Short answer. Board early if you have a large cabin bag and want bin space near your seat. If you do not, boarding late can mean less time seated before boarding ends, although aisle delays depend on the boarding method. In the simulator, with conventional group boarding on a nearly full A320, the last group spent about a minute in the aisle and sat for under three minutes before boarding ended; one of the early groups spent more than two minutes stopped in the aisle and then sat for almost thirteen.
What you trade
Boarding early may improve your chances of finding overhead-bin space near your seat. It can also mean a longer wait on board while other passengers take their seats. If your zone sends many people to the same rows, you may spend time stopped in a crowded aisle.
Boarding late means less time seated before boarding ends. The aisle may be clearer, depending on the boarding method, but bins near your seat may be full when you reach it.
What the simulator shows, group by group
Simulator result: In the simulator, an easyJet A320 with 175 passengers, typical cabin luggage, a forward door only and conventional airline groups (assistance, premium rows, then the rear, middle and front of the cabin) produced these medians per passenger across eight seeded runs (seeds 20260801 to 20260808):
| Group | Steps aboard at | Time in the aisle | Of which stopped | Seated before boarding ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assistance | 0:03 | 43s | 2s | 18:46 |
| Premium rows | 1:02 | 32s | 18s | 18:03 |
| Rear cabin | 4:13 | 2:27 | 2:03 | 12:49 |
| Middle cabin | 10:26 | 1:49 | 1:29 | 7:16 |
| Front cabin | 15:56 | 1:04 | 47s | 2:43 |
In the simulator, the rear-cabin group, called early in the back-to-front sequence, spent the longest time stopped in the aisle as its members converged on the same rows. They then spent almost thirteen minutes seated before boarding ended. The last group had a shorter walk through a mostly seated cabin.
Simulator result: With a random queue on the same flight in the simulator, the pattern is different. The first fifth of the queue spent a median of 25 seconds stopped and then sat for 13:00; the last fifth spent 51 seconds stopped but sat for only 1:58. In both simulator queues, later boarders spent much less time seated before boarding ended.
The bin-space question
Model assumption: In this model, when overhead-bin capacity is switched on, each row has a fixed amount of bin space, which passengers use as they reach it. A late passenger whose bins are full looks a few rows either side. If there is still no space, the crew gate-checks the bag. This illustrates a possible trade-off on full flights with heavy cabin luggage: later groups may have more difficulty finding bin space.
What you are carrying matters. With only a small bag that fits under the seat in front, bin space may be less of a reason to board early. With a large bag, boarding earlier may improve your chances of keeping it in the cabin.
Try it with your own seat
The simulator has a My seat tool: enter a seat such as 23F, and it shows, for every boarding method, when you would step aboard, how long you would be stopped in the aisle and how long you would sit before boarding ends.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to board first or last with a carry-on?
With a large carry-on, earlier boarding may improve your chances of finding space in the bins near your row. Without one, boarding last usually means less time seated before boarding ends, though it does not necessarily mean less time stopped in the aisle.
Does boarding first get you to your destination faster?
Boarding before other passengers on the same flight does not get you to the destination ahead of them. It changes how long you wait on board before departure.
Why do passengers rush to board first?
Bin space is one reason. Some passengers may also prefer to settle in before the cabin fills. In the simulator, the rear-cabin group, called early, had the longest median time stopped in the aisle.
Updated 2026-09-25. Figures labelled simulator result are outputs of this site's model at the settings stated, not airline measurements. What the model leaves out.