111op

Hi, I called CO, and I was told that you can checkin online and use the kiosks at the airport to print out a boarding pass. Is this true?

I've never flown CO, and I've never used a kiosk for any airline. I'm thinking about booking a flight, but I've very limited time. I won't have any bags to check, so ideally I don't want to stand in line and I want to head straight to security.

Is this possible?

Thanks.

rkkwan

You can do online checkin 24 hours prior to departure. You'll need your passport number and date of expiration.

With no checked baggage, you can head straight to the gate.

111op

I'd have to print out a boarding pass, no? Do I do this at the kiosk?

Thanks.

By the way, is this only available on CO? Or is this possible on Delta/AA, etc.?

In this case I think that I'll be able to get to EWR a little more than an hour before the flight, but if I can checkin prior, I'm thinking I should have enough time. It's really the only flight I can take anyway.

Travelnut

There are two ways to check in (other than going to the counter).

1. check in from home or work pc, print boarding passes - since your trip involves an international flight, check in online is limited to specific city/airports. check this list at Continental.com (domestic-only flights are all ok for online checkin)

2. go to the airport counter area - there will be an 'island' of terminals where you can check in 'online'. The machine may print off the boarding passes, or it may be that the counter hands them to you (I think it's the first way if you have no bag to check, and the 2nd way if you do have a bag to check). To use the kiosk, you do not have to wait in a line, just walk up to it and enter your info. After you get the boarding pass(es), you can go straight to the security point and on to the gate.

Travelnut

Just about all major carriers now have both online checkin and kiosks at the airport. Check the website of any carrier in which you are interested.

I don't know how busy EWR is, so do make sure you have enough time to go to the kiosk (learning curve, you know) then thru security check, then on to gate at least by the time boarding begins (30-45 minutes prior to departure).

111op

Thanks, Travelnut. I did a search on CO's website and the procedure is given here:

http://www.continental.com/lang/es/t...eckin.asp&

So it sounds like this should be doable.

I rarely use EWR. I always fly out of JFK. But this time it seems like I must use EWR. Actually it's probably advantageous for me because the bus service to EWR takes half an hour from midtown Manhattan. However coming home from EWR is more complicated for me.

I've always assumed that you can't checkin in advance for international flights, but I guess either I was wrong or things have improved.

rkkwan

You can check-in online; then print your boarding pass at home, or you can have it faxed to you, or you can wait until you get to the airport and use the kiosk to print your boarding pass.

You can reprint your BP anytime, multiple ways.

Or you don't check-in and then wait until you get to the airport to do so; but there's absolutely no reason why you wouldn't want to check-in first. For example, if you have checked-in, as long as you get to the gate before they close the door, you're on the plane. But if you decide to wait to get to the airport to check-in, and there's a congestion on Holland Tunnel, and you get to EWR less than 30 minutes before the flight, then you're NOT going to be on the plane.

I don't know about AA/DL, but CO is the most advanced of the US airlines when it comes to international OLCI.

111op

Yes, if I fly CO I'll definitely checkin prior, now that I know it's an option.

I wonder if the Olympia bus has a special lane for it in the Holland Tunnel. I seem to recall that this is the case. Anyway I checked the online bus schedule and the travel time between Port Authority and Newark is always 35 minutes, even in the middle of rush hour.

http://www.coachusa.com/CoachUsaAsse...aeschedule.pdf

So theoretically I can leave at 5pm and get to terminal C at 5:35pm. This should give me plenty of time to make a 7pm flight.

WillTravel

Aren't online bus schedules essentially fantasy? That's been my experience anyway, although I can't speak of the Port Authority bus.

cruiseluv

I would advise that even if you print your boarding pass at home ( which I always do when traveling Continental) you also check-in at the counter to make sure they haven't switched your seats. A few days ago I had the unpleasant experience of finding another person seated in my assigned aisle seat. This person had been issued a boarding pass at the airport with the same seat number!
They wanted me to seat in a middle seat. It took a lot of cajoling to get the person changed and for me to get back the seat I had selected months ago!

So, for me the lesson of the story is to continue checking in at home ( since Continental gives bonus miles for this) but go to the counter and get a boarding pass issued by them at the airport. I know this defeats the purpose, but I don't want to be in this same situation ever again ( especially for a long flight to Europe!).

111op

That sounds horrible, cruiseluv. If I end up going I'll try to keep that in mind, but I think that I'll be cutting it close and more worried about missing the flight than anything else.

