Whilst some travellers enjoy getting vouchers for free flights, most of us simply want to be on the flight on the date and time that we originally booked.

Some airlines have so many rules about the use of their vouchers that people actively avoid them.  For instance the complicated Ryanair voucher rules include the following:

• the name on the voucher must exactly match the name on your passport,
• if the voucher does not cover the full amount then you will have to pay the card fee when you pay the difference,
• the vouchers are only valid in the issuing currency,
• if the voucher is for more than the fare then you lose the excess portion,
• there is a fee for handling the vouchers,
• you cannot use more than four vouchers per flight,
• you can only redeem the voucher online, and
• they expire after six months.

Be there way before time

If you are on a domestic flight and the check in time is one hour and it’s a busy time, such as holiday season, be there two hours before departure,  If its an international flight and its two hours before departure, rather spend an extra hour at the airport, safe in the knowledge that you are on the plane than miss some important non-repeatable event such as a wedding or funeral, or a get-together or special family occasion.

Pre-seat

Airlines are increasingly getting on the bandwagon of squeezing more revenue from their customers by charging for pre-seating.  However it is still worthwhile to be pre-seated and actually have a seat number assigned to your name before check in.  Why?  It is much easier for the airline to bump someone with no seat number.  They can still do it, of course, but the likelihood is reduced.  (Over-booking is illegal in terms of consumer protection laws in some jurisdictions, but even that does not seem to give the airlines pause on the practice, since it is easy for them to obscure the fact.)

Online Check in

If your travel agent has warned you that flights are full for the time in which you are travelling, we strongly recommend online check-in.  Same rule applies as the pre-seating, in that you have an assigned seat number, but being checked in adds much more protection against being bumped than just pre-seating.

We have online check-in links for many major airlines here http://diytravelexpert.com/airline-check-in/  [There is also a permanent link from the top menu of this site]  This feature of DIY Travel Expert is now being copied by a number of travel agent’s sites, who first saw it here! (*)

(*) We saw the visits from their domains in the log files, then a few days later … a similar feature appeared on their site.  No credit given, unfortunately.

• We provide authoritative travel information,
• We give you expert DIY travel advice,
• We demystify and explain travel processes,
• We explain how to benefit from industry systems,
• We show you how to save time,
• We help you save money.

Today we highlight three special features on this web site that you can access straight from the main menu above:

Our Online Check-In page conveniently saves you time.  Select the Online Check-In page from the menu above then click the Check In button next to your chosen airline.  You will be taken directly to the online check-in page for your flight.

Our Book A Room page saves you money.  To make a hotel booking at competitive rates straight from DIY Travel Expert, select the Book a Room page from the menu above.  Insert your dates and destination into the search block and get best rates at a wide selection of hotels worldwide.

The Contents Page saves you time when locating valuable information on DIY Travel Expert.  You can now access any article through a complete listing of the topics of every one of the informative articles on the site.  (This can be used together with the comprehensive search facility, or you can just click on any article to read it.)

Bon Voyage!

You will see that you have a choice of clicking on the logo to go straight to the home page or click on the check-in link to start the check-in process.

Please let us know your experience of using this resource that is unique to DIY Travel Expert.  If you would like to see an airline added, then please submit a comment.

These days there are three ways to check-in before a flight:

• You can queue in the long line and do it the traditional way.
• There is the shorter queue at the DIY kiosk.
• Or you can check-in at home or from the office, online.

If you check-in online you will still get fondled by strangers and have your luggage weighed, but there is less waiting and there are some other distinct benefits.

If you are using a Travel Agent for the booking, you can have the seat allocated at the time of booking.  If you have exercised that option then when you check-in online your seat allocation will already be set-up.

Advantages

There are several convenient things about an online check-in:

• You choose your own seat.
• You are far more likely to get the specific seat you want.
• You can see exactly where the seat is in a graphical seat configuration.
• Your seat number is allocated immediately, so you are much less likely to be ‘bumped’.
• Baggage check-in is faster when you already have your seat allocated.
• If you arrive at the airport late you are more likely to get on the plane in time.

It is logical that if you check-in online ten hours prior to departure, you are far more likely to get your preferred seat than if you arrive late at the airport just before the gates close and still have to check-in.  If you’re late and have not checked-in online you are unlikely to get a seat you will be happy with.  (You could even have no seat at all as you could get “bumped”.)

Disadvantages

Online check-in may not be for you if you:

• Intend to change your travel arrangements.
• Are indecisive about where to sit and like to change your seat.

There are some sorts of emergency workers and rapid-response staff who by the nature of their jobs are unable to make bookings far in advance.  They pretty much just need to get on the next flight.  By and large they do not much mind where they sit either.

There are other passengers who make their travel arrangements too early in the planning process, before the details about when, where and with whom a meeting is to be held.  As a consequence the same persons regularly end up changing the dates, their flights, sometimes the carrier and also their seats.  (As a Travel Agent working in the industry I have a special message for you: “Chill out.  This is one time that slowing down is a good thing.  Booking too early makes you less efficient.  And you value efficiency so highly.  And, by the way, you are also increasing overheads by incurring change and cancellation fees.  Someone who waits for clarity before booking is saving the company money.”  Other travel agents tend to have a different message for habitual re-bookers – their message tends to be shorter.  And less polite.)

If you are one of the people from the previous paragraph, don’t check-in online if you are going to need to change your flight details again before departure.

Check-in for later flights

Check-in staff can pre-seat you and check you in for other flights being made on the same ticket.  For instance, for your return flight on the same day.  That can be convenient.

If you anticipate making any change to your booking that have an effect on the later flight do not check-in for the later flight.  If you are checked-in your ticket status changes to ‘check in’ mode, which locks the booking.  Certain airlines will not permit the ticket to be re-issued until you have phoned in or physically presented yourself at their ticket desk.  They must first manually reverse the check-in status, then re-issue a new ticket.  There will almost always be a fee.  And then you still need to get a seat allocated!

If you have planned ahead, online check-in can help ease your passage through the airport.