Alaska Airlines has increased the amount of time that you are required to check-in before your flight. For domestic flights you now need to check-in 50 minutes before your flight. And, if you’re checking bags, those much also be checked in 50 minutes before your flight. That’s an increase of 10 minutes from the previous 40 minutes.
Internal documentation that I’ve reviewed suggests this won’t actually start being enforced until Tuesday, October 29th. And of course there are some airports and situations (like checking a pet) where even earlier check-in is required.
Even as Alaska moves increasingly to automate the check-in and drop off process they’re requiring passengers to show up earlier and earlier.
And they’re not the only one. Over the summer United Airlines updated its contract of carriage, publishing requirements that doubled the amount of time you’d have to check-in before your flight although they did not actually start enforcing this. They said the change was to “allow for possible future changes.”
- For domestic flights (with or without checked bags) United’s contract of carriage requirement is to check-in at least 60 minutes prior to departure. That increased from 30 minutes – a literal doubling.
- For international flights (with or without checked bags) United’s contract of carriage requirement is to check-in at least 75 minutes prior to departure departure. This is increased from 60 minutes.
Passengers are regularly told that they need to show up at the airport 3 hours before their flight. This is a massive failure that costs us $79 billion per year. Yet somehow this isn’t considered a failure of massive proportions?
The lengthened times for showing up at the airport mean that it no longer even makes sense for many people to take shorter flights. The time it takes to get through security, make it through the airport, and board planes earlier and earlier is wasted time. Instead of getting more efficient, we’re queuing more and wasting precious time. And that doesn’t even count the time spent waiting at baggage claim or busing to rideshare and rental car lots at the other end of the journey.
Air travel is supposed to be about making it from one place to another as quickly as possible. It seems as though we’ve forgotten this.
“Checking in” and “showing up” are two different things. I check in via the airline’s phone app 24 hours before the flight. I show up when I feel like it.
Three Hours is Most Appropriate . 50 minutes is cutting it too close .
Who is not checking in via the app in 2024? This seems to be an unbelievably small number of people. Also checking bags should only be as a last resort. Pack like a ninja and uncluttered your life
I agree with previous comments that online / app check-ins make the 50-minute cutoff less of an issue than it would be if in-person check-in were required. Having said that, I strongly agree that the entire airport experience badly needs improvement in time efficiency. Short-haul air travel is drying up, and I’d be hard pressed to consider air travel if I could make the drive in ~6 hours or less.
The issue is baggage, if you are checking a bag you need to do it before the check in cut off time. With no bags then yeah sure show up whenever you want, but a lot of people need to check bags.
The problem is that there are situations where you MUST check-in in person. Ever bought a codeshare that you can’t check in from the app? I have. How about UA (granted the article is about AS) who punishes basic economy travelers without bags by forcing them to an in-person check-in?
It’s not always as simple as “just use the app!”
We’re back to the Pre-De-Reg days; Carriers have become a Public Utility (electricity, natural gas, mass transit; AT&T couldn’t persuade a Federal Judge it was essential that they control telephone); at most airport there’s a dominant carrier; if it wants a 90 minute check-in, that’s what a majority of passengers will have. Theory of De-Reg was to promote ‘choice’, there’s recent Seminars, studies, ‘what went wrong.’ Easy answer, “the big’uns ate the little’uns.”
Maybe they want passengers to wander the mall, I mean airport, longer.
I live an hour north on Tampa International and five hours from Miami. By figuring in the hour drive two hours at checking, one hour flight and 30 minutes to get out of the airport, I can drive there in the same amount of time and have car to get around. It only makes sense to fly if I am connecting through
Does one need to show up three hours ahead? Other than peak holiday period, no. But showing up one hour out with bags to be checked it’s just plain stupid. Even Pre Check lines at certain airports can take 15-30 minutes to get through. Worst offenders are DCA, ATL and MIA.
Would you rather wait 20 minutes at the gate or in an airline club versus missing your flight and either standing in a rebooking line or waiting on the phone hoping you can get confirmed for a new flight that day?
@George … Yes , one does need to show up three hours ahead . I need time to drink my champagne .
The real issue is airport staff. Most airlines have less than 50% of the counters and gates manned.
Showing up even earlier means they can reduce their staff to one person checking in bags and passengers, then closing the desk and going to the gate to be gate agents. This is what is happening at most international smaller airports.
It’s about reducing labor costs not about improving customer service.
Besides the man wants you to DRIVE your 15mpg car- it’s good for the US economy. No one cares what’s good for you.
Business school 101. How do you extract the maximum amount of profit from the customer is your only consideration. Everything else is just overhead.
The real reason for the 50 minute check in this I think the airline usually start sending the cart of bags to the gate is 30 minutes before take off. I takes about 5-10 minutes before it arrives what is called T-Point (belt to cart) so if you get 99% of bags before the 30 minutes to gate you have less you have to send another “runner/cart” to bring the bags to the plane. Remember they have an idea how many bags to expect 24 hours + before travel day. They can load the flight sooner and less fail delivery that requires cost to deliver to home/hotel.
The US desperately needs rail travel for short distances. Love the Orlando to Miami route. Also have enjoyed DC to NYC.
We fly international out of HNL and have to checkin at the counter to show your passport and in some cases any visa requirements. Fortunately we sit in the front so there is no lines. Aloha
I chuckle at the people who say checking a bag a mere 1 hour ahead is stupid. I’m I’m checking my bag any more than 50 minutes in advance I consider it a failure of time management!
(ok, I do put in more wiggle room if I’m retuning a rental car.)
Omg. 10 minutes earlier for those passengers who don’t know how/want to check in at the airport?? How horrible of Alaska. Lol. I flew to Rome in August and they let me check in my bag right at 60-minutes prior to departure. Most of your articles are click bate and grammatically horrible.
@Sammy … What is “bate” according to your superior English usage ?
Would be helpful to know the minutes before scheduled departure that domestic flights boarding closes, by airline. I think it’s 20 minutes on some airless, but it’d be good to know. Put up a list, VFTW?
These guidelines are aimed at the basic novice traveler, not travel pros. So carry on as you would
@Alert Sammy is a “master” at language
For AS, this could very.much be a result of the cluster that is.the operations at their primary hub, Sea Tac Airport. It is reasonable to expect that that frequent baggage claim ineptness malfunctions in the opposite direction as well.
Since I’m there at least an hour before departure (and always check bags), I am unaffected. I do hope this means we’re less likely to be on the plane with the door shut waiting for bags to be loaded. Could this be a result of the increase in gate checking? And, no, I’m not in the 3 hour club.