We're two people going Zurich-Istanbul-Ercan with Pegasus and picked the second tightest connection, since if we miss the tightest connection and the next one is full (that specific flight is usually full in June) then we have to sleep in the transit area, which the other person wouldn't like as it doesn't have anywhere comfortable to sleep.
I'm aware that you can sometimes get an earlier connection for free if asking ground staff.
My question is: assuming the inbound flight makes it in time, is it the transfer desk or the gate staff right before boarding that I should ask whether we could possibly be put on the earlier connecting flight?
We're only bringing hand luggage