Originally Posted by
nycityny
That's comparable to what United is now doing, in my experience.
I flew SFO-LAX a couple of months ago and we boarded 1 hour before takeoff (really unnecessary and very boring). I usually fly ps routes and we now board 40 minutes before departure instead of 30 minutes prior to 3/3. I don't know why they do this - the boarding process seems to take the same length of time so why do they need the extra 10 minutes?
Not in my experience. RJ flights board 10-20min before departure. A319/20 20-30min.
As for your question, I think it's just padded time. If something does happen, those extra 10 min can save a late departure.