Airport arrival recommendations?

[jsglow]

Really? Three hours for International?

 

I'm a very seasoned domestic traveler and an occasional international traveler. We'll be dropped off at the airport, won't be checking bags, have Global Entry (so TSA-pre included) and will already have checked-in on line although I always like to print a boarding pass at the airport rather than fumble with my phone.

 

It just seems excessive getting to ORD at 5:30a for an 8:30a flight.  Now arriving curbside around 6:30a? Sure. We certainly prefer not to ever feel rushed and 30-45 minutes sitting at the gate is perfectly normal for us.

 

Thoughts? Am I missing something particularly unusual regarding the international part?

[Mary229]

I use DFW to fly. I am a nervous Nelly always arriving early but even I am comfortable with 2.5-3 hours.  Flying home I check the airport website for traffic reports. I have arrived at AMS 4 hours early and barely made it 

[CruiserBruce]

It depends on the airport.  Some places (FCO leaps to mind), 3 hours is definitely required. 

 

2 hours at ORD is fine at that time of the morning, particularly as you aren't checking bags. But, given morning traffic and related heavy travel demand this summer,  better safe than sorry.

 

The only real extra procedure due to international travel is a passport check at the gate (and at the checkin desk, if you print a boarding pass there) now frequently including a biometrics check.

[LHT28]

We always  arrive at least 3 hrs early we do not have  Nexus or Global entry  as we do not fly more than twice a year

But if you are comfortable  going  2 hr  or less   that is your  choice

 

[waterbug123]

On 7/31/2023 at 8:56 AM, jsglow said:

Really? Three hours for International?

 

It just seems excessive getting to ORD at 5:30a for an 8:30a flight.  Now arriving curbside around 6:30a? Sure. We certainly prefer not to ever feel rushed and 30-45 minutes sitting at the gate is perfectly normal for us.

 

Thoughts? Am I missing something particularly unusual regarding the international part?

To answer your question, yes you are missing something.  You're missing that it would be virtually impossible for the airline to know ahead of time what everyone's situation is going to be.....who is checking a bag and who isn't, who has PreCheck (or will acquire it before travel day) and who doesn't, who has to drive a long way and who lives next to the airport, who is getting dropped off vs who has to deal with parking a car, who has mobility issues and who doesn't, and probably a number of other factors.  There is also the issue of checking passports for international travel.  It generally doesn't take more than a minute or so, but it is an additional step, and it's often repeated again at the gate. 

 

Do you really expect the airline to know all of these things about every passenger, and issue them a personalized recommendation for airport arrival time?  Of course not.   So the airline needs to cover their butt and assume everyone will need to park a car, check a bag, dig around for their passport, go through the regular security line etc. or the airlines are the ones who will hear about it when someone misses their flight. 

 

But YOU know that YOU can get from door to gate more quickly than the average person, so you can adjust your arrival time accordingly.

[Zach1213]

1 hour ago, waterbug123 said:

There is also the issue of checking passports for international travel.  It generally doesn't take more than a minute or so, but it is an additional step, and it's often repeated again at the gate. 

 

And if there is an issue with a passport, it's often not a quick fix. Having plenty of time before your flight can give you time to resolve some simpler issues (like Australian ETAs or, in the future, ETIAS). I had a colleague who once flat out forgot to get her Australian ETA. Luckily, she was one of those people who arrives early to everything and was able to get it online after American Airlines told her they wouldn't let her on her MCI-DFW flight (that was connecting to SYD on QF) without one. 

[Dancer Bob]

From my personal experience

1. My original flight was cancelled, I was able to rebook on an earlier flight rather than waiting til next day.

2. My original flight was overbooked, there were seats on an earlier flight which gave me a much better connection, the airline was happy to rebook. Rare, but possible.

As well as, if there's a huge line at security, it's just an annoyance, no panic. Not to mention it makes travelling on non-refundable tickets lower stress.

[gradydude]

What you have going for you is the early morning departure.  The flights are usually on time if there hasn't been any irregular ops (ie: a storm, or a computer meltdown that has been happening lately);the day before. What  you don't have going for you are the long security lines. What I have found lately is that the flights close the doors to the aircraft 10-15 minutes early. I know this to be true in Delta.  Once closed, they don't open them.   Even if the ramp is still loading bags. 
 

[Brighton Line]

8 hours ago, gradydude said:

What I have found lately is that the flights close the doors to the aircraft 10-15 minutes early. I know this to be true in Delta.  

Known as D0 or Departure Zero as in no delay  (D-1 a minute delay) a stat that is tracked and measured. American is currently pushing D0 by not catering or not issuing upgrades and you find they will complete boarding well before departure even advertise a door close time well before the actual departure time. 

[jsglow]

I do seem to remember international flights beginning their boarding earlier than the standard 30 minutes prior to departure I'm accustomed to when flying domestically.  Maybe that's just my limited experience. 

