Priority boarding, is it really worth paying for?

You know that scene at the gate? Two files, one for the priority boarding And one for everyone else. The priority line is twice as long as the other, and in the time it takes to board everyone, the advantage of having boarded first has already dissipated. If you happened to look at that scene wondering if you had spent that money well, you are not alone.

Priority boarding is one of the most purchased services on low-cost flights and also one of the most misunderstood. Whether it is worth it or not depends almost entirely on how you fly, with how much luggage, and on which airline.

What changed the assigned place

Until not so many years ago, priority boarding had a much clearer sense. Ryanair, in particular, did not assign seats: whoever boarded first chose where to sit. In that context, paying to board first was rational, especially if you wanted window, aisle, or to be near someone. Today, most low-cost assigns the place, and priority boarding has changed in nature. It is no longer for seat selection, it is primarily for one thing: getting your trolley into the cabin without risking finding the overhead compartments full.

On Ryanair, for example, those who do not have priority cannot take the second 10 kg carry-on bag on board. They can only board with the small bag that goes under the seat. Priority, which starts at about 6 euros one way if added at the time of booking, includes the trolley in the cabin and priority boarding. On EasyJet it works similarly: Speedy Boarding is tied to the purchase of the large carry-on bag or higher fares. Wizz Air has its WIZZ Priority, which includes additional baggage, dedicated check-in counter, and priority boarding, with prices varying up to over 50 euros one way if added at the airport.

The paradox of mass priority

There is a structural problem in the priority boarding that airlines helped create: when half the plane has priority, then priority itself is no longer a priority. On many Ryanair flights, especially on popular routes, the priority row is literally longer than the standard row. The result is that passengers without priority often board almost at the same time, or a few minutes later, than those who paid to board earlier.

This happens because. companies do not limit the number of priority boarding sold per flight. It is an almost pure margin product, and no one has any interest in contingency. From the passenger's point of view, it means that the real value of the service varies greatly from flight to flight: on a semi-empty flight in the off-season, priority gets you on in five minutes, on a packed flight in August with eighty priority boarding sold you still find yourself in the queue.

When it makes sense to pay for priority boarding

The main criterion is the baggage. If you travel with only one small bag suitable for low cost flights and fits under the seat, you hardly ever need priority boarding. You get on whenever you want, your luggage always finds a place, and being seated five minutes early doesn't change anything about your day.

If, on the other hand, you bring a cabin trolley, the argument changes. Without priority on Ryanair the trolley does not go up in the cabin, period. On other carriers you can technically try, but you risk finding the overhead compartments occupied and having to check your luggage in at the last minute, often for free but not always and with all the stress involved. For those traveling with bulky hand luggage, priority is basically an option that you buy for baggage and it brings you complimentary early boarding.

When it's not worth it

If you have already selected a place in the first rows, getting on earlier doesn't change you much: the overhead bin above you will almost certainly be free even if you get on halfway through boarding. On the other hand, if you are in the last rows, priority forces you to walk the whole plane with your trolley while people are still settling in, which is more inconvenient than helpful. In that case, paradoxically, waiting and getting on among the last is more convenient: you find the aisle free, you get straight to your seat, and the overhead bin in the last few rows is almost always available because so few people get there.

Another scenario in which priority loses value is When the flight leaves the finger, not from the shuttle. With direct boarding from the terminal, there is no ride on the bus, the hatboxes gradually fill up, and the advantage of boarding among the first is further reduced.

The right question to ask

Before adding priority boarding to your reservation, the question is not "do I want to go up early?" but "am I carrying a trolley in the cabin?" If yes, it almost always pays off, especially on low-costs where without priority the trolley in the cabin won't fit. If not, consider how much you are paying: on some routes the price is so low as to make the reasoning almost irrelevant, on others it can go up to figures that cannot be justified by the mere pleasure of waiting up at the gate a few minutes before others.