Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No offense but most frequent travelers know that you need to be at the airport 3 hours before an international flight. You may not always need the time and you may find yourself sitting in an overpriced coffee shop for two hours but at least you make your flight.
When you consider the security lines that could easily be an hour of your time.
Sorry you missed your flight but plan on getting to the airport earlier next time.
Domestic flights board about 30 mins prior to takeoff and International 30-45 mins. Meaning your flight was boarding between 5 and 5:15am. Also count 30 mins to an hour just to go through customs, and this now puts you back to at bare minimum 4-4:30am. The fact you showed up at 4:41 means there was no way you were going to make the flight in time, and even worse if you hadn't checked in yet considering almost all airlines (including JetBlue) allow you to check in within 24 hours of your flight.
Always give an hour and a half to 2 hour cushion for domestic flights and 2-3 hours for international. And always check in before you head to the airport.
i know it is all for safety, but i hate airports this days.. what a drag!!
customs, police, check-ins, other travelers, huge lines, people hauling entire apartments with them and then complaining they are over luggage limit lol, dead broke travelers dressed up like they are going to see the president, etc...
nobody cares anymore, it used to be you make life long friends on planes back in the days before 911
Oh yeah and don't even dare ask police for help, you will ended in the back room.. what an arrogance airport cops have..
sorry had to rant a little...
I have a international flight (NYC -JFK to ITALY) at 4pm on JULY 4th !
-Am i completely retarded for traveling on a holiday ?
-What should i expect ? Lots more people? extra security?
Im thinking im just gonna stroll in there approx. 2pm ish.
1 Luggagge weighing in at 50lbs. and 1 carry-on. Reserved seats, booked in advance with online printout.
Also is it better to exchange money in america (to get Euros) or will get more for the buck if i do it in italy?
___________
The main reason i ask is nobody wants to accept american money over there, not even the cabs!
You can usually get Euros at the spot price in mid-town, since they buy them from tourists for USD. If you don't do that, just using an ATM in Europe will give you the best rates.
HOLY CRAP! I can't believe the OP just posted this because this happened to me this past week on American Airlines on a flight from Fresno to LA. They (AA) would not allow me to print a boarding pass at the airport (either via the kiosk OR via someone at the AA counter at the airport) because I had missed the 30 MINUTE check in window. For reference, the Fresno Airport is very small and I had plenty of time to make it through security and get to the gate. And for what it's worth, I was there early, it's just that my colleague and I grabbed a bite to eat before heading to the gate.
American said I was a "no show" and I had to purchase a $350 ticket back to LA on United. PLUS - they also cancelled the second leg of my trip (LAX to JFK) which was scheduled to take off the next morning at 6:00am because they said I was a "no show".
Now, before anyone accuses me of not being a seasoned traveler, let me stop you right there. I've got more air miles on me than most folks as a result of business and personal travel. I've had situations where I've had to run up to the gate just before they close the door and it's worked out fine. What I have found is that the airlines are now creating an environment so that you will miss your plane so that they can sell your seat to another traveler. Why sell a seat once, when you can sell it twice? And for what it's worth, I was travelling business class. No cheap tickets involved. I was nothing less than shocked and if it wasn't for the grace of who knows what, they would have made me buy another flight back to NY. Not only am I going to write a letter to American Airlines, but also to whatever consumer affairs agency needs to know this. The airlines are not communicating this policy to its travelers. Trust me...if I had any idea that this was the case, I would have printed everything out or better yet, had it on my phone. There is no way I would have allowed it to happen had I known, but the biggest failure on the airlines part is that they fail to communicate this policy to its customers. I even checked my paperwork and it said that I could check in up to 24 beforehand. Nothing about making sure I printed a boarding pass (that's all my issue was about) 30 minutes beforehand.
I say you write that letter and get them to make it up to you somehow. I'm going to do the same. Wish me luck.
HOLY CRAP! I can't believe the OP just posted this because this happened to me this past week on American Airlines on a flight from Fresno to LA. They (AA) would not allow me to print a boarding pass at the airport (either via the kiosk OR via someone at the AA counter at the airport) because I had missed the 30 MINUTE check in window. For reference, the Fresno Airport is very small and I had plenty of time to make it through security and get to the gate. And for what it's worth, I was there early, it's just that my colleague and I grabbed a bite to eat before heading to the gate.
American said I was a "no show" and I had to purchase a $350 ticket back to LA on United. PLUS - they also cancelled the second leg of my trip (LAX to JFK) which was scheduled to take off the next morning at 6:00am because they said I was a "no show".
Now, before anyone accuses me of not being a seasoned traveler, let me stop you right there. I've got more air miles on me than most folks as a result of business and personal travel. I've had situations where I've had to run up to the gate just before they close the door and it's worked out fine. What I have found is that the airlines are now creating an environment so that you will miss your plane so that they can sell your seat to another traveler. Why sell a seat once, when you can sell it twice? And for what it's worth, I was travelling business class. No cheap tickets involved. I was nothing less than shocked and if it wasn't for the grace of who knows what, they would have made me buy another flight back to NY. Not only am I going to write a letter to American Airlines, but also to whatever consumer affairs agency needs to know this. The airlines are not communicating this policy to its travelers. Trust me...if I had any idea that this was the case, I would have printed everything out or better yet, had it on my phone. There is no way I would have allowed it to happen had I known, but the biggest failure on the airlines part is that they fail to communicate this policy to its customers. I even checked my paperwork and it said that I could check in up to 24 beforehand. Nothing about making sure I printed a boarding pass (that's all my issue was about) 30 minutes beforehand.
I say you write that letter and get them to make it up to you somehow. I'm going to do the same. Wish me luck.
