Anyone do Online check in with United?

[lkohawaii]

My flight leaves at 6 in the morning. If I do online check in the ticket agent said I only have to be there 1/2 hour before even with luggage. This seems like a short time. Anyone have any problems with online check in at United?

 

[terryfromhawaii]

We did the online check in and had no problems with it. We still got to the airport early though since we had a late night flight. We printed out our boarding passes, too.

P.S. I'm in Hawaii, too!

 

[Armadillo4]

I've used United's "Easy Check-In Online" several time with no problems. However, a 1/2 hour seems way too tight, especially with luggage.

1. You have to check-in your luggage: either curbside (if available), with a check-in agent behind the "Easy Check-In" terminals, or with a regular check-in agent.

2. You still have to go through the normal security process to get to the gates.

Take into account the above and then factor in how big/busy your airport is. If you're flying out of a smaller airport with few flights and passengers, the security lines may be short or non-existent. At bigger airports (like MCO), you may be standing in a security line for a good 1/2 hour. Online check-in hasn't saved me that much time at my usual airports (LAX, IAD, YYZ) because of the security lines, but I do it primarily for a couple reasons.

1. 500 bonus FF miles for using online check-in on UA.
2. Check for better seats.

Hope that helps a bit. Have a great flight!

 

[safetymom]

I would allow more than a half hour. Your flight starts boarding 1/2 hour before flight time, security takes a while.

Yes check in online saves some time but if you have luggage to check you will need time for that.

I would much rather be sitting at the gate with time to spare than worrying that I was going to miss the flight.

 

[lkohawaii]

O.K. so being that my parents have a 6 am flight....what time would you get them to the airport with their luggage. I'm the one that will be getting up early and driving them there and waiting around since my flight doesn't leave until 8. I'm thinking curbside check in is not going to be open at 4 in the morning so they'll have to take their bags inside...yes, we're leaving out of MCO. Thanks for everybody's suggestions.

Terryfromhawaii....how do you handle that looooong flight. I want to go again in 2007 but I'm afraid of that flight. Here to L.A. is bad enough...don't know how my kids and I will make it all the way to Florida.

 

[safetymom]

Most of the ticket counters open at 5 but I would be in line before that. It can be quite busy at that hour of the morning. I wouldn't get in line at 4 but be in line at 4:45.

 

[lkohawaii]

Thanks so much!!! I can't thank you guys enough for your patience here. I asked a question on another board (totally not DIS) and didn't quite understand the answer. I'm new there. Posted a clarification and got quite a "cold" feeling from the answer. At least here eveyone is patient and will answer as many times as it takes for the poster to understand. It must be a Disney thing. We've all learned well from Walt.

 

[beachbunny]

I'm also in Hawaii. By all means, do the United website check-in. The counter won't open until 5 a.m. but by then, there'll be a long line, even for just luggage people. And United has cut down on the number of employees at HNL so there will most likely be only one person servicing all of the automated machines. I'd get there by 4:30 a.m.

If you're planning a future trip to WDW, I'd really recommend Continental over United any day. Continental still serves free meals on the Honolulu leg, they have video screens on the chair in front of you with movie choices and video games, they have better flight times (7 p.m. departure versus 11 p.m. departure), and they go through Houston (instead of LAX or SFO, which gives you longer sleep time on your redeye leg - 8 versus 5 hours). Oh, and the Continental flight attendants are not as surly. As you've probably seen, the United Hawaii crews are VERY senior - customer service is no longer their concern. We go to WDW about twice a year and these little things make a BIG difference.

 

[lkohawaii]

I'm also in Hawaii. By all means, do the United website check-in. The counter won't open until 5 a.m. but by then, there'll be a long line, even for just luggage people. And United has cut down on the number of employees at HNL so there will most likely be only one person servicing all of the automated machines. I'd get there by 4:30 a.m.

If you're planning a future trip to WDW, I'd really recommend Continental over United any day. Continental still serves free meals on the Honolulu leg, they have video screens on the chair in front of you with movie choices and video games, they have better flight times (7 p.m. departure versus 11 p.m. departure), and they go through Houston (instead of LAX or SFO, which gives you longer sleep time on your redeye leg - 8 versus 5 hours). Oh, and the Continental flight attendants are not as surly. As you've probably seen, the United Hawaii crews are VERY senior - customer service is no longer their concern. We go to WDW about twice a year and these little things make a BIG difference.

Thanks!!! I'll keep that in mind...my flight out of HNL is the 11:00 one. You know your flights. It's the 6 am one out of MCO that I'm worried about. I'll do online check in and then get there by 4:30 to get my parents bags in. Then I'll hang around until my 7 am flight.

I didn't know that Cintinental still flew out of HNL...shows you how often I fly. We've always flown United so I'm using miles this time...but will look into collecting Continental miles. Any tips on getting through that long flight to MCO. Never thought about the lenght of the red eye. Fortunatly they are routing me through Denver this time...so maybe I'll get a little more sleep.

You are just another example of the wonderful people that are here on the DIS. I hate going to check my post on that other board...but I need my answer so I check it.

 

[beachbunny]

Yes, for the most part, people on the DIS are a lot nicer than some other boards.

Denver is A LOT better than LAX or SFO. You'll have at least two more hours of sleep time. The only thing I worry about at this time of year with Denver is snow/bad weather.

