Provide airline check-in/boarding pass for small fee.

The last day the computer room was very hectic with folks trying to get their boarding passes and check-in for the airlines. Many were not computer literate or at least were not used to the system on-board.

Have a couple of computers and printers set up for a couple of hours in the classroom area or the reception and for a small fee have 2 young people who know what they are doing print airline check-in and boarding passes. This would be a help to those who worry about such things and would keep them out of the computer room messing up and getting frustrated and then needing one on one instruction for a long time!

The last day the computer room was very hectic with folks trying to get their boarding passes and check-in for the airlines. Many were not computer literate or at least were not used to the system on-board.

 

Have a couple of computers and printers set up for a couple of hours in the classroom area or the reception and for a small fee have 2 young people who know what they are doing print airline check-in and boarding passes. This would be a help to those who worry about such things and would keep them out of the computer room messing up and getting frustrated and then needing one on one instruction for a long time!

Oh for heavens sake, these people need to shift themselves into the new century.

There is absolutely no value to checking in online, or in printing a boarding pass in advance if you will be arriving at the airport with luggage which needs to be checked.

Oh for heavens sake, these people need to shift themselves into the new century.

 

There is absolutely no value to checking in online, or in printing a boarding pass in advance if you will be arriving at the airport with luggage which needs to be checked.

Actually there might well be. Some budget airlines make a charge at luggage check in if you have not printed off your boarding pass or have not downloaded it onto e.g. your phone. They often don't allow you to do this more than seven days in advance so you probably can't do it before leaving home.

I realise this is probably not on the radar of those travelling on a long haul flight but budget airlines are very popular in Europe for short haul.

Actually there might well be. Some budget airlines make a charge at luggage check in if you have not printed off your boarding pass or have not downloaded it onto e.g. your phone. They often don't allow you to do this more than seven days in advance so you probably can't do it before leaving home.

 

I realise this is probably not on the radar of those travelling on a long haul flight but budget airlines are very popular in Europe for short haul.

If you're traveling with luggage that has to be checked, and would have to go to the ticket counter at the Airport anyway, I don't believe that you are correct.

We went to the concierge on board and they were happy to do that for us. We would have paid the $1 per page but the printer was out of paper and the computer person was not at his desk.

If you're traveling with luggage that has to be checked, and would have to go to the ticket counter at the Airport anyway, I don't believe that you are correct.

Like I said, this might be news to folk who are not familiar with European airlines but sadly it is true!

"The Ryanair fee that the most people fall foul of. Everyone who flies with Ryanair has to check in online. That's right: everyone. You. Must. Check. In. Online. Lots of people forget and are forced to pay a 'boarding pass reprint fee'. Oh yeah, did I tell you? Check in online!"

We went to the concierge on board and they were happy to do that for us. We would have paid the $1 per page but the printer was out of paper and the computer person was not at his desk.

$1 per page :eek:

It was only 25 cents in January ...now that is a rip off

Oh for heavens sake, these people need to shift themselves into the new century.

 

There is absolutely no value to checking in online, or in printing a boarding pass in advance if you will be arriving at the airport with luggage which needs to be checked.

You are partially correct but, there are reasons to check in on line such as the example Solas 36 stated plus there are some airlines where the baggage charge while checking in on line is lower than the price at the airport check in desk and that includes some US airlines and, those extra charges for not checking in on line are sure to increase in the future.

Another significant reason to ALWAYS check in on line even if you can't or don't print your tickets is to protect your seat on the plane. Airlines historically overbook and you can show up at the airport with a confirmed e-ticket and not get on the plane since people who fill all of the seats have checked in ahead of you. Delays getting to the airport can and do increase the likelihood of this occurring. Also, there is a minimum check in time before scheduled departure or your reserved seat will be released and you could be left standing while the plane departs.

Sure, with a confirmed ticket the airline has to get you to your destination but, depending on how crowded other flights are, could be a day or two later messing up your plans.

Even if I don't have a way to print my ticket I always check in on line soon after 24 hours prior to the flight and I definitely highly recommend everyone check in and to avoid issues a having to pay for that paper, get your boarding pass at the airport while checking you luggage.

The check in is the important part while the boarding pass is secondary except for at least Spirit where they charge you to print or reprint your boarding pass at the airport.

Evidently some of you never fly Southwest Airlines. There are definite advantages to checking in 24 hours before you are to fly regardless of luggage or not. Checking in early on Southwest gives you a better boarding position. You do not have to print the boarding passes, just check in. You can also do it by phone if you have phone coverage. Believe me, it is a tremendous advantage on Southwest Airlines.

United has an app. No need for paper.

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United has an app. No need for paper.

 

 

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Not everyone has a smart phone. ..

Jim has been telling me for years that I'm an old fogey and I don't need to check in ahead of time or print a boarding pass. I still do it. Nowadays we travel with carry-ons (except for the world cruise :rolleyes:) and go straight to the gate. The boarding passes make life easy. We could never use the apps before because we had only one smartphone between us, and to use the app each has to use their own. Betsy finally joined the 21st century, so we might try the apps the next time, but we will still check in as close to the 24 hours as possible. Why not? Better to be safe than sorry...

When we have checked in a number of times with a preprinted pass, we were able to bypass the very long checkin line and just take our luggage to the weigh-in area and present the boarding pass.