[CruiserBruce]

21 minutes ago, jsglow said:

I do seem to remember international flights beginning their boarding earlier than the standard 30 minutes prior to departure I'm accustomed to when flying domestically.  Maybe that's just my limited experience. 

Many start boarding for international flights 40-50 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

[gerelmx]

HAM airport says don't arrive more than 2 hours early

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, gerelmx said:

HAM airport says don't arrive more than 2 hours early

 

HAM also does not have a lot of flights out of the Schengen zone.  And its furthest destination is Dubai.  No trans-Atlantic flights, no flights to Africa or Asia.

 

 

[Globaliser]

11 hours ago, gradydude said:

What I have found lately is that the flights close the doors to the aircraft 10-15 minutes early.

 

Why do you consider that to be "early"? The scheduled departure time is the time that the aircraft is supposed to start being pushed back from the gate. It is not the time that the aircraft doors are planned to be closed. There is plenty of paperwork to be done after boarding all the passengers who will actually be travelling.

 

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Many start boarding for international flights 40-50 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

 

Depending on airline, some start boarding even before then. All in the name of trumpeting "on-time departure" stats.

[gradydude]

Good point Globaliser! It’s not early, it’s on time. But I believe the original poster was asking if 2 hrs was enough time for an international flight.  If I have to worry about cutting it close it’s not a good start. .Flying our of a small airport maybe 2 hrs, Chicago can be sometimes very good and sometimes awful.  Miami forgetaboutit… 

[jsglow]

On 8/7/2023 at 1:35 PM, gradydude said:

Good point Globaliser! It’s not early, it’s on time. But I believe the original poster was asking if 2 hrs was enough time for an international flight.  If I have to worry about cutting it close it’s not a good start. .Flying our of a small airport maybe 2 hrs, Chicago can be sometimes very good and sometimes awful.  Miami forgetaboutit… 

Actually the OP (me) was wondering if the recommended 3 hours was truly necessary. We know ORD quite well and will likely be flying out of Gate K15 with boarding passes in hand, carry-on luggage only and TSA-pre with a curbside drop-off. We're going to arrive about 6a for the 8:30a departure. I'm increasingly confident we'll have time to kill. But that's appropriate for an international.

[Mary229]

4 hours ago, jsglow said:

Actually the OP (me) was wondering if the recommended 3 hours was truly necessary. We know ORD quite well and will likely be flying out of Gate K15 with boarding passes in hand, carry-on luggage only and TSA-pre with a curbside drop-off. We're going to arrive about 6a for the 8:30a departure. I'm increasingly confident we'll have time to kill. But that's appropriate for an international.

I understand.  Most of my concern in arriving the 3 hours in advance is to ensure my luggage gets to its destination.  With carryon only and TSA precheck I don’t worry too much 

[sambamama]

I've arrived at a smallish airport and found TSA pre check swamped! I was at Miami and a woman was foolish enough to send her purse with a long chain handle through the scanner on the belt and not in a bin. The chain handle got wound into the scanners belt and the line ground to a halt for 30 minutes. They would not let us divert to another line. I almost missed my flight. I was at Miami and the business check in line was as long as a regular line, and the regular line was huge! You never know what can happen. Me, I'd rather be early and kill time and see the sunrise at the airport than miss my flight.

[6rugrats]

Since I currently work in baggage for a major US carrier, I think I have some experience with this.  Arriving three hours early does not give you a better chance of having your bags loaded than if you arrive one hour early.  The bags just go down the chute and are are hopefully grouped together with other bags for your flight, until ramp is ready to load the bags.  And, just because you checked more than one bag together, does not mean they all will be loaded onto the flight; they are not velcroed together.  Your bag is not loaded for an international flight until you actually board the flight.

 

ALL airlines to my knowledge, at least in the US, close the door to the jetbridge 10-15 minutes before the flight for domestic flights, usually earlier for international.  So, pax who run up to the gate at 13:50 for a flight that leaves at 14:00 are usually out-of-luck.  Pleading for the gate to be opened is a waste of time.  You are late and your seat has probably already been released and assigned to a standby passenger.  It is not a simple issue to "just open the door, I can see the plane is still sitting there." 

 

The gate agent can see who is arriving on connecting flights, and believe me, this is being tracked.  We don't want to prevent you from boarding, but when you run up to the gate after the jetbridge door has been closed, and I can see your connecting flight arrived 30 min ago, two gates down, and you are loaded down with Starbucks cups, I honestly don't have much sympathy.

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by 6rugrats

[jsglow]

So, for the record, we left the hotel on the 6a shuttle, arrived at the airport at approximately 6:20a, had the easiest TSA in history, and were sitting at the gate at 6:45a, approximately one hour prior to boarding. All good.

Relaxing in downtown London as I type. Theater in the West End tonight after the London Museum today. That daytime flight across the pond is the bomb.