Queuing to board?

[holachicatita]

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?

I agree with your husband although I only ever have a rucksack which goes under the seat - I much prefer to have my stuff accessible so dont put it in the locker even if there's plenty of room.

I hate queuing and then if you board with the other keen beans it's exasperating shuffling sloooowly down the aisle to your row while people faff with their stuff. Much prefer sauntering on at the end, straight to seat, job done.

If you like doing it the other way fair enough though.

I prefer to sit and wait before boarding. I hate planes so the least time spent cramped and nervous the better for me.
I travel very light, usually just have my Uniqlo cross body bag so no need to be trying to cram a case in the overhead locker.

Yes otherwise the overhead lockers fill up.

Definitely Team DH here. Last flight I got they gave we the choice of standing in a queue for 20 minutes for speedy boarding or sitting down for 25 minutes for slow boarding. Slow boarding it was.

My partner and I prefer to wait and board later. This paid off last year when there was a problem part way through boarding resulting in a half hour wait. Those that had already boarded were stuck sat on the plane, we had a more comfortable wait.

I queue, I hate getting on late and my hand luggage having to be in an overhead bin nowhere near my seat as the ones near me are now full.

I have an allocated seat beside a window - but near enough to the front and want to make sure my case goes over my head or in front of me, not behind me.

I also want to just sit down, pull out my iPad and start the movie I downloaded to escape from the shit show that is my life just now.

But I am happy enough to spend the time on a plane

If you are first to get pass the boarding desk,there is no guarantee that you are going straight into the plane. On flights run by budget airlines,there is a chance you are going to find yourselves standing in a narrow corridor or a staircase as they often start boarding people before passengers are out of the plane that has just arrived.

YABU. What's the point of standing around for ages if you can wait a bit until the rush has settled?

Last summer we were waiting for a flight home and before the gate was even open people were queuing up. The plane hadn't even landed on the inbound journey yet, but folk were up and queuing, and moaning about having to stand in the queue. The fact that there wasn't a plane at the end of the skybridge should have been a clue...

Don't get me started on people who rush to stand up as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off after landing. THEY'RE LETTING US OFF IN ORDER, STANDING UP WON'T GET YOU DEBOARDED ANY QUICKER, SIT DOWN

Or you’ll be on a bus first so the most you will gain is being first on the bus. Which probably means last off 🤣

Depends.

If we've arrived early and had a good run through security etc, I'm often so sick of sitting around that I'll get up and queue just for something to do!

But there's a special place in hell for the twats who bunch up around the front of the queue and block everyone's way before their group is even called.

Why. Why, why queue?????

I bet they are hoping to find a free seat that is either window or aisle, but they don't want to pay for one!

you will have to queue at some point anyway unless you are front row. You can't just stroll in once everybody is already seated, so I'd rather go quickly inside, sit down and let people stand for ages in the aisle waiting for others to stop faffing and blocking the way.

It's a choice but neither is "wrong".

Someone has to start boarding at some point.

Overbooking does happen, yes. However, the overbooked passenger will be informed at check in that the flight is full. This would never happen at the gate. Otherwise they’d have to remove people’s checked baggage.

I mostly fly Ryanair because they are the only ones who vaguely flight from where I live in Scotland (vaguely because 2 hours drive to airport) and vaguely to where I need to flight to in France and they never call by rows.

I'd not queue knowing I had a booked seat. Only to try and commandeer a preferable one if it was first come first served. But even then the decent seats would no doubt be booked out by others. So I suppose it would only be to try ensure seats together if you didn't choose in advance?
Else I'm happy to be the last on the plane. And usually I am due to my chaotic travel brain!

Many people lose their heads when travelling - they get anxious. Where possible I let them do their own thing.

It depends on whether I have a suitcase that needs to go on the overhead lockers.

I think the industry calls them gate lice.

I'm with your husband

This is so true. I’ve worked in aviation claims for decades and the shift in behaviour when people cross the threshold of an airport still astonishes me. I’d love a psychologist to do a PhD on it one day.

The thread about the frozen breast milk is a case in point.

It is usually large long haul planes that call by row.

True

It never fails to amaze me how people have to stand up when they are a minute or two from a bus stop then stagger if the bus has to brake suddenly. One elderly woman did this recently and nearly face planted the wind screen. She was screaming ans swearing at the driver. Wanted her name, she was going to sue the company.
Someone pointed out that she'd been sitting down then stood up when the bus stop was 2 minutes away. Bus was nearly empty and that cctv would show what happened was her own fault.
The driver asked her if she was okay, the reply was 'fuck you' and she got off the bus nearly leaving her walking stick behind.
Why do the idiots do it? Also walking down stairs on a moving bus. What's the rush?