American airlines

Hello, on this grey and very wet Sunday morning...

Wonder if anyone can advise please? We've got internal flights booked with AA - how long before the flight leaves should we be at the airport?

Also - AA charges $25 for a checked bag. Can you pay for this at the airport, and if so, does it cost more to do so???

Yes you can pay at the airport but why not do it online?

Depends where you're travelling to but most US airports are bland, dull places, so I'd aim to check in about an hour before the flight.

Depends where you're travelling to but most US airports are bland, dull places, so I'd aim to check in about an hour before the flight.

I agree with Slinky 100% here. Unless you like looking at McDonalds or a Dunkins trolley (good iced coffee) they are very dull places. Like lots here I have made a lot of internal flights and I always get there as late as possible!!!

Do try to check the bag on-line. Will save you a bit of time and I think may be a few dollars cheaper depending on the airline.

Flying from Dallas Fort Worth. Obviously, would prefer not to be hanging around the airport for longer than necessary for the very reasons mentioned - I thought I saw somewhere that I should get to the airport 2 hours before a flight, but that sounds like a very long time, given that it's an internal flight.

I'm happy to check in and pay for a bag before and online, but at the moment we're thinking of trying to go with carry-on only ( though that might change). It'll no doubt be different on the return leg, I'm sure shopping will have been bought, necessitating also buying and checking in a case.

I'm happy to check in and pay for a bag before and online, but at the moment we're thinking of trying to go with carry-on only ( though that might change). It'll no doubt be different on the return leg, I'm sure shopping will have been bought, necessitating also buying and checking in a case.

I don't think there is a different price to check the bag online -- so don't check it online! See if you can carry-on at the airport. As I'm sure you know, many American airlines end up checking bags for free at the aircraft door...

No, I didn't know that! And they get away with it???

No, I didn't know that! And they get away with it???

When we flew on Virgin America a couple of years back they were calling for volunteers who "didn't mind" having their carry ons put in the hold with the assurance that they would be "first out".

I'm not really sure it can be classified as "getting away with it" as the airline recognising the reality that actually there isn't enough overhead locker space for a carry on per passenger on a full flight and then dealing with the issue in a way that smooths the boarding process.

I suppose the issue would be pushing the boundaries of the defintion of a "carry on"...

As pjh says, not a matter of getting away with anything. If you have carry-on eligible luggage, you're entitled to take it to the gate. If the flight is full, guaranteed not everyone will fit their luggage, so the last folks will have to gate check, but the reasoning is that it is not your fault or problem, but the airline's, so you don't pay. And of course if you're flying American Eagle on one of the sub-100 seater jets, you'll end up checking anyway at the gate, but they return the luggage to you when you deplane rather than at the carousel.

What tends to happen on the bigger airlines, with their fine grained boarding procedure slicing and dicing boarding groups into 5 or 6 different buckets, is that they will call out pax in the last boarding group and tell 'em they're going to be out of luck, so just come up to the GA and gate check. Smooth and painless. If you have carry-on compatible luggage, by all means do it, just make sure that if you have any items which you don't want checked you can easily pull them out and put them in your second, small briefcase/purse item. I would not want a laptop in my checked bag. If you're borderline with your luggage size, do online check in and avoid going to a check in agent, as they will from time to time call you out, have you measure your luggage and possibly force you to check your bag. Security tends to be less concerned with the actual size of your bag.

DFW C is not so bad, and I had a nice drink in terminal D once, but for the most part these are not indeed places you want to spend an hour in. The renovated AA/VX terminal at SFO is an obvious exception, and there are others ... not too many though. Much depends on what time you leave. If you get to the airport 90 minutes before departure, you may well spend 30 minutes or more in a security line depending on day of the week and time of the day, but usually 90 mins would be plenty. Even an hour before will work most of the time, be careful of overzealous agents closing gates early though, you want to be at the gate at the 30 minute mark at the latest.

