SeaTac Arrival Time
Jun 19th, 2007, 07:11 AM
#1
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SeaTac Arrival Time
How far ahead of flight time do you arrive at SeaTac?
On a recent trip, we followed instructions from Alaska Airlines, arrived two hours beforehand, whisked through security, and ended up with two hours to kill. It seemed like a waste of time. Was it?
On a recent trip, we followed instructions from Alaska Airlines, arrived two hours beforehand, whisked through security, and ended up with two hours to kill. It seemed like a waste of time. Was it?
Jun 19th, 2007, 07:14 AM
#2
Depends on the day of the week and the time of the day. Generally security is reasonably efficient, but there are exceptions... I now generally arrive around 90 min. before flight time and have had no problems, although on holiday weekends or other peak days you might get to the gate just as boarding starts. I've found the lines at the Alaska counter can often be longer than those at security.
Jun 19th, 2007, 07:48 AM
#4
My flight is on Delta at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, June 22, and I'm not checking any bags.
Fridays are cruise days and things can be quite congested. However, if you can just get your boarding pass from the electronic kiosk (or better, check in online the night before) you can bypass the check-in counters and go straight to security. For that, getting there around 11 should be okay. No promises, mind you...
Fridays are cruise days and things can be quite congested. However, if you can just get your boarding pass from the electronic kiosk (or better, check in online the night before) you can bypass the check-in counters and go straight to security. For that, getting there around 11 should be okay. No promises, mind you...
Jun 19th, 2007, 11:42 AM
#6
I go at least 2 hrs. and up to 3 hrs. ahead, depending on what the airline recommends. I would rather "waste" time sitting at the airport having a drink in the bar, then getting stuck in an unexpected traffic jamb on I-5 and having an anxiety attack.
Both Alaska Air and SeaTac security on different occasions for me in the past have had LONG lines (not always, but often enough to make me take the "better safe than sorry" approach).
Both Alaska Air and SeaTac security on different occasions for me in the past have had LONG lines (not always, but often enough to make me take the "better safe than sorry" approach).
Jun 19th, 2007, 12:00 PM
#7
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I've had that experience too at Seatac, HTTY...but like Suze I'd rather be safe than sorry. So I've been doing 90 minutes even with bags to check and that's worked fine so far.
Without bags and with your boarding pass in hand, 90 minutes should be fine, even on a Friday. And remember, at Seatac you can now use any security line so if the one nearest your gate seems long, check out the others (the one nearest the A gate seems to have the shortest lines in my experience).
Without bags and with your boarding pass in hand, 90 minutes should be fine, even on a Friday. And remember, at Seatac you can now use any security line so if the one nearest your gate seems long, check out the others (the one nearest the A gate seems to have the shortest lines in my experience).
