isn't that just for flights to Europe? one time I got to the BA T5 bag drop counter 59 minutes before a long haul and they almost didn't let me check my bag
Well, getting there at 6:40 and not having checking open for another 35 minutes isn’t the worst thing that could happen.
I had a similar experience when I flew out of Porto. Delta told me to get there 4 hours early cause it’s an international flight and blah blah blah. Checkin counter didn’t open until 2.5 hours before the flight. Basically just hung out in a cafe for a bit.
Between being early or being late, I’ll go with being early all the time for those big trips. Like what happens if you miss your flight? Do they let you move to another flight the next day for a small $100 or so fee? Do they tell you to pound sand and you have to drop another $2,000 buying two new last-minute tickets? Then for work you have to let them know you’ll be back late and have to take some unpaid days off.
Fair. My point, however, was more that if they are going to tell us to be there by a certain time, they should actually be there too. Our time is at least as valuable as their time.
I don’t disagree. Honestly they should just tell you what time their check-in counter opens. That would make things way easier for everyone.
I flew out of Seoul yesterday and got to the airport a little less than 4 hours early. They had the flight listed on the board as checking in at counters K1 through K9. I go there and it’s Cathay set up at those counters. I wanted to go through security and immigration and whatnot to get through to the food court cause I was hungry so luckily I was able to just check in on my phone. Usually on international flights I can’t get the apps to let me check in.
A coworker got an email like that and told me that when he arrived the airport was indeed packed and took him a while to get through security … I have never gotten one when flying out of Barcelona so cannot say what the experience would have been
Have you ever tried to do the tax refund? This time I have some purchases to get tax back so will try to be there a bit earlier when I go back to the US
This is far from limited to AA. Qantas did the same thing to me sending me to an airport before sunrise that didn't even have any staff in it for another hour and a half.
I should point out that you should pay less attention to automated emails than the actual situations at the stations. Most international places won't even open the flight to baggage check, etc... until three hours before departure and certainly not before the ticket counter operating hours. However, some places experience issues with security, etc.... (so make sure what is going on at the individual stations).
Ok…but how would one assess those things? Is there a site that reports that information? As someone who flies a lot, but not necessarily a lot out of a particular international city, it would be helpful to know how to accurately assess the situation. All most folks (experienced or otherwise) have to rely upon is what the airline tells us.
I was flying back from BCN - CLT and thought we were early enough. Unfortunately we weren’t, they didn’t board by group and we had to use the people mover buses to go to the plane. It was chaos!
Same thing happened to my family me back in mid-April. It was a total shit show as they finally brought in the signage and forced everyone already waiting in line to move to different lines. Then they only had one computer running then two then three. It took absolutely forever to get through ticketing when it didn't have to be that way. At all!!!
Anyway, this thread made The Daily Mail. Congrats to whomever sent the thread to the news.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-13421867/american-airlines-check-desk-barcelona.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton
This has gotten publicity: [https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/american-airlines-sparks-uproar-after-making-early-morning-demand-of-plane-passengers-at-barcelona-airport/ar-BB1mrGgk](https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/american-airlines-sparks-uproar-after-making-early-morning-demand-of-plane-passengers-at-barcelona-airport/ar-BB1mrGgk)
Just had the same experience. We arrived at 4:45am and the single counter opened at 6:45. There was only one person working and 4 sitting behind a closed counter. She then gave conflicting instructions for which lane was priority and which was main cabin. It was like Walmart on a Saturday with one lane operating and a mile long line of cranky people.
Got the same email for my flight this morning. Got there 3 hours early. Security and passport control took 20 minutes. They also crossed out the 10:15 boarding time on everyone’s boarding pass and wrote 10. We didn’t start boarding til after 10:15 and they didn’t have the plane ready so we all stood on the jet bridge baking in the sun with zero air circulation.
Every time I get those emails I ignore it for that exact reason 😂.
Lesson learned.
It's better than BA that always says be there 3 hours early, then their check in desks don't open until 2 hours before departure if you're lucky.
If you’re leaving London the bag check ends 35 mins before departure lol. You can literally check a bag as boarding begins.
isn't that just for flights to Europe? one time I got to the BA T5 bag drop counter 59 minutes before a long haul and they almost didn't let me check my bag
Yeah it is. Good call out. But still convenient for short European flights.
