Who prints there boarding passes online?
 

Curious who prints there boarding passes online from home instead of getting them at the airport? I've never tried printing my boarding passes from home. Always done it at the airport.

I travel American and they give bonus FF miles for doing so. I tried and tried and always got messages that I couldn't -- because there had been a change in my flight from original ticketing, or because my flight was part of an international flight (which I don't think you can ever print your own for).
Finally this past year, I was able to do it twice. Also have now encountered the machine at the airport where you print it yourself.

I do. Why wait in another line?

Print it at home, if possible. Since I don't usually check luggage flying domestic, I can head straight to the security checkpoint after arriving in terminal.

I do all the time...but can't do it on the return flight for lack of printer. I usually take the laptop, but obviously don't take a printer.

If anyone knows of a real good portable printer that I could easily fit in my laptop case, that works well...I am open for suggestions.

I fly Southwest occasionally, and would love to have printer in those cases, since boarding is done based on check-in times.

highbay - Just check-in online and reprint your boarding pass at the airport. That way, you'll still get your "A" pass for SW. No need to haul a printer with you just to save a few minutes at the terminal.

I check in online for domestic flights whenever I can (United). By doing so, I can bypass the front check-in counters and go straight through security.

rkkwan: How do I do that. I have asked the SW representives this question in the past and they have told me I need a printer.
So I check in on-line, then go to the airport and go where?

I have done it with Southwest and USairways. On USairways, I was able to change my seat to an emergency row seat while I was checking in on line. Yippy!

I always check in online for Southwest, they allow you to check in at 12:01 am the day of the flight. I've also checked in online twice this year on Aloha Air; they allow you to do it 24 hours in advance of your flight and they give you boarding passes for all flight segments.

I also used to use the Southwest check in machines at the airport, and those are good too, easy to figure out.

Don't know anything about checking in online and then going to the airport to get the actual printout. However, when we tried to check in online for an Aloha flight in June, we had a printing problem and had to scrap the whole thing. They gave us our boarding passes at the airport with no problem even though we'd already checked in online. I mean, they must know that printing problems occur often.

Anyway, I love it, it makes things just that much easier.

love
roxy

rkkwan:
Do I go to the little SW kiosk. I have seen them when changing planes. Do they have these kiosks at the regular check in areas? Will it let me print out a boarding pass that has already supposedly been printed out?

turn it on:
I was wondering about what would happen if your printer jammed. I even asked the SW representative that question. She basically told me she didn't know the answer and that she didn't want me to be the one to find out the answer....huh????

I always print my Northwest boarding passes for my outbound flights at home, including international itineraries. I've even dealt with the problem of a printer glitch. (I simply went to the office. I was obviously already checked in for the flight, but there is an option to reprint your boarding passes when you access the system again for that same itinerary.) As some have already mentioned, it saves time at the airport and there are sometimes some incentives, too.

I have not flown SW recently, but every airline I know let you reprint your boarding pass at a kiosk at the airport. Or go to the counter. Doesn't matter which way. Bottom line is that you can always check-in online without a printer.

<b>Patrick</b>,

I'm not sure which American you fly, but there are no bonus miles after the first on-line check-in on www.aa.com.

I believe you are thinking about booking a flight on www.aa.com. You still get 1000 miles for a R/T booked on-line.

We've checked in online for several airlines. That and curbside check-in if we're taking too much luggage to carry on make the whole airport thing less stessful.

On our last trip, we stayed at a Marriott Courtyard and could use the business center at the Marriott Renaissance across the street for free, so we printed our homeward bound boarding passes there.

I always check in online for SW Airlines and have also done it for NW. It is easy to do from home but can't always check in ahead of time heading home unless I have access to a computer and printer. The kiosk's are easy to use at the airport, stick in the credit card you used to purchase your ticket, answer a few questions and you have your boarding pass.

Flyboy, when you checked in on-line for international flights were you able to print your boarding pass? We were able to print our passes on AA to London but my daughter flew British Airways and although she could check in, she couldn't print a boarding pass so still had to stand in a very long line. It seems that international flights vary from airlines to airlines.

AAfrequentflyer, thanks for clearing that up. I had been trying to get those initial bonus points for online check in for so long, that I didn't really realize what all the bonuses finally were for this summer's postings -- I guess the others all were for booking flights on line.

Always do a test print of something else on your printer before you print your boarding pass. I tried to print a boarding pass on AA a while back. My printer was jammed and the thing just wouldn't print. At the airport I couldn't use electonic check in because their computer showed that I already had my boarding pass. So I ended up standing in the long line.

BUT, since then, I have printed boarding passes successfully, but it makes me nervous because of that first time.

I have printed the boarding passes for my depature flight on every flight but one, over the last 2 years.

The one time the system refussed to let me print in advance, the machine at the airport gave me boarding passes with the dreaded &quot;SSSS.&quot; Special screen required.

Keith

I always do. Makes sense to speed you through. You can also get free headphones, request movies, request special foods blah blah blah.

I always check in online and print a boarding pass (enjoy requesting an upgrade at the same time). Most of the time, I also check in at the kiosk (to check a bag) and get another boarding pass printed out and a receipt. It never occurred to me that there might be a problem with printing out a pass at home AND printing one out at the kiosk - and there hasn't been.

We've done it three times in the past two weeks - it's great! and fairly easy as long as you can find your confirmation # - with some airlines it's a challenge!! We were then able to do curb side check in and breeze thru to security. Go for it!!

I do it all the time on United and love it.

&quot; was wondering about what would happen if your printer jammed.????&quot;

You just go to the ticket counter and ask for a duplicate.

Ok, I need to get with the program. I've never checked in online from home. I'm gonna have to try that next time! Sounds like a timesaver!

I do it for every flight I take, unless I don't have internet access when I'm on vacation. It saves some extra time, which really helps someone like me who always cut it close.

highbay--I've used the hotel business center to print boarding passes and once, when a business center computer was down, the staff at the front desk let me use theirs. It never hurts to ask--the worst thing they'll say is no :-)

dcespedes: Appreciate that tip. Never thought of that before. I always bring my laptop (not sure if I should on my trip to Ireland in November...still debating that). Southwest is the only one that really drives me batty. It seems like they are only full when I can't check in early. Short flights don't bother me...it's those cross country ones, that heaven forbid have a plane change that send me to my limit.

With SW, you can check in all the way through on-line. BUT, if you check in at the airport (point of origin) they only check you through to your first stop. You must deplane and check in all over again.

So, if you are in &quot;A&quot; boarding group because you were a good doobee and checked in 1 hour before your flight, then you arrived in &quot;God knows where&quot; for a connecting flight (say it only has 30 mins.) you are treated as if you just schlepped through the airport with all the time in the world, and you don't care if you have to be the last person to board your flight!

All in all, I really like the TPA to MSY flights. They are generally cheaper than the rest of the industry, and I have a much better choice of travel times. I also like the direct flight schedule. I believe that I have digressed enough on this particular thread....sorry.