OLCI vs Airport Check In

This has baffled me for sometime and I was lucky enough to witness it in action a couple of weeks ago.

When you check in online T-24 hours prior to departure you can in some cases, change your seas, get issued your boarding pass and you can drop your bags off at the bag drop 1 hour prior to departure.

I noticed that the 'bag drop' que at LGW was almost as long as the 'check in' que, I proceeded to que up at the bag drop, luckily enough I arrived 2 hours before departure! I was queing for approx 40mins just to reach the desk, I handed over my boarding pass I printed out the day before and my passport. The check in agent then destroyed my boarding pass and handed me a 'official card' boarding pass. This whole process took about 10mins which included a thorough check of the passport, weight of the checked luggage and a hand luggage check.

I left the 'bag drop' thinking, what the hell does OLCI have advantage wise over airport check in? The whole thing was just a nightmare and felt I may as well have not wasted my time doing OLCI the day before.

I can see from a 'light traveller' perspective who isnt checking any luggage this may be a quick'ER option to get through to departures?

Just food for thought

[Neil]

The only real benefit I see with OLCI is the fact it 'guarantees' your pre-selected seats. If you don't do OLCI at least 13 hours before your flight then your seats could be taken by someone else.

Absolutely.

If you travel with only hand luggage and print out your BP at home, then yes it works. Otherwise ...

Its only 13 hours on flights from Heathrow, its 2 hours from anywhere else...

[mitchja]

OLCI doesn't always guarantee your selected seat as I've been moved inbetween OLCI and LHR airport bag drop sev ral times even doing OLCI at T-24hrs.

Travel on your own and you will always be first on the list to get moved if its required. FC status also goes out the window as well as this has happened whilst been AU

If you have printed your own boarding pass and go to the fast track security at LGW does it get honoured and you can go through, or do you have to have had your bp issued by the check-in staff for it to be honoured by the fast track people?

If you turn up at the gate with your home printed boarding pass and hand luggage, does this not cause carnage if your seat has been altered?

[mitchja]

You will just get the beep and red light when the gate staff scan your bar code.

Its only 13 hours on flights from Heathrow, its 2 hours from anywhere else...

I think that it changed a couple years ago to all destinations (don't fly to/from LGW so don't know about that), when UC got included in the 13hr rule.

If you turn up at the gate with your home printed boarding pass and hand luggage, does this not cause carnage if your seat has been altered?

Surely when they scan it, it will ping, and issue new seat number...?