How much time does one need to be at the airport before a domestic flight? (rental, hotel)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk
Had they checked in on line? Most airlines require you to check in (on line or in person) an hour prior to your flight time due to DHS rules, but as long as you are checked in, they don't care if you walk up to the gate just before they close the door.
But unless they complete boarding very quickly and shut the door, arriving at the gate 15 minutes before your flight isn't a problem if you've checked in online. Most carriers don't even start the boarding process until 30 minutes before flight time.
If I'm flying back and forth in the same day for a meeting and only have my briefcase, I usually wait to board at the very end--I don't need overhead space.
This person had not checked in online beforehand as they didn't have access to printer and couldn't print out a boarding pass in advance. Can one check in online even if they can't print out a boarding pass?
As for actual boarding at the gate if one has no carry-on luggage that needs to go in an overhead bin, I can see the advantage of boarding at the very end.
This person had not checked in online beforehand as they didn't have access to printer and couldn't print out a boarding pass in advance. Can one check in online even if they can't print out a boarding pass?
As for actual boarding at the gate if one has no carry-on luggage that needs to go in an overhead bin, I can see the advantage of boarding at the very end.
Yes, you can check in online and print the boarding pass at the airport or whenever you get access to a printer.
Most airlines require bags are checked in at the 45 or 60 minute mark. They will not accept them after that. Boarding starts at 30 minutes prior to take off, and if you are not in the boarding area then, your seat can be given away.
I fly almost weekly and can tell you that with the exception of one or two very, very small airports that only handle turbo-props and RJ's, you need to plan on security lines taking 30 minutes. They might be less, sometimes they are more. I forgot my CLEAR card a few weeks ago and waited 45 in Orlando one morning.
I fly on airlines where I can check in and print boarding passes online, and I never check bags. I prepare myself to get through security as quickly as possible, without hassle.
Even doing this, I try to be at my gate an hour before my flight. I try and schedule my flights for odd hours, during odd days, when security lines will be the shortest. I just flew (on Thursday) from Phoenix, AZ to Jackson, MS. Leaving Phoenix Sky Harbor (a fairly decent sized, international airport), I planned about 30 minutes to get through security. This meant getting to the airport an hour and a half before my flight. Sure enough, security took almost exactly 30 minutes, and I was at my gate ready to go an hour before the flight departed.
Keep in mind, most planes board 15-20 minutes before the departure time, so you want to be at the gate at LEAST 5-10 minutes before boarding. This means getting to your gate AT LEAST 30 minutes before your scheduled departure. Ask around, and find out how security works at the airport you plan to fly out of. Many online forums have this information. When I flew out of LAX a few summers ago, I had to get to the airport THREE HOURS before a domestic flight, and just barely made it to the gate in time!
READ YOUR TICKET WHEN YOU PURCHASE THEM
^^^^^most important thing to remember
most flights BEGIN boarding 45 minutes before
that said, EVERYONE IS SUBJECT TO SEAT LOSS...30 minutes out the flight closes, AKA, if you failed to check in on time, you may have lost your seat on that flight...20 minutes out standby seats are given out, and those seats come from seats that were not purchased and from the passengers who took their time coming to the airport that morning...and if you get to the gate 10 minutes before it takes off and your seat is gone, its gone, you will be bumped to the next flight on a standby revenue status...i cannot stress enough to READ as you purchase your ticket because you are agreeing to that happening to you...BE AT THE GATE, NOT THE AIRPORT, 45 minutes before so you are able to board when boarding starts, and you do not lose your seats...
Most airlines require bags are checked in at the 45 or 60 minute mark. They will not accept them after that. Boarding starts at 30 minutes prior to take off, and if you are not in the boarding area then, your seat can be given away.
I fly almost weekly and can tell you that with the exception of one or two very, very small airports that only handle turbo-props and RJ's, you need to plan on security lines taking 30 minutes. They might be less, sometimes they are more. I forgot my CLEAR card a few weeks ago and waited 45 in Orlando one morning.
I would not want to use Orlando as the basis for any security wait times. That is a tourist-heavy airport (lots of kids) which makes lines for security much, much longer. Same for airports with large cruise passengers loads (FLL, etc.).
For most people who are status-less, I would say no less than an hour. Exceptions exist (e.g., flying out of Dulles at 5:00 pm on a weekday would lead me to say no less than 90 minutes (owing to the heavy European departure traffic that time of day)).
I would not want to use Orlando as the basis for any security wait times. That is a tourist-heavy airport (lots of kids) which makes lines for security much, much longer. Same for airports with large cruise passengers loads (FLL, etc.).
For most people who are status-less, I would say no less than an hour. Exceptions exist (e.g., flying out of Dulles at 5:00 pm on a weekday would lead me to say no less than 90 minutes (owing to the heavy European departure traffic that time of day)).
I'm not using Orlando as my basis. I fly almost weekly into and out of airports all over the US.
Over the past three weeks I've flown in and out of major airports in California, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, plus Orlando.
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