What's the point of online check in?

[lastminpanic23]

It's been a while since dh and I have been abroad so we are bickering over this. He says we should check in online. I said it's pointless when we have bags to drop off for the hold as you still need to queue up to check those in and might as well do it all at once. We also don't have a printer so wouldn't be able to print off our own boarding passes anyway.

I understand it makes it quicker for people who just have hand luggage and can therefore bypass the check in desk but what's the point in doing it if you have suitcases?

No. Only if you'd checked in your baggage at the check in desk or bag drop. Why would they be bothered you weren't on the plane if you didn't have a checked in bag on the plane? They only care that a passenger is on the plane along with their checked in baggage because baggage in the hold without the passenger is clearly a security/terrorism risk.

Mostly on Jet2 you check in online then just do bags at drop off

Much quicker!

No one is saying they're better than anyone else, we're just saying that there's reasons why to check in online.
However, you seem to want to argue with anyone who says that as in your opinion it's "pointless" 🙄
And if you really have a brother who is cabin crew you'll know that it's common to have your boarding pass on a screen and it's NOT common to not be allowed to use it.

Some will prefer it one way, some the other. But let's face it, give it another few years and there'll be less and less paper copies. Technology advances so much. Even 10 years ago boarding passes on a phone was unheard of for most airlines. Now it's just the way it is.

@taxguru but if you have to check in bags, go through security (even if just hand luggage) and show your passport - what exactly is the online check in for?
I am genuinely curious.

Which I always think is funny considering how many lost bags there are! I was in Toronto Airport a couple of weeks ago and the number of unclaimed / lost luggage was incredible 😲

This thread is hilarious. OP - check-in on the airline's app and save your boarding passes to your phone's wallet. Go to bag drop and follow the instructions on the terminal to print the baggage tag. Drop your bags, then walk through the turnstiles (use your pass) to security. Have your phone and passport ready at the boarding gate.

Repeat on the return leg.

I wouldn't just have my boarding pass on my phone as some airports can't process digital passes - Antalya airport in Turkey for one ( bitter experience)

@LaeralSilverhand you see "bag drop" and "security" was what I have always assumed "check in" is ?
That's why I am baffled 😂

The risk isn't the same. The passengers "thought" their baggage was on the same plane as themselves, so unless they were suicidal, they wouldn't knowingly be putting a bomb in their suitcase. That basic fact is why the bags can be put on a different plane - because the "risk" of their being a bomb etc is much lower once you've "proved" that the passenger did fly on what they thought was the same plane as their bag. If it turned out the passenger didn't turn up for their original flight, then their bag would be held back and removed and not forwarded.

But you know the tiny number of airports that don't accept phone boarding passes when you check in. It's all over the online check in process that you NEED to print paper boarding passes. But the fact remains that the vast majority of airports do accept digital boarding passes and that Antalya is an exception.

I always print boarding passes if I can. Phone based ones are a nightmare with kids in some airports. You scan the pass, 1 person goes through a barrier, they have to pass the phone back for the next child and so on and there is a really high chance of someone hitting a wrong button along the way. You are then flicking through your phone while kids are unattended on the other side of a barrier. I hand a print out to each child and it's much easier.

"Security" is basically just checking what you're carrying onto the plane, i.e. your carry on luggage and what's on your person, i.e. pockets, belt, shoes, etc.

@taxguru so when you do online check in - what are you actually doing??

Well yes, it's common sense to do that with small kids who don't have their own phones obviously. Every individual needs to do what's right for them.

It's comments like "you NEED to print boarding passes" that is what needs calling out as being wrong. Just as wrong as people saying you SHOULDN'T rely on your phone only.

It's good that at the moment people have a choice, and they're mostly free to do what works for them.

Nothing wrong with people having both options as it covers all eventualities, but you don't need to have both!

Not when I travelled with EJ last week from Gatwick. The queue to bag drop took 45 minutes!!!!!

You're giving your information to the airline so they can pass it to the authorities to check that you're not on a no fly list.They legally have to collect this before you step on the plane so presumably it's quicker to do it in advance for as many passengers as possible.

In my experience there are several points that you have to go through

Check in and supply passenger information in advance, preferably online although you can do it at the airport
Scan your boarding pass to enter the 'passengers only' section of the airport and go through security - although security themselves only check what people are taking through, not who they are.
(If a non EU citizen leaving Schengen area a formal passport check)
Scan again to get onto the plane - presumably that you've actually paid for a flight, but also that you have a valid passport

There's an awful lot of activity that goes on with both passengers, data and luggage behind the scenes that passengers are mostly unaware of. They do say that the many queues and checks are to give the people watching us on CCTV a better chance of noticing anyone behaving suspiciously.

You go to the automatic case put your case on the scale it will issue a luggage tag....scan your own boarding pass and put your case on the belt.
That's it .
There is staff there to help.

Security checks are not part of check in…

To specifically cater for those who have checked in on-line there is usually a passport/ID Check done at the gate.

In short if you check in on-line and are hand baggage only (HBO) at many airports you just rock up, go through security and head airside…no need to go to any desks. The first time the airline staff or the sub-contractors see you is at the gate.

During the boarding process your boarding pass gets scanned at the gate and it is only then that the airline log you as being on-board, not before.

If you can manage traveling using HBO and on-line check in it can be a great way of getting through many airports very swiftly.

Just use your phone…
Ive just come back from Greece and we checked in online before coming home.

Refused to pay the charge to book seats. I dont need to sit next to my OH on a flight to Spain, its only 2 hours ffs.

Tried to check in online but wouldn't let me unless I paid to choose seat. Instead checked in at airport for free. This was package holiday with TUI so unlikely they would overbook. But on a basic flight that's a good point to be aware of

That’s interesting! We just went to Greece with TUI and agreed we didn’t care about where we sat so waited for check in. Easily able to check in online 48 hours before and still ended up sat next to each other. I wonder why it was different for your flight!

We did it with Jet2 a couple of weeks ago, was great, no queuing just straight to bag drop if you need to check anything in to the hold, then straight to security. Bag drop took 10 minutes

Selecting your seats, answering the security questions, telling the airline how much luggage, if any you, will be checking, and getting a boarding pass.

I haven’t checked in at the desk for over a decade.

9 times out of 10 your hotel abroad will print them for you if you ask. I’ve never had a hotel turn me down. In London we were directed to the business suite so we could log in ourselves. In Portugal we were told to e-mail the information to the reception. We then picked them up from the desk. I ring print them now as I have them in my phone and no faffing to get to them as they are in wallet so I don’t need to log in etc. Although BA did give us paper versions as the gates pick them up more easily.