Stay seated until the aircraft is full

I read an article on LinkedIn written by an airline CEO titled "A Common Sense Solution to Slow Airplane Boarding". When I read the title, I thought he had it. But he didn't. He completely missed the point. He wrote about the efforts of the airline industry to improve boarding times using creative algorithms and fee incentives. That might be business, but it isn't commen sense. It's common sense just to wait.

Get on last. Let the crowd thin. Guess what, passengers? The plane is not going anywhere without you. Haven't you wondered about all those imploring announcements urging various names to get on the damn plane so they don't have to hunt down luggage in the hold and remove it? No, people, you can relax. While everyone else jostles, sit with a magazine at the gate on a chair comparatively more comfortable than your cramped seat on the plane. You're going to have to wait in one of them.

There are two caveats to this advice: 1) if you're flying business class then what are you waiting for? But you're not; you board first, anyway; 2) I'm assuming your seat is allocated. If you're flying a budget carrier with unreserved seating, like RyanAir, then scramble, shove, and shiv your way to the front.