Come on guys, only ONE of you 'real' airline' passengers can be last. No loitering at the back of the queue please, the gate has to close now.
Respect to
SXB for holdng back to be one of the last to board the flight, but in my experience, there's always a mad rush to get on board ASAP. As soon as the 'body language' of the ground staff indicates that boarding is about to begin a queue (or if you're unlucky, a scrum) develops at the entrance to the gate. Once boarding is announced at least 75% of the pax will join the queue.
Even though I've got an allocated seat, I confess that I try to get on as early as possible too, simply because my experience tells me that if I'm one of the last to board on a flight that's reasonably full, I will find that there's no space left in 'my' overhead luggage area
