[TS-Andy]

I had asked SIA to consider checking-in passengers 3 hours earlier before flights at Pudong International Airport (Shanghai). I was given a reply that it is a rule in the Airport that disallow airlines to check-in passengers earlier that 3 hours before their flights.

I find that the reply odd as I had no problem checking in 3 hours earlier with other airlines such as China Eastern Airline at the same airport on many occasions although at different terminals on international flights.

Could someone clarify this ruling?

[BrotherJim]

Willing to bet it isn’t an airport rule, but more to do with the fact that at Shanghai SIA would use an contract ground handling company, where as China Eastern it is their home port.

Not allowing check-in greater than 3 hours before is not uncommon around the world when ground handling is done by contract companies. Whole raft of reasons, baggage storage being one.

Sometimes if an airline has multiple flights a day to the same city, meaning checkin for that airline is manned most or all of the day they MAY do it, but then again they may not either.

There seems to be a couople of gaps over 3 hours between SIA flights leaving Shanghi so my guess is they close check-in during these periods and only open up 3 hours before the next flight.

According to SIA’s schedule they have one flight at 0805 then the next at 1430, so they probably don’t man a desk from around8am until 1130am. They probably close it again around 7pm, and open 930pm for the 0035 flight.

[SimonS1]

Not sure about an ‘airport rule’ but it’s quite common that you can’t check in more than 3 hours ahead, even in the UK.

As explained above this may be because of contract staff, or maybe the counters were needed for other flights.

[Tom Otley]

Same in Hong Kong, from memory.
Well, you can check-in online, and use the city check-in, but if you turn up at the airport early and want to check-in and there’s no one at the desks, well you just have to wait.

[LuganoPirate]

I regularly check-in about 4 hours before my flight with LX, LH and even BA at various airports and have never had a problem.
In TS’s case I can only guess if they’re using third party lounges there’s a time limit from the lounge operator. I’ve seen with Priority Pass and Dragon Pass a three hour limit otherwise you have to pay again, not that its ever been enforced in my case.

If you’ve only hand baggage and checked in online, I don’t see how they can actually stop you going through though?

[Cloud-9]

I have checked in 4 hours before flights at LHR many times. Always on ow carriers

[Ahmad]

Doesn’t look like it is an airport rule. The SQ website shows that check in for SQ 827 opens only 2:05 prior to departure in winter and 2:20 in summer. For other flights it is 3 hours:-

http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/travel-info/check-in/counter-checkin/

As others have pointed out, this may have to do with SQ having contracted ground handling out to a local company. Typically, such third party operators have no commercial incentive to make exceptions. Having said that, if you need to check in earlier than 3 hours on a regular basis, it may be a good idea to speak to whoever is in-charge of SQ flight handling at PVG (preferably if they are an SQ employee) and make a request. Here’s the address and contact details:-

Airport Office
Telephone 86-21-68339991/92/93/94
Fax 86-21-68339995
Operating Hours
Daily 0600 hours to 0030 hours
Address
Room 2-B7-504, Terminal 2, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai 201202, China

You can never know unless you ask…

[esselle]

Check in times will only ever be determined by the service provider’s SLA with the airlines in the event where the carrier doesn’t run the desk themselves. An airport operator will never impose such a restriction. Lounge operators have nothing to do with check in restrictions, but of course may impose their own rules if they choose to do so.

[Cloud-9]

Just checked in at JFK 5 hours in advance of BA flight to LHR. No problems at all 🙂

[BrotherJim]

Checking in for BA at LHR T5 is not quite the same scenario as the OP was asking about.

Obviously T5 is BAs home port so one could hope you could check in anytime on the day.

That said home port is no guarantee either. Qantas international flight in Sydney have only had all day check in for about 2 years. Though first and emeralds they did accept all day. Prior to that it was 3 hours. The reason given was baggage storage issues. Seems trolleys for flights are only setup about 3 hours before a flight.

3 hours at non home ports is pretty common, but obviously there will be exceptions.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=727179]Checking in for BA at LHR T5 is not quite the same scenario as the OP was asking about.

Obviously T5 is BAs home port so one could hope you could check in anytime on the day.

That said home port is no guarantee either. Qantas international flight in Sydney have only had all day check in for about 2 years. Though first and emeralds they did accept all day. Prior to that it was 3 hours. The reason given was baggage storage issues. Seems trolleys for flights are only setup about 3 hours before a flight.

3 hours at non home ports is pretty common, but obviously there will be exceptions.

[/quote]

Try checking in at T5 before -3 if you don’t have BAEC status and see what happens 😉

[cwoodward]

Tom, CX allows passenger check-in with bags up to 24 hours prior to the flight time at HKIA as well as at down town check-in counters

[mroo_ywg]

Lufthansa check in is the most bizarre. I cam across this in JNB – Check in opens at 14:00, but closes at 14:30, only to resume again at 15:30! I thought this was unique to JNB, but came across the exact same thing in LAX.

[Agamemnon]

By comparison, we got to Alicante last year for our BA flight home about 2.5hrs before the flight and the check-in wasn’t even open! The staff there only turned up 2hrs before and by then the huge queue took an hour to process even for Club Europe. You expect that on a budget airline, but not so much for BA.

[AMcWhirter]

Presumably because of limited space (both airside and in the baggage areas) BA will not allow LCY passengers to check-in more than than two hours before departure.

[Author]

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