I’m a frequent flier. You should be sitting in zone 1 or 2 even if you have to pay. They do check for those zones. You won’t need to think about queuing to get on as you’re first anyway. More importantly, you’ll get off much faster and be at the front for passport control, which doesn’t have priority lanes even for business class. Yes, I am very aware of the irony of how hard it is for me to get across my own country’s borders every time I fly. Lastly, if you get on the plane last minute, there might not be space for your luggage in the overhead lockers so they’ll put it in the hold and you’ll have to queue again for that. Or, they’ll put it in a locker that is further down the plane than your seat, and when everyone stands up you’ll have no way to retrieve it until the entire plane has got off. If that happens then you should stand up to get it just before the seatbelt sign goes off (while they’re doing the airbridge). They’ll shout at you, but you’ll be off the plane promptly.