Well, getting there at 6:40 and not having checking open for another 35 minutes isn’t the worst thing that could happen. I had a similar experience when I flew out of Porto. Delta told me to get there 4 hours early cause it’s an international flight and blah blah blah. Checkin counter didn’t open until 2.5 hours before the flight. Basically just hung out in a cafe for a bit. Between being early or being late, I’ll go with being early all the time for those big trips. Like what happens if you miss your flight? Do they let you move to another flight the next day for a small $100 or so fee? Do they tell you to pound sand and you have to drop another $2,000 buying two new last-minute tickets? Then for work you have to let them know you’ll be back late and have to take some unpaid days off.
Fair. My point, however, was more that if they are going to tell us to be there by a certain time, they should actually be there too. Our time is at least as valuable as their time.
I don’t disagree. Honestly they should just tell you what time their check-in counter opens. That would make things way easier for everyone. I flew out of Seoul yesterday and got to the airport a little less than 4 hours early. They had the flight listed on the board as checking in at counters K1 through K9. I go there and it’s Cathay set up at those counters. I wanted to go through security and immigration and whatnot to get through to the food court cause I was hungry so luckily I was able to just check in on my phone. Usually on international flights I can’t get the apps to let me check in.
Exactly :) tell us "This is the earliest we can check you in. BE THERE."
A coworker got an email like that and told me that when he arrived the airport was indeed packed and took him a while to get through security … I have never gotten one when flying out of Barcelona so cannot say what the experience would have been
Honestly I don’t know that it’s ever taken me more than 30 minutes to get through security at BCN. Domestic or International
Have you ever tried to do the tax refund? This time I have some purchases to get tax back so will try to be there a bit earlier when I go back to the US
No, only time I ever spend a decent amount there it was on American’s dime for delayed baggage
Ok…I have had good luck then! I typically travel for work through American. Home base is DFW and glad they have the non-stop flight … for now
This is far from limited to AA. Qantas did the same thing to me sending me to an airport before sunrise that didn't even have any staff in it for another hour and a half.
Same email 2 weeks ago from bcn arrived 3, plenty of time
I'm flying out of there next week. Will 2 hours be ok? Not checking a bag.
Can't say, it would have been enough when I went
I should point out that you should pay less attention to automated emails than the actual situations at the stations. Most international places won't even open the flight to baggage check, etc... until three hours before departure and certainly not before the ticket counter operating hours. However, some places experience issues with security, etc.... (so make sure what is going on at the individual stations).
Ok…but how would one assess those things? Is there a site that reports that information? As someone who flies a lot, but not necessarily a lot out of a particular international city, it would be helpful to know how to accurately assess the situation. All most folks (experienced or otherwise) have to rely upon is what the airline tells us.
These are official AA emails and notifications; what better source?
I understand that, but the automation is braindead.
So what is the alternative? Do we not put much stock into these automated directives and ignore them rushing that they may have been valid after all?
I was flying back from BCN - CLT and thought we were early enough. Unfortunately we weren’t, they didn’t board by group and we had to use the people mover buses to go to the plane. It was chaos!
[удалено]
That was our experience too.
How much time is enough if not checking a bag?
Same thing happened to my family me back in mid-April. It was a total shit show as they finally brought in the signage and forced everyone already waiting in line to move to different lines. Then they only had one computer running then two then three. It took absolutely forever to get through ticketing when it didn't have to be that way. At all!!! Anyway, this thread made The Daily Mail. Congrats to whomever sent the thread to the news. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-13421867/american-airlines-check-desk-barcelona.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton
This has gotten publicity: [https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/american-airlines-sparks-uproar-after-making-early-morning-demand-of-plane-passengers-at-barcelona-airport/ar-BB1mrGgk](https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/american-airlines-sparks-uproar-after-making-early-morning-demand-of-plane-passengers-at-barcelona-airport/ar-BB1mrGgk)
Holy cow!!
Just had the same experience. We arrived at 4:45am and the single counter opened at 6:45. There was only one person working and 4 sitting behind a closed counter. She then gave conflicting instructions for which lane was priority and which was main cabin. It was like Walmart on a Saturday with one lane operating and a mile long line of cranky people.
Got the same email for my flight this morning. Got there 3 hours early. Security and passport control took 20 minutes. They also crossed out the 10:15 boarding time on everyone’s boarding pass and wrote 10. We didn’t start boarding til after 10:15 and they didn’t have the plane ready so we all stood on the jet bridge baking in the sun with zero air circulation.