sit and wait until the last minute, looking down his nose at all the silly little people queuing. AIBU to start to queue once the gates open?

OP posts:
PropertyD · 13/07/2026 09:43

Jet 2 actually give you an option to buy a guarantee that your bag doesnt go in the hold.

PropertyD · 13/07/2026 09:42

Weeellokthen · 12/07/2026 19:04

Team dh here. I can never fathom why people rush to board. You're going to be sitting down for long enough.
Weirdos 😂
Csbin crew will always find a space for your hand luggage

it might end up in the hold. Mine did when we went on a flight last year and got stuck at immgration.

PropertyD · 13/07/2026 09:41

I dont board late because of the overhead luggage situation. People at gates are idiots and swarm around even if their boarding group is one of the last.

They then get in the way of people who should be boarding.

Last time we flew (last week) there was a adult group (Not from the UK) getting in everyone's way who were trying to board. Cultural differences mean that for some people queueing is optional! Worst case I ever came across was Naples. You were swept along by Italians who clearly did this all the time!

BirdLandedonmyHead · 13/07/2026 09:35

Back when Easyjet dudnt charge for handluggage, they used to count the hand luggage on... once they reached capacity, everything else went in the hold (for free).

KitsyWitsy · 13/07/2026 09:19

Weeellokthen · 13/07/2026 07:19

In all the flights I have been on, I have never witnessed this 😁

Show quote history

I have seen people need to check hand luggage on a packed flight. I was one of the last on. If there's no room, there's no room? I have a flight to Chicago coming up and have a carry on. Already stressing! I don't have priority boarding so hopefully I'll be ok.

Weeellokthen · 13/07/2026 07:19

Yetone · 12/07/2026 23:06

If there is not enough room they will ask you to take essentials out and then put it in the hold.i have seen this done.

Show quote history

In all the flights I have been on, I have never witnessed this 😁

Cosyblankets · 12/07/2026 23:28

Sugarnspicenallthingsnaice · 12/07/2026 23:17

OMG she even posted the boarding pass! It clearly says non-priority.

Show quote history

It was me who posted the boarding pass. That was just an example to make the point that the info as to whether or not you can get on with a cabin case is on the boarding pass so you can't just waltz on with whatever you like

Sugarnspicenallthingsnaice · 12/07/2026 23:17

Thebinisrightthere · 12/07/2026 18:29

How do you know he hadn't paid for the space? And surely if you had you would have had priority boarding so it's on you if you weren't quick enough

Show quote history

OMG she even posted the boarding pass! It clearly says non-priority.

Yetone · 12/07/2026 23:06

Weeellokthen · 12/07/2026 19:04

Team dh here. I can never fathom why people rush to board. You're going to be sitting down for long enough.
Weirdos 😂
Csbin crew will always find a space for your hand luggage

If there is not enough room they will ask you to take essentials out and then put it in the hold.i have seen this done.

Cosyblankets · 12/07/2026 22:15

Thebinisrightthere · 12/07/2026 18:29

How do you know he hadn't paid for the space? And surely if you had you would have had priority boarding so it's on you if you weren't quick enough

Show quote history

If he had paid for space then it is for a case, not a coat and not a small bag. I'm assuming this is an easyjet or ryanair and the rules are perfectly clear. They even announce it at the start of the flight that the small bag must go under the seat

Cosyblankets · 12/07/2026 22:13

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2026 15:18

They do. 🤷‍♀️

Show quote history

I've seen plenty of people charged at the gate because their bag was too big and they had not paid

TigerRag · 12/07/2026 19:09

2026letsgo · 12/07/2026 18:56

Surely this is why you wait till the end of boarding though? Otherwise you are stuck in the plane aisle behind the faffers

Show quote history

I once had to get on last as I had assistance booked. (We're usually on first) And I got stuck behind a lot of faffers

Weeellokthen · 12/07/2026 19:04

Team dh here. I can never fathom why people rush to board. You're going to be sitting down for long enough.
Weirdos 😂
Csbin crew will always find a space for your hand luggage

2026letsgo · 12/07/2026 18:56

TigerRag · 12/07/2026 11:24

I'd rather queue and not have to wait in the aisle for people to stop faffing about and get to their seats

Surely this is why you wait till the end of boarding though? Otherwise you are stuck in the plane aisle behind the faffers

PeloMom · 12/07/2026 18:54

We do that as usually travel with hand luggage only and the space in the bins above gets full quick. I don’t want to have my bags all over the place when we deplane so early boarding works best.

catspyjamas1 · 12/07/2026 18:52

Moreholidaysthanjudithchalmers · 12/07/2026 11:21

It depends on if you have a small case to go overhead. If you board last there’s often no room.

Exactly this.

DancingLions · 12/07/2026 18:42

🙄

Thebinisrightthere · 12/07/2026 18:29

DancingLions · 12/07/2026 15:14

Yes. Its still on there and it's on them if they don't look properly. But it doesn't change the facts that I had paid for the space and he hadn't. Not sure why you're trying to continue arguing it.

Show quote history

How do you know he hadn't paid for the space? And surely if you had you would have had priority boarding so it's on you if you weren't quick enough

hollyblueivy · 12/07/2026 17:15

The later the better

Ineffable23 · 12/07/2026 17:07

This depends entirely on a) whether or not I putting hand luggage overhead and b) what I am expecting passport control to be like at the other end. Coming into Stansted the flights are coming in frequently enough that when you join the passport control queue makes zero difference to your journey time. A tiny local airport in Europe with 2 passport officers and getting to the front of that queue can easily save you an hour, especially post the fingerprint malarkey. In which case I'd rather get on the plane early, to get overhead luggage above or nearer the exit than my seat. So then I can be out the plane ASAP, and speed walk ahead of everyone to passport control. After all, if I'm sitting in the airport anyway, I might as well save my future self some time.

Goditsmemargaret · 12/07/2026 16:59

I'm with your husband. I travel a lot. I always book early and get the front row. No way am I getting on until the last possible minute.

Yetone · 12/07/2026 16:54

In2mindsss · 12/07/2026 14:48

Just check your luggage in from now on

Show quote history

That is not how budget quick turn round airplanes work.
BTW I usually do check my luggage in but accept that the business model charges people for overhead space.

Yetone · 12/07/2026 16:50

Thebinisrightthere · 12/07/2026 14:33

The lockers are not only for cases. He was fine to put his stuff in there. You were u to take his stuff out

Show quote history

I think it depends on the airline. In some it is only for carry on paid for cases.

Pineapplesonpizza · 12/07/2026 16:28

If no luggage going in the overhead bins, then obviously don't queue.

ZanyPoet · 12/07/2026 16:08

Badbadbunny · 12/07/2026 15:21

Finding space in the overhead lockers is now a big thing. Never used to be when a plane ticket automatically came with a hold luggage allowance. But now you have to pay extra for hold baggage, people are taking small suitcases on board which have to go in the lockers that take up all the space along with all the duty free bags. I've been on flights where our bags have had to be many rows away. On a couple of flights, there's literally been no space left and some passengers have had to have their bags put in the hold, much to their annoyance. I long for the good old days when people just took a small hold-all bag/handbag on board and everyone could have their bag easily accessible directly above them.

I do like the current system. People were taking ridiculous hand luggage so everyone else had to put their smaller bags in their feet, you were penalised for not having a bigger bag or case.

Now, either you pay or you are not allowed anything bigger than a small handbag that fits in your own feet. Much more fair.

Swipe left for the next trending thread