The airport won’t take luggage less than 45 minutes before the flight so that’s when I check in.
45 minutes before boarding, no?
I’ve never flown in the US; I live in the EU and generally aim for 2 hours if I have checked baggage, 1.5 hours if not. That usually causes me to still have significant waiting time after the security check, but better safe than sorry.
Airport and airline dependent. I’ve waited an hour and a half to check my car seat for a budget airline.
TSA are equal opportunity haters and don’t care if you got to the airport two hours ago and your flight is in 30 minutes. They tell you to get in their line 2 hours before your flight and by god sometimes they are gonna make you wait two hours.
Edit: oh yeah also waited an hour becuase my budget airline wouldn’t let me print boarding passes and said “see agent” but didn’t staff any agents. Turns out they want to make sure your one year old is actually a baby and you’re not just a cheapskate trying to hold a twelve year old in your lap.
Tell me you’re from Denver without telling me you’re from Denver
Shit like this is why I avoid flying wherever possible. Such a miserable experience. I yearn for the day they finally somehow build that train tunnel across the Atlantic.
This is also why travelling by train can often be overall faster than plane, despite the train being slower. The station is in the middle of the city, no security check, the platforms are closer to the street, etc.
100% I’ll just aim to be at the station 15-30min before boarding and even then I’m usually early
There is no way in the name of all that is good and holy in this fucking world I’m getting in a 3000 mile tunnel under the ocean.
Would it be any less safe than flying? Probably not. But for some reason I would rather fall out of the sky and die than be crushed and drown.
As early as my wife will allow. Hurry up and wait is just how life is to me and I have no issue sitting in a chair patiently… My wife does not feel the same and I’m okay with that, we understand how each other feels so we just leave when she says it’s okay lol.
I like to get there about 45 minutes before the flight. Usually the only thing the ticket agent will say to you is “run”… I am not a big fan of small talk or waiting.
I love my local small airport. I park the car 30 minutes before departure and have time for a morning espresso before boarding.
Two hours is plenty. Never missed a flight and I’ve been on many dozens, unfortunately. If I want to eat, drink, or shop beforehand, pretty much anywhere is cheaper than an airport, so I’ll do it elsewhere.
Once in Seattle I showed up at the airport 3 hours early, didn’t realize there was a big game that had gone in the day before, and only baaaarely made it to my flight on time. Wasn’t even international.
It can definitely happen, especially in large cities. I suppose I’ve mostly combined luck with my laziness.
It’s also why I greatly prefer small airports, the smallest of which was literally a single room made of corrugated tin and little else. My flight left half an hour early.
Yeah small airports are great. Where I’m at now the local airport is pretty small, flights only go to/from Stockholm. They’re rarely even full I could probably just show up and grab a ticket like a fancy bus half an hour before takeoff. Sometimes there is a little stall selling local honey that’s just honor system nobody operates it and there isn’t any camera or anything just a wooden table and a paper with payment info lol
Sounds like I need to spend time in Sweden. My wanderings have been primarily equatorial.
In Denmark, the official recommendation is 2h, most people do 60-90 minutes, and it seems to work fine.
Granted, the airports here tend to be significantly smaller and the people fewer, but I still say that better organization (AKA optimizing more for user experience rather than 100% only for squeezing every penny out of everyone) and less understaffing are crucial factors as well.
Have you flown Kastrup lately? Security lines are 2h now after they got complaints from some kind of agency. Everything is by the book and gets double checked.
Given that your dad had to pay for the plane tickets and probably won’t get any refund if you miss it, and flying is fucking expensive, I side with your dad on this.
On my way out, from my normal airport, I’ve got it timed pretty well so that I leave my house 90 minutes from boarding and I’m through security with 15-30 minutes to spare.
On my way back, from the scary unknown airport, I like to arrive at least 2 hours before boarding, because who knows what kind of crazy hoops you’re going to have to jump through.
I aim to get there ridiculously early, and have a beer or coffee while I wait. There have been times when the airport train was cancelled, so I want to know that I have time to use an alternative route.
Had one time we were going to meet a friend before heading to the airport. A semi caught fire and shut the interstate down for a few hours in both directions. We didn’t see our friend but we made our flight, it was a bit close though
Once me and my wife discovered the magic of airport lounge bars, we appreciate the time before departure.
Dad: “Spend the previous night in the airport just in case of a freak storm that morning.”
I’m terrified of flying, so this doesn’t concern me at all. Happy enough in mainland Europe, and when I need to travel to the UK or Ireland, I enjoy a cozy ferry trip.
I’ll rather spend couple hours there drinking than be late
