Europe small airlines

>
> My favourite thing about BA is online checkin - especially for long haul.
> Means it takes 2 mins to get a boading card at T4 then laugh at the 1 hour
> long queue. EZY are very variable, and there is some skill in juding your
> arrival at checkin. Often better to wait in the bar for the queue to go
down
> a bit.
>

I've never understood the BA on-line checkin thing.
If you've got an e-ticket and no special requests you can use the machines.
If you checkin on-line you still have to queue to get the boarding card and
give your baggage over.

What is the advantage of BA's on-line checkin over using the machine at the
airport ?

"Mr Cheese" <mrcheese@chheesman.com> wrote in message
news:yGfJb.15158$526.101075@newsfep4-glfd.server.ntli.net...
>
> "Miss L. Toe" <missltoemissltoe@m> wrote in message
> news:bt402k$3379f$1@ID-201440.news.uni-berlin.de...
> > >
> > > My favourite thing about BA is online checkin - especially for long
> haul.
> > > Means it takes 2 mins to get a boading card at T4 then laugh at the 1
> hour
> > > long queue. EZY are very variable, and there is some skill in juding
> your
> > > arrival at checkin. Often better to wait in the bar for the queue to
go
> > down
> > > a bit.
> > >
> >
> > I've never understood the BA on-line checkin thing.
> > If you've got an e-ticket and no special requests you can use the
> machines.
> > If you checkin on-line you still have to queue to get the boarding card
> and
> > give your baggage over.
> >
> > What is the advantage of BA's on-line checkin over using the machine at
> the
> > airport ?
>
> The advantage is that BA's online checkin opens 24hrs before departure -
so
> you can an early opportunity to confirm your seat or pick a better one
from
> the seat map.

But most other airlines allow you to do that at the time of booking - even
BA will (if asked nicely) allocate seats for you by telephone after you have
purchased on-line.

> You then go straight to the Fast Bag Drop and I've never seen
> a queue longer than 3 people there. Even after checking in online I have
> still managed to get an upgrade at the Fast Bag Drop.
>

So you miss the queue??? (I've never seen a queue more than 2 people at the
machines) at the machines ?

> Not all
> destinations are e-ticketable either, like Venice for example.
>

But all will be by April 2004 (I think) and it will be mandatory (i.e. NO
paper tickets) - If I remember the wording of the notices I saw recently
correctly.

"Highflier" <Howdedode@m> wrote in message
news:79iovvgktcjdcisogst4itafkrd0pj4j1k@...
> On Mon, 5 Jan 2004 09:33:21 -0000, "Miss L. Toe"
> <missltoemissltoe@m> wrote:
>
>
> >Does it mean that you don't have to meet the checkin time requirements to
> >drop your bag or get your boarding card ? i.e. Is it like the good old
days
> >I remember arriving at LHR 10 minutes before departure time and still
> >getting a boarding card and running to the gate and getting on the plane.
>
>
> Why don't you read the T & C ?
>
> All your answers are there.
>
and why don't you make a more helpful post or don't bother :-)

In article <8iiovv8kk3cagkf4otqckdrflkth75cu84@>,
Highflier <Howdedode@m> wrote:
>
>If you lose your paper ticket, it's a GBP25 reissue fee. If you don't
>have your CC for an E-tkt, you pay a visit to the Tkt desk and have to
>queue up again ! to check in. It is the passengers own fault for
>forgetting their CC not BA's.

Actually, the extremely helpful lady at the ticket desk checked us
in both outward and return when my partner had lost his CC last week.

Angela

"Angela Gilham" <agilham@comlab.ox.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:btjs74$ej9$1@news.ox.ac.uk...
> In article <8iiovv8kk3cagkf4otqckdrflkth75cu84@>,
> Highflier <Howdedode@m> wrote:
> >
> >If you lose your paper ticket, it's a GBP25 reissue fee. If you don't
> >have your CC for an E-tkt, you pay a visit to the Tkt desk and have to
> >queue up again ! to check in. It is the passengers own fault for
> >forgetting their CC not BA's.
>
> Actually, the extremely helpful lady at the ticket desk checked us
> in both outward and return when my partner had lost his CC last week.
>

But the question is why do BA check the CC at checkin time - I don't know of
any other airline that does ?

They should have already validated the card when you used it.
(and yes they do validate it again when you hand it over to be checked)

>
> >It seems like the only benefit of checking
> >in online is to pick/change your seat, as you still need to go the the
> >machines and/or the Fast Bag Drop.
>
> Of course standing in a shorter queue and beating the lengthy queues
> seen at Zone A/ B in terminal 4 have nothing to do with it.
>

Which you can do at the machines with your exec club card...

"Highflier" <Howdedode@m> wrote in message
news:t79g00dd497ftktdc83k91o9m4p6ob7bfr@...
> On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:01:22 -0000, "Miss L. Toe"
> <missltoemissltoe@m> wrote:
>
> >>
> >> >It seems like the only benefit of checking
> >> >in online is to pick/change your seat, as you still need to go the the
> >> >machines and/or the Fast Bag Drop.
> >>
> >> Of course standing in a shorter queue and beating the lengthy queues
> >> seen at Zone A/ B in terminal 4 have nothing to do with it.
> >>
> >
> >Which you can do at the machines with your exec club card...
>
> Ahh but you don't get to choose your seats nice and early though. So,
> maybe internet check in has it's advantages ?
>

But at the risk of repeating myself - why call it internet checkin why not
call it on-line seat selection (as that it is the only thing you can do) and
allow us to do it earlier than 24 hours like other airlines ??