Also possible at some airports to just use the kiosk and swipe passport but even then it seems to work better when you have checked in and assured your seat selection before arriving at the airport.

When we have checked in a number of times with a preprinted pass, we were able to bypass the very long checkin line and just take our luggage to the weigh-in area and present the boarding pass.

We call this Curbside Check In, in the United States, and you don't need a pre-printed boarding pass to accomplish it; the requirements are to be listed on the flight manifest and to have a valid passport.

In UK airports it is called Bag Drop. You can check in on 23/24 hours before your flight and reserve a seat at the same time. Your luggage just has to be weighed.

We now pay to reserve seats for the return journey now, as checking in online while on a cruise ship can be problematic. Worth every penny of the £25 we paid for the last flight we took, as we did not have join the desperate queue of passengers hoping to get seats together. We just waited till the queue subsides and walk straight up to the desk. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet in order to avoid the stress!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh for heavens sake, these people need to shift themselves into the new century.

 

There is absolutely no value to checking in online, or in printing a boarding pass in advance if you will be arriving at the airport with luggage which needs to be checked.

Wrongo --- depending on your airline --the upgrade list is based on when you check in.

Also if on SW -- it will also determine where you are in their queue.

United has an app. No need for paper.

 

 

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Another WRONGO -- there are many overseas airports where they only accept paper (I am heading to one tonight on UA) -- Will not accept an APP.

The last time we didn't check-in online, we had lost our seats when we checked in at the airport. So we did not sit together on the flight.

I suppose you could check in online and not print boarding passes is you don't want to pay the $.25/page to print. IMO, there is always someone around to assist people that aren't familiar with how to access the "check-in" section of the airline they are flying. While it is nice idea to pay someone to help, I can't see Oceania allowing one or two people to sail free in order to provide this service.

$1 per page :eek:

It was only 25 cents in January ...now that is a rip off

If you have a unlimited internet package the printing fee is waived.

Not everyone has a smart phone. ..

 

Jim has been telling me for years that I'm an old fogey and I don't need to check in ahead of time or print a boarding pass. I still do it. Nowadays we travel with carry-ons (except for the world cruise :rolleyes:) and go straight to the gate. The boarding passes make life easy. We could never use the apps before because we had only one smartphone between us, and to use the app each has to use their own. Betsy finally joined the 21st century, so we might try the apps the next time, but we will still check in as close to the 24 hours as possible. Why not? Better to be safe than sorry...

And as another poster mentioned not all airports are in the 21st century. The cow pasture we fly from is not set up to scan the smartphone screens. You have to have a paper boarding pass. After the ticket agent checks you in they then show up at the boarding gate to load the plane. Not sure if they load they luggage also. You'd think AA and Delta would hire a couple more workers. No shortage of TSA agents though.

When we were on the 10th anniversay cruise in Alaska with Mr Del Rio, he held a "town meeting" session. He asked for suggestions. I suggested, as a courtesy, that computer fees and printing fees be waived the day before disembarking when connecting to an airline to check in. For some, it might be the only time they use the computer, and it's a lot to ask for folks to pay the $3.95 setup fee, $0.99 per minute computer usage and a printing fee just to get a boarding pass.

Unfortunately I was laughed out of the meeting, to the point of embarrassment, that I would suggest such a trivial and old-fashioned thing. This thread is showing that I might not have been so far off base after all.

$1 per page :eek:

It was only 25 cents in January ...now that is a rip off

It was 25 cents on Tuesday and for as much money as we paid I thought was a joke. We checked in at the airport

It makes me feel more comfortable to check in on line and to have the paper boarding pass.

That's enough for me.

So I guess that makes me "so 20th Century".

Peggy

I believe the printing fee is there as a deterrent; otherwise some folks might print a torrent of stuff -- hard copies of the emails from home, etc., and reprint anything that didn't turn out perfectly, like they do at home. Any time you give something away, some people will find a way to abuse it. That's the only thing that would concern me about complimentary airline check-in. Same reason there is a launderette fee.

It was 25 cents on Tuesday and for as much money as we paid I thought was a joke. We checked in at the airport

I have checked in online and not printed the boarding pass

I do not have a problem with the 25 cent fee per sheet but the above poster said it was $1 so that I have a problem with

Lyn

In September, at CDG, AA had three lines one had to stand in. First: check passport and documents (2) get boarding pass and luggage tags (3) check/weight baggage. In the US, this is typically all done at one time, with one agent. At CdG there was three lines, where on progressed slowly from one line to the next. If one had checked in on-line and had their boarding passes already, they could by pass line number two, thus saving themselves about 20 minutes in line. Those that had checked in on line had their baggage tags already printed and they were given to you at the baggage check-in.

As a side note, we were told that AA was soon going to a system where carry on baggage was going to be weighted likewise and a new fee would apply for any carry on weighing over a certain amount. I guess this is for the customers whose carry ons take three people to lift up to the overhead storage bins.: eek: They were already stopping passengers getting on board with more than the limited number of carryons and making them hand check them. They indicated that those hand checked bags will soon have a fee similar to checked bags. I was amazed at the number of people wearing backpacks and trying to pull two and three small suitcases on board trying to get around the check baggage fees, and then fighting over storage bin space!

One of these days, some smart feller is going to open a "Wear and Toss" biodegradable clothing shop/minimart just outside of a major metropolitan airport, and the rest will be history :p

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