Most travellers treat boarding like a race, hovering at the gate the moment their group is called. One seasoned travel writer does the exact opposite: she deliberately boards last, on everything from short hops to long-hauls, and swears it has made flying calmer and more comfortable.
Her first argument is physical. Modern seats keep shrinking, and if you're prone to feeling boxed in — or worried about DVT on a long flight — lingering at the gate means extra minutes to stand, stretch and walk before being locked into a tight seat. That matters more than ever now that tarmac delays of an hour or more are common. On a recent twelve-hour Barcelona to San Francisco flight, followed by a six-hour leg to Cancun, she let other passengers queue ahead just to keep moving and stay loose.
Second, boarding late often means your carry-on gets gate-checked for free. If you don't mind collecting a bag at the jet bridge, that's a win: you board with only a personal item, freeing up legroom and letting you slide a smaller bag into leftover bin space rather than fighting for overhead real estate in Groups 2 and 3. In her experience, there's almost always a gap left for a coat or soft bag, even as the last person on board.
There's a mental benefit too. Airports are stressful, and queues, crowded gate areas and jostling for position only add to it. Waiting until the final call flips the script — instead of standing anxiously in line, you get a few more minutes of calm. Over time, she argues, this kind of small ritual becomes part of a broader travel routine that makes flying feel predictable and manageable, especially on multi-leg journeys. Familiar habits, she suggests, are one of the best defences against the unpredictability of modern air travel.
The counterarguments are real, and she doesn't pretend otherwise. Boarding last can leave overhead bins genuinely full, forcing you to check a bag you'd rather keep with you. And on regularly overbooked flights, being among the last to check in and board may raise your odds of being bumped. If keeping your carry-on with you is non-negotiable, or your airline has a reputation for denying boarding, boarding early is the safer play.
So who is this actually for? Nervous flyers, anyone with an aisle-seat preference and a claustrophobic streak, and travellers flying long distances who value a final stretch over bin priority. If you travel with just a personal item anyway, or genuinely don't mind gate-checking, boarding last costs you almost nothing and buys you a calmer start to the flight. If your bag is essential or your flight is the type that gets oversold, stick with your group. Either way, it's a reminder that boarding isn't a competition — and that the 'right' way on is whichever one keeps your stress down at 35,000 feet.
