Age Old Question-how Early To Arrive At Airport

[brooke1]

I remember in 2004 having a flight leave at 8:00AM was NOT on a Monday morning, baggage check and security took no longer than 45 mins, i guess a medium size airport(BHM) Birmingham Al.

This time I have a 7:00AM flight out on a Monday and read on one of the threads that Monday AM was a very busy time to travel because of all the folks traveling on business, Man i would hate to know i would have to be at the airport 2 hrs before flight takes off,ofcourse i will but just thinking about me...

So i just wanted to get opinions about how early you think i should arrive with it being Monday AM travel.

Thanks
Brooke

 

[sue]

We just flew down to Orlando on the 18th of this month and returned on the 23rd. We flew NWA from Mpls to Detroit and then to Orlando and we were told to be at the airport 2 hours prior to our flight. Our flight took off at 6am !!! We arrived at the MSP airport at 4 am and it DID take us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get the luggage checked and also go through the lines ( yes the lines at 4am) for carry on. I advise you to go to the airport 2 hours prior to your flight. Even though you may have a wait of about 1 hour, the time does go by quickly. We spent that time getting something to eat and also getting a beverage for our flight. Remember, you can NOT take any liquids of 3 oz or more through the check points, so you have to but your beverages after you go through the check point. This all takes time. The airports were all very busy, most of the airlines have cut their flight schedules back and so, there are a lot more passengers on each flight and fewer flights going out. Our flights started boarding at least 30 minutes prior to our departure time, so you may only have about 30 minutes to waste past your check point. Have a super trip!!!

 

[lpbm4]

The last time I traveled was for SWA and we were at the airport 1hr prior. We pre-boareded online 24hrs in advance. When we got to the curbside, SWA took our baggage and we were at our gate within 15min. It was so easy to pre-board online and we had our boarding passes, so we avoided all the lines! Don't know if other airlines do that, though.

 

[brooke1]

also has anybody ever looked the TSA website wait-times and really used it to plan your arrival to the airport????

Brooke

 

[kaytieeldr]

The last time I traveled was for SWA and we were at the airport 1hr prior. We pre-boareded online 24hrs in advance. When we got to the curbside, SWA took our baggage and we were at our gate within 15min. It was so easy to pre-board online and we had our boarding passes, so we avoided all the lines! Don't know if other airlines do that, though.

Sure, lots of people check in online (different from preboard, by the way) BUT even if you check in online, you STILL need to go through the Security line. Wait times vary by airport, day, time, staffing, etc. It's can take as little as a minute or as long as an hour or more.

 

[4formickey]

my 2 cents ,arrive at the airport about 2 1/2 hours early. this way you will have more than enough time.

 

[emh1129]

We plan to arrive two hours early. Our flight is at 7:30, so I'm not looking forward to getting up at 3:30 to leave at 4:30 to get to the airport for 5:30 .. I think it will be one of the few days where I don't really mind waking up early.. b/c it's for Disney!!

 

[Diznyfan68]

also has anybody ever looked the TSA website wait-times and really used it to plan your arrival to the airport????

Brooke

I'm using it for our upcoming trip in December - our flight leaves at 4:30, DS doesn't get out of school until 2:30 and we have about an hour drive to Albany, so we are taking DS out of school at 2:00 (9th period study hall) and plan on being there 1 1/2 hours early so we have enough time to eat something before we board.

 

[adreayoung]

I'm always at the airport 2-3 hours early even for BOI (Boise) where security only take 5-10 minutes- but it's free internet at the airport and I like the airport lol!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm using it for our upcoming trip in December - our flight leaves at 4:30, DS doesn't get out of school until 2:30 and we have about an hour drive to Albany, so we are taking DS out of school at 2:00 (9th period study hall) and plan on being there 1 1/2 hours early so we have enough time to eat something before we board.

I think you need to have a Plan B. That's a pretty long haul for December in New York - you're assuming absolutely NO traffic or other delays, no trouble parking, etc.

 

[Diznyfan68]

I think you need to have a Plan B. That's a pretty long haul for December in New York - you're assuming absolutely NO traffic or other delays, no trouble parking, etc.

We're leaving Dec. 1st so there shouldn't be too much of an issue and it is Albany Airport. Now if it's snowing/raining etc. all bets are off and we are leaving Kingston 3-4 hours before our scheuled time. Also if we were flying out of JFK or LaGuardia I would also be worried about parking, etc.

 

[4formickey]

For those early morning flights the park and fly packages at some of the hotels can save you a lot of time. You spend the night at the hotel and you are allowed to leave your car at their lot for up to 2 weeks. If you plan to pay for parking, this may be your best bet. You are already about 10 to 15 min. from the airport so you don't have to get up as early. This saved us a lot of time for those am flight plus the kids feel that they are starting their trip a day earlier. If yo use this option pick the hotel that give you free breakfast. You can load up at the hotel and save some more$$$.

 

[dvc guy]

Here is the problem with getting to the airport late.
Airlines have rules about presenting yourself at the boarding gate before departure. Remember departure time is push back from the gate, not the time they start boarding.Once that door is closed you can forget about getting on the plane. If you miss the flight the airline has you. They do NOT have to accommodate you for free and may ask to a change fee. If the flights are all full you may wait & wait to get a seat.