Easyjet change of policy: online check-in and boarding group

In message <1hyubqp.zou0yw1f4z89wN%d4g4h4.uk>, at 20:34:23 on
Mon, 28 May 2007, "David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)"
<d4g4h4.uk> remarked:
>Do they have the same (IMO silly policy) as Ryanair which prevents
>non-EEA passport holders from checking in online? It's useless to me
>when I'm travelling with my partner- a US passport holder.

The problem they have is that if you check in online the only person who
gets to examine the passport is the girl as you exit the departure
lounge onto the jeyway/apron/bus. You might have some exotic foreign
passport that they aren't trained to recognise and check for visas. I
also have sympathy for folks travelling on USA and a few other
well-known non-EAA passports, but I suppose they have to draw the line
somewhere.
--
Roland Perry

In message <1hz59qn.7ri28j1tjawf7N%d4g4h4.uk>, at 18:25:29 on
Sun, 3 Jun 2007, "David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)"
<d4g4h4.uk> remarked:
>> >Do they have the same (IMO silly policy) as Ryanair which prevents
>> >non-EEA passport holders from checking in online? It's useless to me
>> >when I'm travelling with my partner- a US passport holder.
>>
>> The problem they have is that if you check in online the only person who
>> gets to examine the passport is the girl as you exit the departure
>> lounge onto the jeyway/apron/bus. You might have some exotic foreign
>> passport that they aren't trained to recognise and check for visas. I
>> also have sympathy for folks travelling on USA and a few other
>> well-known non-EAA passports, but I suppose they have to draw the line
>> somewhere.
>
>It seems unnecessary to draw such lines. I woudn't try it, but I'm not
>sure what checks they do online to ascertain your passport.

Even if they ask you online what your passport is, and whether you have
the necessary visas (you might lie or be confused), someone still has to
check the physical passport. That's easier to do at the checkin desk
than five minutes before the plane departs.
--
Roland Perry

In message <5cgds4F30mmviU1@mid.>, at 19:02:28 on Sun, 3
Jun 2007, tim..... <tims_new_home.uk> remarked:
>The risk of getting is wrong is that the person at the
>gate refuses to board you.

Currently the risk is that you turn up at the gate with a non-EEA
passport and they turn you away (having been trained to recognise an EEA
passport).

Do you really think the gate staff could recognise a Tuvalu passport and
know immediately what (and recognise the stamps for) the visa
requirements are for Estonia? nb I'm assuming here that the airline is
mainly interested in not being fined EEK50,000 by the Estonians when a
non-compliant passenger is flown in.
--
Roland Perry

In message <466447f3.358000@news.>, at 17:13:40 on Mon, 4
Jun 2007, Neil Williams <wensleydale@pacersplace.org.uk> remarked:
>On Sun, 3 Jun 2007 20:16:08 +0100, Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>Do you really think the gate staff could recognise a Tuvalu passport and
>>know immediately what (and recognise the stamps for) the visa
>>requirements are for Estonia? nb I'm assuming here that the airline is
>>mainly interested in not being fined EEK50,000 by the Estonians when a
>>non-compliant passenger is flown in.
>
>I wouldn't have thought a check-in agent would, either.

Indeed so, but they can call for a supervisor, who is lurking nearby;
and then they can take their time to validate it.

I have had this happen with BA at Heathrow, so it's not just the
low-rent airlines who understand that sometimes a visa needs special
expertise to check.

> The best solution may be (as some airlines do, VLM certainly does) to
>require passport information to be entered at online check-in, taking
>the gate agent's job down to checking whether the passport numbers on
>the passport and boarding card match up.

I've already covered that aspect. They *also* need to know if (when
required) you have a visa which is valid and sufficient for travel to
that country. That's not something you can trust the passenger to do by
ticking boxes on a web page.

--
Roland Perry

In message <1hz758u.1xlqvpv1wwv57iN%d4g4h4.uk>, at 18:42:21 on
Mon, 4 Jun 2007, "David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)"
<d4g4h4.uk> remarked:
>It would seem easy to me for Ryanair to allow certain non-EEA passports
>that don't have visa restrictions.

You need to find out which non-EEA passports never need a visa for
travel to any of the countries they serve. That could be quite a short
list (but I'd be prepared to believe that it might apply to USA and a
few Commonwealth countries).
--
Roland Perry

In message <1hz7c8d.1wu2szt93l7pzN%d4g4h4.uk>, at 21:13:31 on
Mon, 4 Jun 2007, "David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)"
<d4g4h4.uk> remarked:
>> >It would seem easy to me for Ryanair to allow certain non-EEA passports
>> >that don't have visa restrictions.
>>
>> You need to find out which non-EEA passports never need a visa for
>> travel to any of the countries they serve. That could be quite a short
>> list (but I'd be prepared to believe that it might apply to USA and a
>> few Commonwealth countries).
>
>The USA is certainly one- probably OZ and NZ. They may very well be
>quite a large number of non-EEA travellers.

But what's the overall proportion of EEA vs non-EEA travellers?
--
Roland Perry

On Jun 4, 9:00 pm, Roland Perry <rol...@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> In message <466447f3.358...@news.>, at 17:13:40 on Mon, 4
> Jun 2007, Neil Williams <wensleyd...@pacersplace.org.uk> remarked:
>
> >On Sun, 3 Jun 2007 20:16:08 +0100, Roland Perry <rol...@perry.co.uk>
> >wrote:
>
> >>Do you really think the gate staff could recognise a Tuvalu passport and
> >>know immediately what (and recognise the stamps for) the visa
> >>requirements are for Estonia? nb I'm assuming here that the airline is
> >>mainly interested in not being fined EEK50,000 by the Estonians when a
> >>non-compliant passenger is flown in.
>
> >I wouldn't have thought a check-in agent would, either.
>
> Indeed so, but they can call for a supervisor, who is lurking nearby;
> and then they can take their time to validate it.
>
> I have had this happen with BA at Heathrow, so it's not just the
> low-rent airlines who understand that sometimes a visa needs special
> expertise to check.
>
> > The best solution may be (as some airlines do, VLM certainly does) to
> >require passport information to be entered at online check-in, taking
> >the gate agent's job down to checking whether the passport numbers on
> >the passport and boarding card match up.
>
> I've already covered that aspect. They *also* need to know if (when
> required) you have a visa which is valid and sufficient for travel to
> that country. That's not something you can trust the passenger to do by
> ticking boxes on a web page.

And they still may get this wrong at check-in - I once had a _very_
hard time convincing a United check-in person in London that I should
travel to the US on the visa waiver, despite the fact that a visa
stamp was in my passport. It was an H1B visa, and I moved to the UK
before the stamp expired. She just could not get it that the visa was
no longer valid.

For any one combination of passport/country to enter it seems simple
enough, but getting it right overall _is_ a different story.

Hanne


>
> --
> Roland Perry

In message <1181067220.564912.124390@m36g2000hse. .com>, at
11:13:40 on Tue, 5 Jun 2007, hago@dcs.qmul.ac.uk remarked:
>>They *also* need to know if (when
>> required) you have a visa which is valid and sufficient for travel to
>> that country. That's not something you can trust the passenger to do by
>> ticking boxes on a web page.
>
>And they still may get this wrong at check-in

Of course; nothing is perfect. But doing the checking at check-in is the
best way.
--
Roland Perry