Adventure Begins Today

I’m sat writing this on my 11th flight of 2026 as somewhere between boarding and trying not to hit strangers with the water bottle hanging off my rucksack, I had what can only be described as a completely pointless travel revelation.

Why on earth do we board planes from the front?

Now, before anyone points it out… yes, I know flying isn’t exactly doing the planet any favours. It’s one of the reasons I’m strangely committed to keeping a patch of grass in my garden, despite the fact I absolutely hate mowing it.

Anyway… back to my point. The current boarding system makes absolutely no sense to me.

You walk through the lovely spacious seats at the front, imagining that one day you’ll be the sort of person who thinks the extra legroom is a sensible financial decision. Fair enough. I understand the marketing. But why are the people in those seats already sitting there? Surely if you’ve paid more, the reward shouldn’t be spending an extra 20 minutes watching everyone else file past you while trying not to make awkward eye contact. They never look particularly thrilled about it either.

Then comes the real challenge. The slow procession to the cheap seats at the back. Every three steps someone stops to wrestle an oversized cabin bag into an overhead locker. The queue grinds to a halt. You shuffle forwards approximately four inches. Meanwhile you’re desperately trying not to smack the person in the aisle with the water bottle swinging from your rucksack.

“Sorry.” Shuffle. “Sorry.” Another bag. Another apology. Repeat until you reach Row 32.

Surely there’s a better way?

Why don’t we board from the back?

Everyone walks through the front cabin while it’s still empty, so you can admire the legroom in peace and continue manifesting your future upgrade. The people at the back sit down first. The aisle gradually fills from back to front instead of becoming one long obstacle course.

The people who’ve paid for the nicer seats get to enjoy the lounge, the terminal or literally anywhere else for a bit longer before boarding last and walking straight to their seat. Nobody spends 20 minutes being repeatedly whacked by my water bottle. Everybody wins.

Now, I fully appreciate there are probably aviation experts who can explain exactly why this wouldn’t work. There are no doubt logistics, safety procedures and operational reasons that completely destroy my theory. But until someone explains it, I’m convinced we’ve all just accepted a system that nobody ever stopped to question. Or maybe I’m spending too much time in airports…