check in times quick reply thank you

bambi1984 · 30 December 2010 at 12:32PM

i fly from birmigham on the 30th jan i get a bus from sheffield to birmigham airport at 2.40am i get to bus station about 4.50am my flight is at 6.25 am is this giving me enuff time to check in do u think are there any rules regarding check in its not like im there 5 mins b4

HXDave · 30 December 2010 at 12:37PM

Bambi,

all you have to remember is that you have to be at the front of the queue by the latest time stated on your ticket. If using public transport at that time in the day, think about buses not running, or being cancelled. you do have a small cushion, but you might want to consider an earlier bus, if one is available.

(my philosophy when using a bus or train is always catch the one BEFORE the one that gets me there just in time).

HXDave

balletshoes · 30 December 2010 at 12:39PM

Each airline has information on its website about when their check-in desks close. As long as you're at check-in with an hour to spare, you should be safe - but check with the airline.

Alan_Bowen · 30 December 2010 at 12:39PM

There are lots of questions you need to answer. You say the bus gets to the bus station, do you mean the bus station in the centre of Birmingham or a stop at the airport as that makes a major difference? Secondly, where are you flying to and with which airline, every airline has a minimum check in time which you ought to check, can you check in on line and print off your boarding card in advance? Does the bus start in Sheffield or is it arriving from somewhere else, which might increase the risk of delays? I drove from Sheffield down the M1 on Tuesday this week, the fog meant virtually no one exceeded 60 mph anywhere between Sheffield and London so the journey was longer than anyone expected. At least you appear to be travelling at night when traffic itself shouldn't be a problem.

bambi1984 · 30 December 2010 at 12:49PM

hi booked my ticket all ready £1.50 thats the exact times it says on sheet and its taking me str8 to airport says it arrives at 4.50am i fly with ryanair it says ur allowed to check in 40 mins b4 so thats giveing more more than enuff time off to canarys one way ticket cant deal with this weather raghhhhhhhh

bambi1984 · 30 December 2010 at 12:51PM

also yes i can check in online 15 days b4 i have no luggage with me just a little hand luggage case

jammin_2 · 30 December 2010 at 1:05PM

peterbaker · 30 December 2010 at 1:15PM

The risk you are taking is in purely relying on a two hour bus journey taking place at the times advertised on the tin. And as has been said, the bus can be upset by the weather amongst other things.

Ryanair are truly exceptionally punctual, especially with the first flight of the day which yours will be. Expect them to be showing "boarding" at 40 minutes prior to the flight time just to hurry everyone along so the aircraft and crew get a good "on-time" start to the day. They did exactly this with my last early morning flight. It wasn't Birmingham but Stansted, but I am sure they use the same tactics everywhere.

Had to skip some of my intended airport shopping

. They didn't actually start for another 5 minutes and it was full so it took a good ten minutes to get everyone through the gate but don't hang around once you get to the airport!

Also if they do close the gate at 30 minutes before the flight, then no amount of imploring even if the aircraft is right outside the window will get you through. They find it especially easy to refuse boarding to any late comer whose bag is not in the hold (been there - did it once - alongwith 3 other unfortunates - we were all travelling separately - our common characteristic - arriving at the gate after they'd decided to close it earlier than you might imagine for a first flight of the day ... and ... no hold bags to offload in the process.

jammin_2 · 30 December 2010 at 1:46PM

peterbaker wrote: »

Ryanair are truly exceptionally punctual, especially with the first flight of the day which yours will be. Expect them to be showing "boarding" at 40 minutes prior to the flight time just to hurry everyone along so the aircraft and crew get a good "on-time" start to the day. They did exactly this with my last early morning flight. It wasn't Birmingham but Stansted, but I am sure they use the same tactics everywhere.

How is it a tactic?

peterbaker wrote: »

our common characteristic - arriving at the gate after they'd decided to close it earlier than you might imagine for a first flight of the day

I usually find that it's better to find out the actual time of gate closure, rather than use my imagination.

stephb34 · 30 December 2010 at 2:21PM

I think it depends how important it is you get that flight and if you miss it then what is your plan of action, personally i wouldn't risk it but thats me i've missed a flight before. If its snowing you definitely wont have enough time, how much earlier is the bus before that one.

Enterprise_1701C · 30 December 2010 at 2:27PM

Have you ever watched Airline? It is full of people going nuts because they relied on the public transport to get them there on time! I would certainly get the one before the one you plan on, trains and buses get cancelled, there could be a snarl up on the road, anything could happen. What you need to ask yourself is would you rather have to hang around at the airport a while or risk missing the flight.