You're probably right about the bus schedule, WillTravel. The Olympia bus has been running for a long time. I'll try to ask people I know who've taken it to see what they say. Also I should check with the bus company to see what they say about rush-hour traffic before I book anything. I've taken the bus once or twice, but it's been so long that I can't remember.

rkkwan

Most of the time, when two people show up on a CO flight with the same seat, it's due to one of the followings:

1) One person get automatically upgraded since he/she printed the BP. This happens quite often as CO only issue many upgrades 3 hours before flight time. Connecting elite passengers don't know that. That's why elites should go to a kiosk inside the terminal and see if they've been upgraded when doing a connection, of if he/she checked-in early.

2) When one's flight is delayed into a hub and one's making a connection, CO may automatically reschedule on the next flight if the computer thinks you cannot make the connection. Sometimes, one can "beat the system", particularly when coming back from a European flight in EWR. CO, thinking that you've missed the connection, may give away your seat for standby passengers for that earlier flight.

LoveItaly

OK, question. I thought (perhaps incorrectly) that a ticket agent had to see your passport before you could fly internationally. Is this no longer true? Or does the Gate Agent check all international passengers passports. I read the CO website that Travelnut posted here on this thread but the subject of passports was not addressed. Thanks.

111op

Not that this really answers your questions LoveItaly, but when I've flown out of JFK, security usually checks my passport and my ticket.

This discussion reminds me of a funny story. A few years ago, I was on an AA flight, I think, and I forget where I was flying to. I sat down, and a few minutes later, a woman came looking for my seat. I was pretty sure I had the right seat, and we both glanced on our boarding passes, and we had the same seat.

So no big deal. So we asked an AA person to sort this out for this. Minutes later, she came back, and she said that the checkin agent had given me the woman's boarding pass.

This was funny. First, I'm a guy, and my last name looks very different from the woman's (as I remember). But it's scary to think that I went through security without anyone stopping me (and supposedly they checked my passport against the boarding pass).

When I talked to CO this morning, I was told that if I've traveled outside the US before and the passport has been scanned, it shouldn't be a problem to do online checkin. I don't know if that means the computer systems are all connected, or whatever. But maybe CO really is more advanced than the other airlines.

I'm flying to Madrid next weekend. Maybe I should ask Iberia the same questions about online checkin.

Travelnut

The security agents check your passport, often 2 times (at head of line and again at the scanning 'doorway'. Usually, the gate agents do not check again, but I keep it handy until I've reached my seat.

111op

Oh, to add to my story above, I didn't check my boarding pass carefully. So that was why I also missed the error.

Nowadays I try to remember to check my boarding pass.

rkkwan

Airport security doesn't care if you have a passport or not, or where you're going. Just a picture ID.

The airline needs to check your passport to make sure you can legally enter the destination country. If you get there without a valid travel document, the airline has to ship you back, and face a fine. That's why they check your passport.

If you successfully do OLCI on CO's international flight, your boarding pass with have a note on top of it, reminding the gate agent to check your travel document. My experience is that they may not do it 100% of the time.

Whatever the procedure, check to make sure you bring your passport. In the end, it's the traveler's responsibility to bring a valid travel document; the airline can't babysit everybody.

Seamus

Online checkin for international travel is not available for all destinations with CO, so you may want to check. Also, you must have traveled at least once previously and had your passport scanned in order to do online checkin. BTW, the Olympia bus is subject to travel delays; there is supposed to be a bus and carpool lane but it backs up, too. Is there a reason you don't want to take the train to EWR from Penn Station? I believe that when you arrive at EWR there is a checkin facility right there so you could use that if you are cutting it short on time. Witht the bus you need to schlep from the bus stop into the terminal and find a kiosk, which may take a few minutes.

111op

I can be pretty forgetful, but so far I've not yet forgotten my passport.

I'm thinking of flying to Brussels. I'm assuming it's ok to do the online checkin, but I'll check again to be sure.

I thought about NJ Transit, but I checked the schedule online, and it says that the 5:05 pm train gets me in at 5:30 pm. After that, I'll have to switch to AirTrain -- I think? As I said, I've not really used EWR in quite a while.

I thought of Amtrak and checked the schedule (happy to pay more if I can save some time this way), but there're no trains that are really suitable.

The bus theoretically gets me in at 5:35 pm and gets me to Terminal C.

Do you really think the train is better? I assume that trains can be delayed too. I can take the E train in midtown Manhattan fairly easily -- so the difference between Penn Station and Port Authority bus terminal is a matter of one additonal stop on the E line.

I'm thinking that if I can checkin online arriving at 6pm shouldn't be a problem for a 7pm flight, but I don't want to cut it so close.

rkkwan

If you've done OLCI and has no luggage, then yes, I think it's pretty safe to plan to arrive at 6pm for the 7:00p to BRU. I mean you can technically get to the gate at 6:45pm and still get on.

The security lines at EWR may be somewhat long, but they do move pretty fast.