Travel expert explains why the secret to stress-free flying is to board and disembark the plane last

With one of the biggest US travel weekends just weeks away, one travel expert said there’s a trick to hack a stress-free day. 

Last year, an estimated 82 million Americans traveled over the Thanksgiving holiday. Although official predictions for 2026 are not yet available, companies like American Airlines and Amtrak are gearing up for an equally busy week. 

American Airlines estimated it will welcome eight million passengers across 85,000 flights between November 19 and December 1, it said in a press release. It is up four percent compared to 2025 and is equivalent to a plane taking off roughly every 13 seconds, it said.

It will also be offering 7,021 flights on Sunday, November 29 – the busiest day since the pandemic. 

In early November, Amtrak issued a warning to its riders, encouraging them to book their tickets early after a record-breaking year in 2025 with 1.2 million customers served, a six percent increase from 2024. 

‘Amtrak predicts another year of record ridership this holiday season,’ it said in a statement. 

An increase in travelers means an increase in misery as passengers will now have to fight for more overhead space and deal with the unpleasant journey of getting home for the big dinner. 

Travel and consumer expert Christopher Elliott, who owns nonprofit Elliott Advocacy, said the best tip for exhausted travelers is to skip the lines and board last. 

This mainly works for travelers packing light and keeping their carry-on bag small enough to fit under the seat. 

Although those traveling with an overhead bag can still opt into the hack, as long as they don’t mind risking having to check their bag at the gate, Elliott said. 

‘It works best if you have a small carry-on, because there’s always room for that under your seat,’ Elliott told the Daily Mail. 

‘But if you have a checked bag, it’s fine, too – you can be the last person off the plane and then arrive at the luggage carousel when your checked bag does.’  

Elliott recently did this on a flight from Dallas to Spokane. He opted to board second-to-last. 

‘I enjoyed the extra few minutes to stretch my legs before going into the human trash compactor,’ he told the Daily Mail. 

He said a ‘growing number of experienced air travelers have walked away from the whole performance. They board last. They deplane last. And they’re having a better time than anyone else on the plane,’ he wrote on his blog, The Elliott Report. 

Elliott said that no matter if a passenger boards last or first, they’ll still be sitting in a metal tube for hours. And there’s no benefit to boarding early – besides overhead space – as all seats are assigned ahead of time. 

‘Refusing to be part of the stampede during boarding and disembarking can make a world of difference – to your sanity,’ he wrote. 

Elliott said that just because a certain boarding group is called doesn’t mean the passenger has to jump up to board with that group. There’s no obligation to board before final boarding, he said. 

Elliott also warned passengers that it might be harder to find overhead space this year after many airlines raised the price for checking a bag. 

With fewer people willing to pay the fee, they will opt to cram their bags into the overhead compartments. 

Bag prices changed to help accommodate the high fuel prices, which are also upping ticket prices. 

Ticket prices are the highest they’ve ever been for Thanksgiving in the last 10 years, travel company Hopper found. It found domestic roundtrip tickets are up 39 percent. 

Despite that, 2.2 percent more flights have been scheduled, it found. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Elliott for comment.