I also have a lot of miles with United. Like you and most everyone in Hawaii, I used to fly United a lot. But I just found the recent quality of service so lacking that I was forced to switch airlines. Oh yeah, and unless you are willing to book a trip 11 months out or are willing to fly their weird routes (I was once offered HNL-SFO-Chicago-Orlando), there are not a lot of available free miles seats on the Hawaii routes.

For kids, the Continental redeye is better because they can have dinner, go to sleep, and wake up at a reasonable time (flight lands at 7 a.m. Houston time). There's also the video games and movies on board. If you don't think they'll like the in-flight movies, bring a portable DVD player (with earphones). And even if Continental still serves free food, bring your own snacks.

 

[lkohawaii]

Beachbunny-Thanks again. I just thought our loyalty to United was a local thing. Glad to hear that there are alternatives....and yes that's what I've been planning to do is book 11 months out. Are FF seats on Continental easier to come by on Hawaii flights? Someone posted on another board that to come from the mainland to Hawaii in the winter was almost impossible...that's when we like to go on trips. I will look on that other board for Continental miles. Maybe they'll have a new customer soon.

 

[beachbunny]

My suggestion would be to start collecting miles on the airline that has the best routes, times, prices to your favorite destinations. I go to WDW often so Continental works for me. I've heard that Hawaiian Airlines works well for people who go to Las Vegas often.

In order of ease of getting free seats: 1. Aloha and Hawaiian interisland; 2. Aloha and Hawaiian domestic; 3. Continental; 4. United. These are the only ff miles I collect. I think Continental may be easier to book than United because there are fewer locals who use Continental - hence more seats out of Hawaii. Also, did you know that Aloha will book you a seat on United for domestic travel using Aloha miles? They charge a few more miles but if you need to travel using miles on short notice, they're very good on availability.

Finally, book your United free ticket on the internet. They charge if you call them and they're not that helpful or friendly anyway. Good luck and happy travels!

 

[terryfromhawaii]

lkohawaii: Yes, the loooooong flights to Orlando...we did a WDW trip in 2003 and just did one is Nov. 2005 and are planning another one in 2007. What we always do is take the redeye flight from HNL and usually stop over in Denver. Most of the time we are sleeping on the way there. We bring our own pillows and blankets (you never know where those 'other' pillows and blankets have been and what they've been through) so our kids are nice and comfy. I've found the cheapest pillows to bring at Wal-Mart in the camping section. They can fold so that they are a little more compact for carrying and they are about $5/each. And we bring those Disney fleece blankets to keep warm. We also take Airborne tablets which they sell at longs drugs.

As far as United, we always fly United because of our FF miles as well. Unfortunately, for a family of 7 (me, dh, 4 dd's and mil) they never have that many seats using the saver award miles (35,000 round trip) so we usually have to end up using 60,000 per person-the same amount you would use for a first class seat! Are we able to use United Mileage Plus Miles on any other airline?

 

[beachbunny]

Hi Terry,
Yes, you can use your United ff miles on other alliance airlines but not for domestic travel. For example, you want to fly to Germany. You can use your United ff miles (50,000) to fly Lufthansa - you book it through United.

Your best bet for getting free seats on United is by using Aloha ff miles. When I asked why there's greater availability to Aloha ff members, I was told by an Aloha employee that Aloha just purchases the ticket from United when you redeem your Aloha miles. That may be different now, but there's still greater availability using Aloha miles. If you're going to a city not serviced by Aloha, they'll book you on United. These seats are booked through Aloha.

 

[terryfromhawaii]

BTW, I'm in Central Oahu.

 

[lkohawaii]

I'm in Mililani...we probably could just pick up the phone and talk to each other...but these boards are more fun.

Isn't beachbuny a wealth of Travel info....you aren't a TA are you?

 

[Armadillo4]

I just thought our loyalty to United was a local thing. Glad to hear that there are alternatives....and yes that's what I've been planning to do is book 11 months out. Are FF seats on Continental easier to come by on Hawaii flights? ... I will look on that other board for Continental miles. Maybe they'll have a new customer soon.

Speaking of alternatives, using miles to upgrade paid tickets to business or first class is often just as good a use of FF miles as free award seats. Especially on those long flights to/from Hawaii.

Flying in business or first class means you'll be more comfortable, you'll sleep better and feel more rested when you arrive in Orlando. Plus, you'll have very good meals and better entertainment options. And you'll be earning FF miles vs. not earning any miles when flying on free award tickets. This may be something to consider, especially if you're planning far enough in advance when you can find good airfares.

As a loyal United passenger, I was all set to extol the virtues of the upgrade approach for your rather lengthy itineraries. But, as I was researching United service to/from HNL, I came to realize that the planes they use for these routes still don't match Continental equipment for in-flight amenities. United primarily uses 757s, 767s and 777s for their HNL flights, but they are configured as domestic two-class planes (first and economy) vs. their international three-class planes (first, business and economy). These two-class planes do not have the individual video monitors for each seat (United's three-class planes do) and the first class seats in this configuration are not of the almost-lie-flat type of seats. Continental's 767s to Hawaii are two-class planes, but they have very nice seats in their BusinessFirst cabin (156 degree recline) and the individual video monitors in both classes--as beachbunny posted earlier . Switching to Continental (and possibly using miles for upgrades) may be the better approach. As much as it pains me to say it. LOL! Best of luck with your future travel planning!

 

[beachbunny]

No, I'm not a TA. I just travel a lot. Too much for business and too little for pleasure.

I'm an East Honolulu girl myself.

 

[terryfromhawaii]

Yeah, these Dis boards are fun!