Dumb plan?

[catrax]

Does anyone know what the rules are for how early you can check your bags before your flight? I want to check the bags by myself and then bring my husband and the kids separately later in the day. Is this type of thing allowed? I'm trying to maximize their time in school that day and pick them up as late as possible, head right to the airport and go straight through security without worrying about our baggage. Is this a crazy plan? We live about 7 minutes from the airport.

 

[jsilvers]

Each airline may have its own rules, and you haven't said which one you will be flying. JetBlue, for example, explicitly says that it won't accept bags more than 4 hours in advance. See http://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/webisapi.dll?New,Kb=askBlue,case=obj(7737).

 

[catrax]

I'm flying on Southwest. I would plan on dropping the bags about 3 hours before the flight. I'm mostly concerned with whether or not all travelers need to be present at the time that that bags are checked.

 

[1025cruise]

I would think all travelers would need to be present, unless you are only taking 2 bags total.

 

[missbrooke06]

I would think all travelers would need to be present, unless you are only taking 2 bags total.

Agreed. They'll check you in at tag same time as the bags so I don't think it'll work.

 

[wilkeliza]

Every time I've flown everyone needs to be there or you have to pay the extra bags fee. They check you in when you drop you bags and do an ID check at baggage drop off.

 

[catrax]

I kinda thought that would be the case, but it was worth checking! Thanks, everyone, for the feedback!

 

[alaska8]

Something you might want to consider...when you check bags they go down the baggage belt to the bag well where there are baggage carts set up for each flight. If you check a bag early they might not have a cart set up for that flight yet (I suppose it will be dependent on how many flights are leaving). Your bags will be placed to one side and there is always the chance that they could be left behind by mistake

 

[nhmommy]

if you are that close to the airport you could stop on your way to pick up the children at school and see about curbside checkin you might be able to check all there bags because your children won't need Id only birth certificates and you online check in for southwest.

 

[bumbershoot]

your children won't need Id only birth certificates

Kids only need birth certs on SW if they are flying an age-based fare. So if they are under 2 and are lap babies, they need that proof of age. etc.

And those kids flying on age-based fares cannot check in online.

When I've checked bags curbside they do the ticket-counter security procedures there, so they are matching faces to names just like at the ticket counter. People need to be there.

 

[goofy4tink]

it's only going to take an addtl 15 or so mins to check the bags. That shouldn't be a huge issue as far as time off from school goes.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

it's only going to take an addtl 15 or so mins to check the bags. That shouldn't be a huge issue as far as time off from school goes.

I agree; seems like a separate trip to the airport to drop everyone's bags (which wouldn't be possible anyway) would be a big hassle.

By the way, it has been my experience that the average earliest time before your flight when you can check bags is four hours, unless your flight is going to be delayed and then you can usually check it earlier.

 

[pooh4evr]

Dang- I always wondered this too. We like to surprise our kids- we have often thought about going to the airport early, checking the bags, picking the kids up and not telling them where we are going.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

The only way to make this work for Southwest would be if you are taking no more than 4 checked bags and you can check them all in between yourself and your husband. The two of you could do it 4 hours ahead of time and then pick up the kids. Then when you get back to the airport, you could check the kids in at the kiosk.