Social media is king. Many companies are very aware of what people say about them on social media forums. They hire people just to manage their social media presence. You should go on Twitter and Tweet about it and make sure you hashtag it as #americanairlines #aa #americanairlinessucks
HOLY CRAP! I can't believe the OP just posted this because this happened to me this past week on American Airlines on a flight from Fresno to LA. They (AA) would not allow me to print a boarding pass at the airport (either via the kiosk OR via someone at the AA counter at the airport) because I had missed the 30 MINUTE check in window. For reference, the Fresno Airport is very small and I had plenty of time to make it through security and get to the gate. And for what it's worth, I was there early, it's just that my colleague and I grabbed a bite to eat before heading to the gate.
American said I was a "no show" and I had to purchase a $350 ticket back to LA on United. PLUS - they also cancelled the second leg of my trip (LAX to JFK) which was scheduled to take off the next morning at 6:00am because they said I was a "no show".
Now, before anyone accuses me of not being a seasoned traveler, let me stop you right there. I've got more air miles on me than most folks as a result of business and personal travel. I've had situations where I've had to run up to the gate just before they close the door and it's worked out fine. What I have found is that the airlines are now creating an environment so that you will miss your plane so that they can sell your seat to another traveler. Why sell a seat once, when you can sell it twice? And for what it's worth, I was travelling business class. No cheap tickets involved. I was nothing less than shocked and if it wasn't for the grace of who knows what, they would have made me buy another flight back to NY. Not only am I going to write a letter to American Airlines, but also to whatever consumer affairs agency needs to know this. The airlines are not communicating this policy to its travelers. Trust me...if I had any idea that this was the case, I would have printed everything out or better yet, had it on my phone. There is no way I would have allowed it to happen had I known, but the biggest failure on the airlines part is that they fail to communicate this policy to its customers. I even checked my paperwork and it said that I could check in up to 24 beforehand. Nothing about making sure I printed a boarding pass (that's all my issue was about) 30 minutes beforehand.
I say you write that letter and get them to make it up to you somehow. I'm going to do the same. Wish me luck.
HOLY CRAP! I can't believe the OP just posted this because this happened to me this past week on American Airlines on a flight from Fresno to LA. They (AA) would not allow me to print a boarding pass at the airport (either via the kiosk OR via someone at the AA counter at the airport) because I had missed the 30 MINUTE check in window. For reference, the Fresno Airport is very small and I had plenty of time to make it through security and get to the gate. And for what it's worth, I was there early, it's just that my colleague and I grabbed a bite to eat before heading to the gate.
American said I was a "no show" and I had to purchase a $350 ticket back to LA on United. PLUS - they also cancelled the second leg of my trip (LAX to JFK) which was scheduled to take off the next morning at 6:00am because they said I was a "no show".
Now, before anyone accuses me of not being a seasoned traveler, let me stop you right there. I've got more air miles on me than most folks as a result of business and personal travel. I've had situations where I've had to run up to the gate just before they close the door and it's worked out fine. What I have found is that the airlines are now creating an environment so that you will miss your plane so that they can sell your seat to another traveler. Why sell a seat once, when you can sell it twice? And for what it's worth, I was travelling business class. No cheap tickets involved. I was nothing less than shocked and if it wasn't for the grace of who knows what, they would have made me buy another flight back to NY. Not only am I going to write a letter to American Airlines, but also to whatever consumer affairs agency needs to know this. The airlines are not communicating this policy to its travelers. Trust me...if I had any idea that this was the case, I would have printed everything out or better yet, had it on my phone. There is no way I would have allowed it to happen had I known, but the biggest failure on the airlines part is that they fail to communicate this policy to its customers. I even checked my paperwork and it said that I could check in up to 24 beforehand. Nothing about making sure I printed a boarding pass (that's all my issue was about) 30 minutes beforehand.
I say you write that letter and get them to make it up to you somehow. I'm going to do the same. Wish me luck.
Yes! Exactly my point. I was not aware of such policy. There isn't even mention of it online or on the email I received from them. I don't like writing letters because I feel like they never pay attention to it, but I'll give it a go and if I don't get a reply on two weeks I'll call. Good luck!
Next time we just gotta play it smarter. If I would've been able to argue it with a supervisor at least I know I would've been able to go in.
And to whomever said I need to be 45 minutes early, at around 5am I was already past security trying to find something to eat. It was 5 in the morning, not a lot of people are at the airport at that time.
As to why I didn't grab a bite to go ~ had I known of the policy, I would have! That's the thing in my instance, had I known this was the policy, I would have had done things differently. Again, I had time at the airport. I wasn't late in getting there, I just wasn't aware of this policy. After checking all the paperwork I received from AA when purchasing the ticket, there was nothing of the 30 minute window noted.
Also, had I known that they would cancel my flight the next morning, I would have gone to the AA counter in LAX when I got there to, I don't know, argue with them then, but at that point, I had been up for 22 hours straight having flown in from NY to Fresno earlier that day. My point is, had all of this information been available, for sure I would have made sure to comply but the airlines themselves are creating an environment where you are more likely to lose a seat on a ticket you've already purchased so that they can sell it again. That's what I don't like.
And that 6:00am flight that the "manager" so graciously allowed me to fly back to NY on (never mind I had a business class seat on it)? It was cancelled. The stupid computer that flies the thing wouldn't boot up. Luckily, I was able to get on an 8:00am flight that was delayed, but managed to make it back to NYC in one piece. What cracks me up is the attitude that they airlines take when righting a wrong they've done. It's as though they're doing you a favor to give you the seat you've already paid for. And for what it's worth, AA was one of my favorite airlines prior to this. I've had many, many flights with them that went very well. But now...AA and I are friends no more.
And thanks for the social media info, jad2k. You're 100% right. I'm going to create a twitter account so I can let them know what happened.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
