V-Flyer

Hi, I'm new to this site and am flying to Los Angeles in October. I'm going with my husband & 2 children aged 8 and 1 and was wondering if it would save us much time at the airport if we used the online check in service. I'm dreading the 11 1/2 hr flight let alone an extra 3 hour wait at Heathrow!

Thanks, Linda.

Linda

Welcome to V-Flyer.

If you use the search facility which can be found at the top of the screen in red, between Private messages and FAQ. Enter the search term 'OLCI' and you will find numerous references to it.

The vast majority of these are positive, but the bag drop area gets more crowded as the popularity of OLCI increases.

Nick

Thanks Nick.

As Nick says, please ensure you use the search functionality of the site - you'll find a lot of your questions regarding OLCI answered with a lot of detail (and opinion!) over the last few months.

Is it worth doing? - It all depends.

Predominantly, it depends on what class of service you've booked and how keen you are to get the seat you want. Basically, I'd suggest that if you have the time (and it does only take a couple of minutes) it's worthwhile doing regardless. You know 99.5% that you've got the seat you want that way, and you have a little less stress to deal with the next day in case you're running that 20 minutes late or so. There are a couple of "quirks" however:

As Nick mentioned, the Fast Bag Drop area is getting more and more congested as more people use OLCI. I fear that this area *may* become even slower than the regular Economy check in area in time [:0]

If you want an exit row, I think these still need assigning by a check-in agent. This means you'll have to join the line regardless. Having said that, there's no harm in reserving your chosen seats online the day before, and then going to regular check-in to request any changes/exits.

If you're travelling PE/Upper, the line for dedicated check-in always seems a lot quicker than any of the "fast bag drop" stations I've seen. As above, however, there's nothing stopping you checking in online the day before and using the regular check in desk.


If you are going to the check-in desk, after having used OLCI - you can help the agent make things a little easier by telling them upfront that you're already checked in.

(Not sure exactly how, but I've had a tut or two when they "discover" I've already checked in online [B)])


So, in summary - in Economy, it buys you some security, a little less stress and (for now) a little saved time at the airport. In PE or Upper, the time "saved" is really not that great (if any), but I certainly feel a little more secure knowing my butt's already supposed to be in my seat before I get to the airport :D

So, in summary - in Economy, it buys you some security, a little less stress and (for now) a little saved time at the airport. In PE or Upper, the time "saved" is really not that great (if any), but I certainly feel a little more secure knowing my butt's already supposed to be in my seat before I get to the airport

I've also found it useful if I have a tight connection and my inbound flight to LHR is running a little late

My mom flew EWR-LHR at the beginning of July, and OLCI failed to work... It kept saying that it could not locate her booking referance. A quick call to VS revealed that there was a problem with their website which they were working on, making OLCI unavailable. 3 weeks later when I flew EWR-LHR-- the same problem, and again for both of our return trips (we came back seperately also). I have heard very good things about VS' OLCI... I guess I just hit it on bad days when they were working on it...

Also, as preiffer has said... the service at the dedicated PE/UC check-in always seems to be quicker than that of the DIY Bag Drop, so I would almost just check-in at the airport. But that's up to you...

Edit: Added:
I meant to add, OLCI is very good if you're traveling on business, with say nothing more than a carry-on bag... but I personally feel its not worth it if you have to check luggage. At the Delta Connection station I work at, we don't have a dedicated baggage counter for On-Line Check In customers... you'd be amazed the number of people that check-in online, then come to the airport and stand in line anyway, to check their luggage... by the time I've checked your luggage, I can print boarding passes, process upgrades and move seats around without adding to the time you're there... so I don't see the point personally -- unless you're not checking bags -- but thats my opinon.

Thanks ever so much guys. I was hoping to book a seat with a bit more leg room for my 1 year old so it looks like we'll have to go to check in anyway then! I might do it online anyway then see if we can get different seats at check in 'cos we've got a tight schedule... hubby finishes work at 6 am , then we've got a 3 hour drive (traffic permitting ) to Heathrow then drop the car off for a 3pm flight.

Thanks again.

Hi everyone

Not wanting to diverge from the original topic, but can anyone tell me if it is possible to use online check in like 23 hours 59 minutes before departure, and then use the twilight check in to dump the luggage the evening before.

My plan is to do that, so hopefully will bag the seats I have requested in the morning, go to LGW in the afternoon drop the cases off,a night in the Hilton, then the next day go straight through to departures.

Be grateful for advice if this is possible.

Regards

Paul

Originally posted by paul_a142
...can anyone tell me if it is possible to use online check in like 23 hours 59 minutes before departure, and then use the twilight check in to dump the luggage the evening before?

Absolutely, yes you can. [y]

Thanks for that preiffer[y]

regards

Paul

I found Onlne checkin to be easy and i was at bagdrop for no more than 20 mins. But please bear in mind that i was flying ECON and was at bagdrop almost four hours before my flight. Also 11 hours on a plane will fly by if you pardon the pun.