Our outward flight is around 7.30pm - we'll already be at the airport (IAD), as our transatlantic flight is due to arrive around 2.30. Gonna be a long day! Coming back, out flight from DFW is at 8am on a Friday, so I'm hoping it'll be quiet - or quiet-ish...

[honey lamb]

Our outward flight is around 7.30pm - we'll already be at the airport (IAD), as our transatlantic flight is due to arrive around 2.30. Gonna be a long day! Coming back, out flight from DFW is at 8am on a Friday, so I'm hoping it'll be quiet - or quiet-ish...

It might not be as long as you think. Immigration in IAD is notorious. The last time I connected through there I made my connecting flight by the skin of my teeth only because it was delayed. In fairness UA had booked me on a later flight but the thought of hanging around till 10:30pm did not appeal :0

Our outward flight is around 7.30pm - we'll already be at the airport (IAD), as our transatlantic flight is due to arrive around 2.30. Gonna be a long day! Coming back, out flight from DFW is at 8am on a Friday, so I'm hoping it'll be quiet - or quiet-ish...

There is no harm in asking if they can move you to an earlier flight (if there is one) - US airlines seem to be more willing to move pax (especially if they think they may have problems later in the day) but do this before you check/recheck your baggage at IAD.

Our outward flight is around 7.30pm - we'll already be at the airport (IAD), as our transatlantic flight is due to arrive around 2.30. Gonna be a long day! Coming back, out flight from DFW is at 8am on a Friday, so I'm hoping it'll be quiet - or quiet-ish...

There is no harm in asking if they can move you to an earlier flight (if there is one) - US airlines seem to be more willing to move pax (especially if they think they may have problems later in the day) but do this before you check/recheck your baggage at IAD.

AA recently introduced charges for same day standbys, although waived if top tier AAdvantage, or OneWorld ...

No, I didn't know that! And they get away with it???

Yep -- as MarkedMan says.

If you have baggage that is borderline carry-on size, and you would be happy to have it checked, then try to carry it on. I think that on almost every domestic US flight I've taken in recent years, they have been desperate at the gate to gate-check rollerboard cases. This is done for free, and you get it back quickly at the other end. And you lose nothing -- because if they don't want to do this, then you just keep it as carry-on.

Our outward flight is around 7.30pm - we'll already be at the airport (IAD), as our transatlantic flight is due to arrive around 2.30. Gonna be a long day! Coming back, out flight from DFW is at 8am on a Friday, so I'm hoping it'll be quiet - or quiet-ish...

There is no harm in asking if they can move you to an earlier flight (if there is one) - US airlines seem to be more willing to move pax (especially if they think they may have problems later in the day) but do this before you check/recheck your baggage at IAD.

We chose the 7.30 option, just in case our flight from the UK is delayed. I've read varying accounts (on here and elsewhere) of how much time it can take to clear immigration at IAD, so it seemed to make sense to book the flight time. Hope it works out, connecting flights are always a bit of a nail-biter for me...

AA recently introduced charges for same day standbys, although waived if top tier AAdvantage, or OneWorld ...

Most airlines now charge for what is known as SDC - same day confirmed. Basically, if you aren't a One World Status customer (it does include all levels, from what I can see) you will not be able to standby - if there is space available, you will pay 75 bucks and get a confirmed seat on a different flight. If you have status, you can pay and get a seat confirmed on the spot, or choose to standby and wait at the gate. It's a big change from what it used to be. UA has a somewhat more flexible policy for its top tier customers (free SDC within 24hrs of your departing flight), but still charges now for most other changes.

Still more flexibility than your average euro non-low-cost airline, but certainly nowhere near as nice as it used to be.

I hadn't thought about getting an earlier flight, I was just trying to make sure there's enough time between the long-haul and short-haul bits. I suppose I can still ask at the time, but $75 is rather steep for a short flight, I don't think I'd choose to pay it.

Reminds me of eurotunnel, where you used to be able to get on early for no fee if you were there earlier than planned. That's all changed too... and I have no idea where that thought's going!

No harm in asking and if you don't like the answer then you still have a seat on the later flight.

Just remember to ask before you re-check your baggage