Check in at airport – AA rules and customs changes?

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 11:10 am

Greetings all
I think I saw here about American Airlines stricter check in rules and changes to customs process.
What is the AA requirement? 1 ½ hours? Those that have been through it using AA – how does it work if you are not checking bags and have your boarding pass already printed (do they still do that at Connections in Cruz Bay?) – do you still need to check in with AA at the counter that much in advance? And what is the deal with the changes to customs? Is it more streamlined? Thanks.

loria · Post by **loria** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 5:16 pm

customs-- you no longer need the form -- so it goes a bit quicker -- there is a passport check -- AA will NOT allow you to check a bag or check in for the flight unless you are checked in 90 minutes prior-- NOW in the past (when it was an hour) if you had checked in on line and had checked bags they would let you go thru if you were under an hour .... NOW they say they will not-
It's a HUGE pain in the ass. I would plan to be there at least 2.5 hours ahead.... I am not sure what they can do at that point..... but they would probably think of something .

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 7:18 pm

Thanks.
If one had your printed boarding pass and carry on only, would you still need to check in at the AA gate? You don't need to do that anywhere else on regular domestic flights...

loria · Post by **loria** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 7:31 pm

no-- you don't need to check in at the gate--
but st thomas is such a crazy fest.....

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:41 am

jmq wrote:Greetings all
I think I saw here about American Airlines stricter check in rules and changes to customs process.
What is the AA requirement? 1 ½ hours? Those that have been through it using AA – how does it work if you are not checking bags and have your boarding pass already printed (do they still do that at Connections in Cruz Bay?) – do you still need to check in with AA at the counter that much in advance? And what is the deal with the changes to customs? Is it more streamlined? Thanks.

Do you have a trip planned?
Please report back on the process. We are flying AA next year.

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 12:41 pm

MB - yes, probably March if I can wrap my head around airfare >$650

Again - sorry if I am being dense about this - but - if you are flying AA and doing carry-on only and go to the airport with boarding pass IN HAND, does AA still somehow require you to get there hours beforehand?

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:06 pm

We routinely fly AA with pre-printed boarding passes and carryon only. AA has NO way of enforcing early arrival requirements if you don't go to their counter. In September I arrived at 6:30am for my 8:05am flight and had time to buy Johnnycake and wait for boarding. The plane waited for some later boarders too.

Flew home through STT on Saturday on United on the same flight as Bill in VA and his wife Sandy. We go there two hours before our scheduled flight departure and checked a bag - unusual for us, but we were there for a month and had boat gear. Our total time between the curb and getting through security was on the order of 35 minutes with an hour to spare before our flight started boarding. Its gotten so that the TSA PreCheck line is longer than the standard line. The terminal was packed and there were few seats. It looked like people were taking the early arrival requirement seriously.

We've all seen the security line at STT out and down the curb during high season. If you're carryon only and have a pre-printed boarding pass or electronic boarding pass you can get through security without the airline stopping you at the counter. But I'm seeing boarding starting 50 minutes before the scheduled departure and planes leave on time or early. Given that, we arrive two hours before departure if we are carryon only and have no checked bags.

Cheers, RickG

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:13 pm

Rick g said:Given that, we arrive two hours before departure if we are carryon only and have no checked bags.

And preprinted boarding passes or smartphone check in code - that is a necessary element.

Sorry I missed you this trip Rick, I am jealous of the amount of sailing you got to do and hope you post a trip report.

inuny · Post by **inuny** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 6:51 pm

Can you use a smarphone checkin now at STT?

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:04 pm

My last flight out I did see people getting their phone scanned at the boarding gate.

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 7:18 am

Much thanks Rick for detailed reply. Very helpful.

Pretty cool that you sailed over to Anegada - you've made that transition from landlubber to a legit member of that hard core sailing group over on TTOL!

michigan girls · Post by **michigan girls** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:47 pm

We used our smartphone boarding passes in August with no problems.

Daphne is the name of the porter, and she is great. First thing I do when I get out of the cab is ask the nearest porter is Daphne is available. It was her day off our last time there - I told the porter I expected him to be as awesome as Daphne - he looked very nervous. Not as efficient for sure, but he got the job done.

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Tue Nov 24, 2015 9:43 am

OK all this is helpful - thanks. To be traveling on a return flight on AA Easter week, I really want to avoid whatever line we can (knowing that the checking in at the AA counter can be a slow painful thing), so planning to do carry on only with AA and go to the airport with boarding pass in hand via smartphone and/or print out.

However, was wondering one last thing re AA (just as a backup plan): I have the record locator print out from our reservation, and it has a bar code on it that says to "get your boarding pass faster you can scan at any AA self service machine".

Do they have these AA self service machines at STT? If so, are they few and far between (and as such, generate their own long queue), and/or can they be typically "out of service"?

dctac · Post by **dctac** » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:43 pm

Ugg I'm still excited for my 14 day fix..............

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 11:57 am

I'll go with the eyewitness replies in this thread. This link at AA.com only confirms the existence of self service check in
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformati ... irport.jsp
still curious if anybody has used the kiosks and/or are they few and far between (and as such, generate their own long queue), and/or can they be typically "out of service"?

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