BA Online Checkin at MEL.
Discuss BA Online Checkin at MEL, on the Your Questions forum of FrequentFlyer.com.au, the home of frequent flyers.
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Has anyone here used BA Online Checkin? (calling sully!) Particularly at an Oz airport? And more particularly, at MEL?
From ploughing through BA's website, it appears OLCI is available at MEL (and SYD) - I say this because an online print-your-own boarding pass facility is available - I trust that's a logical conclusion.
But there's a but, (and I'm sure I read this earlier but cannot now find it) and that is along the lines of "if no Fast Bag Drop is available a normal checkin desk is used". Which I imagine could defeat the purpose (or at least my purpose) of using OLCI, that is, to avoid any long checkin queues. It is not clear (well, to me) from ba.com whether there is a "Fast Bag Drop" at MEL. I think it's logical to assume that if OLCI (and BP print) is offered, then a fast bag drop should also exist.
I am getting a lift to the airport and will be there about the time that checkin (in person - not online) opens - 3 hours before flight, so maybe lengthy queues will not be an issue anyway? BA18 later this month.
And it appears an online boarding pass facility is NOT available at SIN, so does this automatically mean OLCI is not available? And if OLCI was available how would I collect BP...by lining up at the normal checkin queue I was hoping to avoid in the first place?
TIA
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Member of: Qantas FF, American Airlines AAdv, NW WorldPerks
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tuapekastar, I've used OLCI in Australia & SIN, but not used Fast Bag Drop (only done that in LHR).
IMHO, lining up at J class (as a AA Plat) is hardly considered a line (that's called economy)...what takes the time is getting your baggage screened before you get into the check-in area (in SIN anyway). You have to do that anyway...you can't bypass.
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The "purpose" of OLCI is to secure the seat you want before you arrive at the airport. So yes, if there is no fast bag drop, you will need to queue and use a standard check-in desk/agent. However, you already have your seat selected and secured so you don't have to discuss seat allocation with the check-in agent.
So not a lot of time imrpovement, but it does mean you don't need to rush to teh airport early in order to secure a better seat. You can arrive check-in at a time that meets the check-in deadline for the flight.
Never had considered seat selection a prime reason for using OLCI but it makes sense (I just dislike long queues, so was a little tunnel-visioned re that).
AA Plat status will come about as a result of this trip
I'll probably just get there reasonably early for check-in (hope to avoid some of the checkin queues, even if I'm still going to have to endure the security screening queue).
I was just over at the MEL BA check in area and there was a check in desk for those that have checked in online. If you cannot find it , I would do, like I have done with someone before, go to the J queue and let them sort out the bags
Dave
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I was just over at the MEL BA check in area and there was a check in desk for those that have checked in online. If you cannot find it , I would do, like I have done with someone before, go to the J queue and let them sort out the bags
Dave
Thank you Dave.
Nice to have it confirmed that a BA OLCI desk (I'm guessing this equates to what ba.com calls "Fast Bag Drop") exists at MEL. Believe I will use OLCI.
Just completed my MEL-SIN-MEL trip in BA WT+ (for an excellent school reunion) and thought I'd report on checkin.
At MEL I arrived before checkin opened (to tie-in with my lift to the airport), but I had checked in online the night before. Asked the checkin agent who was "setting up" the desks for checkin where the "Fast Bag Drop" queue/desk was. She advised that sometimes they have one and sometimes they don't. As it turned out, they didn't, but I had told her I had checked in online, so she had me queue where the OLCI pax normally would, and processed me first when checkin opened. A nice touch.
BTW, I think there was a separate checkin queue for WT+ pax.
At SIN, I didn't do OLCI. Had little impact. I was in QP checkin line, but pax at checkin desk were having major probs, so I was waved to the next-door checkin desk (can't recall who it was designated for), and was checked in quickly.
Off topic I know but if you are ever in BKK I have seen the BA fast bag drop, dedicated line although didn't see anyone using it which could have something to do with holiday makers and OLCI.
I am flying BA010 SYD-BKK tomorrow and have looked at BA online check-in, all exit rows appear to be taken or are still blocked off, so no improvement possible on the seat already allocated.
Can I still check-in online although I do not have access to a printer to print boarding pass? This way they know that I have already checked-in and I guess that they would be able to issue me with a boarding pass at the airport.
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