Some of you have asked me... "Should I check in online the night before my flight?" Or, "What about the new electronic bar code check in?" Well, I guess if you have a small domestic flight that you are taking within the US, the online check in is ok. But might I suggest printing out your boarding passes vs the bar code scanning through your iphone to check in? Yes, this technology is very intriguing and tempting to use, but there are still some "bugs" that I believe should be worked out before this would be a viable choice for checking in for a flight. From my travels across the globe, I personally prefer checking in at the airport if at all possible. I feel safer being able to have my boarding passes printed at the airport, rather than the night before. I like being able to get the most updated flight schedule on my boarding passes that I carry in my hand, just in case there have been any schedule changes overnight.
If my customers are taking an international flight, I usually will encourage them to print out their eticket confirmation and take that to check in at the airport at least 3 hours prior to departure. This allows them time to check bags, get boarding passes printed out, and make it through that long line through TSA Security.
One time, I was taking a flight and did the online check in where the boarding passes were just a bar code that was on a link through my smart phone. We were traveling with 4 of our children, so I had a handy link for each one of them, and was thinking that everything was going to go smooth sailing since I had done all of this work ahead of time. Boy was I wrong!! I had the bar code on my iphone screen all ready to scan with the TSA agent after waiting through that whole long line of people. I got to the front of the line only to find out that one of my bar codes was not working and would not scan through to get one of our children checked in. I thank the LORD that our older children were able to take the younger one for me while I ran to the United desk to get a paper boarding pass printed out. We all could have very easily missed our flights due to the delay that this caused!!
This is very serious and something that needs to be considered. These electronic bar code check in's are not the most reliable for international travel in my opinion. Just imagine that you are traveling to another country and by the time you get there, your iphone has lost it's charge and now you don't have any piece of paper showing your itinerary, or your boarding passes for your next flight. This can cause extreme delays and confusion for you. It is much better if you print out as much paper as possible, especially if you are traveling to a third world country where things are not as technologically advanced. You will want to be able to have some sort of paper trail to show them proof that you did indeed purchase your flights etc.
Also, you may want to consider that it may be difficult to charge your iphone unless you go to a specially designed kiosk in the airport where you happen to find your exact phone charger there since international plugs are not always compatible with the cord that you bring with you to charge your phone.
A handy international power adapter is a great idea to have in your laptop case and with you in your carry on luggage as well, for any type of electronic devices that you have which may be in need of powering up before you reach your destination. I hope these suggestions are helpful in planning for your next international trip. Have a wonderful journey!
Safe Travels,
Tabitha L.
Missions and Adoption Travel Lady
(800) 732-4806 x705
