In a world where buying priority boarding from many airlines simply means you’ll be allowed to take a proper sized piece of hand luggage on the plane with you, it can feel like less of a luxury and more of a necessity.
Ryanair no longer provides much “priority” at all – up to half of all passengers per flight can book this “extra” from £6 per journey, which most will do purely to get the additional baggage allowance. The budget airline changed its rules last year; without priority boarding, passengers can only take one small bag (about the size of a rucksack) on board with them, while with it they can take a small bag and a bigger piece of hand luggage. Passengers used to get this included in the standard fare price.
Wizz Air offers much the same deal – the airline often seems to mimic Ryanair’s frequently changing baggage policies – and requires passengers to pay from £4.50 to secure an extra cabin bag bigger than a small backpack.
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But not all priority boarding schemes are created equal, according to Airport Parking and Hotels, which compiled a table to compare all the different perks offered by budget airlines.
EasyJet’s, for example, is only available to easyJet Plus members, who pay £199 annually, or those who’ve paid extra for allocated seats costing £8.99-£29.99. Perks include: a small personal cabin bag on top of the larger trolley bag included in the standard luggage allowance; a separate bag drop queue; speedy boarding; and seat selection.


1/10 Saba airport
Saba (Juancho E Yrausquin) Airport, Caribbean: Landing at Saba is essentially playing a game of chicken with a mountain sticking up in the middle of the ocean. Aim right for it and at the last possible moment a sharp turn to drop down on the shortest active commercial runway in the world. Gorgeous scenery and more than a little bit of excitement along the way.
Cees Timmers

2/10 Donegal Airport
Donegal Airport, Ireland: The rugged coastline of Ireland’s North West coast is even more awe-inspiring from the air, with the backdrop of Mount Errigal adding to the timeless appeal.
Owen Clarke

3/10 Nice Airport
Nice Cote d’Azure Airport, France: Spectacular mountain backdrop, the gorgeous Côte d’Azur and skimming in over the blue and turquoise Mediterranean.
Nice Cote d’Azure Airport

4/10 Gibraltar Airport
Gibraltar Airport, Gibraltar: Coming in from either East or West, the approach offers amazing views of this jewel of the Med. It also has one of the shortest runways and always provides entertainment on landing.
Gibraltar Airport

5/10 Queenstown Airport
Queenstown Airport, New Zealand: Drop out of the clouds, between the mountains and into a lush valley with a lake in the distance. It has a bit of everything.
Queenstown Airport

6/10 London City Airport
London City Airport, UK: Landing at London City Airport is not only convenient for work, it also offers an ever-changing snapshot of one of the greatest cities in the world.
London City Airport

7/10 St Maarten Airport
St Maarten Airport, Caribbean: The beautiful scene of the plane coming in over the sea and and the thrilling experience of seeing the low landing makes for some of the most beautiful pictures.
St Maarten Airport

8/10 Orlando Airport
Orlando Melbourne International Airport, USA: A beautiful beachside landing over Florida’s Space Coast.
Orlando Airport

9/10 Barra Airport
Barra Airport, UK: Its natural beauty is breathtaking, and landing on the beach has to be a number one bucket list must do.
Barra Airport

10/10 Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Canada: When you approach Billy Bishop to land on Toronto Island, the view is breathtaking, framing the striking cityscape against the harbour.
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

1/10 Saba airport
Saba (Juancho E Yrausquin) Airport, Caribbean: Landing at Saba is essentially playing a game of chicken with a mountain sticking up in the middle of the ocean. Aim right for it and at the last possible moment a sharp turn to drop down on the shortest active commercial runway in the world. Gorgeous scenery and more than a little bit of excitement along the way.
Cees Timmers

2/10 Donegal Airport
Donegal Airport, Ireland: The rugged coastline of Ireland’s North West coast is even more awe-inspiring from the air, with the backdrop of Mount Errigal adding to the timeless appeal.
Owen Clarke

3/10 Nice Airport
Nice Cote d’Azure Airport, France: Spectacular mountain backdrop, the gorgeous Côte d’Azur and skimming in over the blue and turquoise Mediterranean.
Nice Cote d’Azure Airport

4/10 Gibraltar Airport
Gibraltar Airport, Gibraltar: Coming in from either East or West, the approach offers amazing views of this jewel of the Med. It also has one of the shortest runways and always provides entertainment on landing.
Gibraltar Airport

5/10 Queenstown Airport
Queenstown Airport, New Zealand: Drop out of the clouds, between the mountains and into a lush valley with a lake in the distance. It has a bit of everything.
Queenstown Airport

6/10 London City Airport
London City Airport, UK: Landing at London City Airport is not only convenient for work, it also offers an ever-changing snapshot of one of the greatest cities in the world.
London City Airport

7/10 St Maarten Airport
St Maarten Airport, Caribbean: The beautiful scene of the plane coming in over the sea and and the thrilling experience of seeing the low landing makes for some of the most beautiful pictures.
St Maarten Airport

8/10 Orlando Airport
Orlando Melbourne International Airport, USA: A beautiful beachside landing over Florida’s Space Coast.
Orlando Airport

9/10 Barra Airport
Barra Airport, UK: Its natural beauty is breathtaking, and landing on the beach has to be a number one bucket list must do.
Barra Airport

10/10 Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Canada: When you approach Billy Bishop to land on Toronto Island, the view is breathtaking, framing the striking cityscape against the harbour.
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
For those flying with Eurowings, booking a Smart fare for around £21 entitles passengers to a 23kg checked bag (in addition to one cabin bag and one small personal bag), priority boarding, preferred seating, lounge access at selected airports, and a snack plus non-alcoholic drink onboard.
On Flybe, buying a Get More ticket costs around £32 at the time of booking. It includes a 23kg checked bag, reserved seating, priority boarding and free changes. The last is the biggest boon – it allows passengers the flexibility to change their flight to an earlier or later one on the same day at no extra cost, or to change route and flight as often as they like so long as they pay the difference in fare between the old ticket and the new.
Norwegian’s £5 priority boarding gives you just that – priority boarding. Forget more hand luggage or allocated seats, all you can do is skip the queue into the cabin.
Thomas Cook charges from £10 for its priority scheme, which includes priority check-in and fast-track security, and means your luggage will be unloaded first if you checked in a bag.
Tui doesn’t appear to offer priority boarding, but passengers can opt to pay from £16 for seat selection, which includes priority access to online check-in.
Which has the best perks depends on who you’re travelling with and what you appreciate most.
If what you most want is flexibility for when you fly, Flybe offers the best deal.
If you want to ensure you can sit next to your travelling companions, Flybe, Eurowings and easyJet could be the answer.
And if you’re after onboard sustenance or lounge access, Eurowings comes up trumps. Looking for a quick getaway? Thomas Cook might be a good shout.
It’s all in the extras.