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?

OMG you're like my OH, I hate it, he has to scurry at speed right down to the gate and watches the boards like a hawk, it makes no difference. I cannot STAND waiting around for things so would rather just come along when they're actually boarding.

I deliberately walk slowly and saunter round the shops to make us slower to get there. He whines like nobodies business about it. Really ruins the vibe of a relaxing and free and easy holiday.

Would she? How would the gate staff know whether she’d paid for it or not?

Options are
Pay to check in a suitcase
Pay to put your smaller case in the overhead locker
Small bags and coats go under the seat not in the locker

It's on the boarding pass

I flew long haul with Emirates recently, I was asked by cabin crew to put my rucksack under the seat in front and not in the overhead locker. It makes sense as locker space is limited.

If DancingLions didn’t ask the man to
move it, cabin crew would have likely asked him
to.

Is it? The boarding pass that’s a QR code on your phone that the gate staff don’t even look at?

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.

Yes.
They scan it.

Do you not think that if the info was not there people would not just take the case on without paying?

I'm like your husband, don't see the point of joining a queue when you have allocated seats and its not even moving

They do. 🤷‍♀️

This. I queue if I am worried another getting my bag in the overhead locker. If not, I don’t bother queuing.

OP, if you want to queue, just do it.

There you go

It's a bit like theatre shows, it always seems to be the people who are sat in the middle are the ones to enter last after the warning bell, minutes before the show starts, making everyone stand up to let them through

OMG, yes. We went to the theatre twice this week and said exactly the same.

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.

They absolutely do check. I fly frequently for work and have seen the staff do checks, and then hold people back who haven't paid for their baggage. They make a lot of money doing this!

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

The later the better

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

🙄

Exactly this.