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.

Ultra Luxury Aircraft seats Picture credit: © 2011 by BBDC Berra Blanquer Design Consultants, Paris

Often, the armrests on these seats cannot be moved, as the tray tables are stored on the side of them. If you have skinny hips, then that’s cool. If not…

They almost always are in much closer proximity to a lavatory than anywhere else on board. For some of us, this is not a detraction. For others of us, however, having a queue at every feeding time, blocking our way out of our seat, could cause some excitement.

Bulkhead seats attract travellers with babies. Why? Because that is where most of the bassinet [a "basket" used to hold a baby] seats are. Hence, it won’t be the quietest part of the jet.

The legroom, though, is often good, and therefore a compensation worth considering.

On a flight from Dubai to Beijing in May 2010, my sister and I witnessed an unusual scene. We were sitting three rows back from a bulkhead row, where a lively conversation was under-way between a young couple and three stewardesses. What had caused the commotion? The fact that the couple, who had four babies with them, had managed the feat of boarding, and going through all the security points, whilst not having tickets for two of the babies, nor enough laps to house all four. The result? Two passengers volunteered to hold the extra two for the seven-hour flight!

Our conclusion? Very generous. But most of us would probably not want to have to be in the situation of having to do the same, hey? But, if you are wanting sympathy, travel with an infant. Any baby will do, it doesn’t have to be your own!

A320-200 seating configuration. Copyright United Airlines

One might instinctively phone one’s travel agent and insist on being seated in a favourable spot.  “The airline charges for that” we will be told. “What?  But I’ve already paid for my fare!…”

The good news is that one can often get that coveted pleasant seat with better leg-room, at no extra charge.  This can be done as a DIY Travel Expert, without having to use a travel agent, if you follow our guidance.

Loyalty programme

Firstly, sign up onto the loyalty programme of the airline you are flying with.  Yes, do it even if you anticipate that you will likely only fly with them just this once.  The reason is that in order to get you to sign up right away, frequent flyer programs often offer immediate benefits.

These may include:

• pre-seating at no extra cost
• a bigger luggage quota. e.g. Qatar Airways offers 10kg extra to their frequent flyer members.

Once you have signed up you can phone the carrier and bargain for favourable pre-seating. I recently did this for a passenger flying on Singapore Airlines and it worked wonders. This is not going to work every time, but is well worth the try.

Get the timing right

Then, there are some airlines, who although they don’t generally permit pre-seating on their so-called ‘entry level’ fares, will allow pre-seating twenty-four hours prior to departure. South African Airways is one of these.

Check-in online

The final and BIG pre-seating trick, especially on those nasty long-haul trips in economy is to check in on-line, as soon as it opens.

See our article on Online Check-in and use our Online check-in resource to go directly to the right online check-in page for major airlines.

Online check-in usually open twenty-four hours prior to departure.  On Singapore Airlines, and others it is forty-eight hours. It is very rare to find no decent seat available when you do an online check-in: Airlines always block an unspecified number of seats from being allocated before check-in.  For instance, in many cases, seats in the emergency exit row can normally only be booked at check-in.

The obvious boon is that you spend less time queuing, so at the airport you get to waft past those less-prepared, even if you are seated in “coach class” and they are in first-class.