[chrisseaton]

Right - the arrival time is a no-later-than and that’s all I need. People complain about leaving a gate in an aeroplane and then sitting on the apron for a bit - who cares if you’re on the ground or in the air or even going backwards - I just care about my arrival time and don’t mind what you do as long as you hit that.

I use a flight that’s regularly delayed by half an hour but still gets there half an hour early. Whatever - I make my connection every time.

[bluGill]

I also care about departure time. If I arrive with one minute to spare (counting security and check in) but the plane leaves 2 minutes early I don't get their on time through no fault of my own. If I'm even a second late I accept it is my fault.

[sokoloff]

Airlines I've flown publish and abide the door-closing time. (For Delta domestic flights, it's 15 minutes before scheduled departure, 30 for int'l. I think they put 20 minutes on domestic boarding passes as a buffer against watch skew arguments.)

I've seen the gate agents paying scrupulous attention to that, to ensure they don't close the gate early if any pax who have checked in haven't boarded.

[0xffff2]

It depends a bit on where I'm sitting. If I'm in first class (most of the time I am these days) I don't really mind, but if I'm in steerage with my knees pressed up against the seat in front of me I want to spend the absolute minimum amount of time possible physically onboard the plane.

Likewise I don't mind wasting time in an airport when I have a company per diem to pay for my drinks, but if it's on my own dime I'd rather not spend any longer than necessary sitting around in uncomfortable airport seats.