Previous to the arrival of the Web, passengers used to have to attend till they had been on the airport to examine in for his or her flights. Sounds prehistoric, proper? Fortuitously, today, most airways let you examine in on-line, beginning a minimum of 24 hours earlier than your flight departs. In truth, they’ll even ship you emails and texts reminding you to take action. Nonetheless, many passengers who’re accustomed to checking in on the airport ignore these alerts. Why examine in on-line to date upfront, particularly if it’s important to go to a counter anyway to examine a bag? It turns on the market are a number of causes you must examine in early.

Ideally, you possibly can choose your seat at no cost once you buy your flight, however that’s normally not the case for those who’re flying coach. If you wish to lower your expenses and are prepared to danger getting a center seat, your seat will almost certainly be assigned at examine in. Typically, the sooner you examine in, the higher your possibilities of scoring a window or aisle seat. Some airways, particularly for those who’re flying on a global itinerary with completely different airways, don’t let you select a seat—even for those who’re prepared to pay for it—till examine in. In that case, the earlier you examine in, the earlier you possibly can choose one.

Moreover, in response to the U.S. Division of Transportation, airlines are allowed to oversell flights, inside cause, to compensate for no-shows. If there aren’t any no-shows, and the airplane is overbooked, the airline is allowed to bump passengers to a later flight. One of many standards they generally use to find out who will get bumped is check-in time. Should you checked in final, you could be the primary to be bumped.

A spokesperson for Delta tells Journey + Leisure that checking in early in individual can also be important for those who’re checking a bag. “For many U.S. airports, when touring domestically, baggage have to be checked in a minimum of 45 minutes earlier than scheduled departure time.” Should you’re flying domestically with out checking a bag, you solely must be checked in half-hour previous to departure. Why the additional quarter-hour for passengers who need to examine a bag? Earlier than your bag is loaded onto the airplane, it must be sorted and undergo TSA screening. Should you examine in after the 45-minute cutoff time, you possibly can nonetheless board the flight, however your bag in all probability received’t make it, and there’s probability you’ll have to depart it behind. For worldwide flights, it’s important to examine in even earlier—a minimum of 60 minutes earlier than your scheduled departure—for those who’re checking a bag.

Test-in cutoff instances range by airline, so it’s essential to be aware of your airline’s coverage. You also needs to lookup the necessities for the airport you’ll be flying out of. In keeping with the Delta spokesperson, some airports require passengers to examine in even sooner than the airways do. For instance,  for those who’re flying domestically out of JFK and are checking a bag, you have to be checked in a minimum of 60 minutes previous to the departure time. At LGA, in the meantime, the minimal check-in time for flying domestically with a checked bag is 45 minutes.

Even for those who chosen your seat once you bought your flight and also you’re not checking a bag, it’s sensible to examine in as early as doable. For starters, this ensures that as quickly as you get to the airport, you possibly can simply make your option to safety. It could additionally enhance your possibilities of getting upgraded. Some airways let you request upgrades at check in, and date and time of the improve request are sometimes a consideration in relation to figuring out who will get upgraded. If there’s solely room for yet one more improve, and also you submit your improve request two hours earlier than one other passenger together with your identical standing places in theirs, you could be extra prone to get it.

It’s essential to notice that simply since you examine in on-line 24 hours previous to your flight, that doesn’t imply which you could rock as much as the airport half-hour earlier than your scheduled departure. “Delta recommends arriving on the airport two hours previous to home and three hours previous to worldwide flights,” says the Delta spokesperson. To maintain traces on the counter down, the airline additionally prefers that you just examine in by way of the Fly Delta app or at delta.com. Most airways share this sentiment.

To make the method much more seamless, see in case your airline gives an automated check-in choice. For instance, Southwest permits passengers so as to add EarlyBird Test-In, beginning round $15 every manner, after they buy their flights. Should you get EarlyBird Test-In, which is complimentary in Southwest’s “Anytime” class fares, you’ll have peace of thoughts realizing that you just’ll be mechanically checked in 36 hours earlier than departure. Passengers with out this perk can’t examine in till 24 hours previous to departure. The earlier you examine in on Southwest, the earlier you possibly can select a seat and board the airplane, which is useful in relation to getting precious overhead bin space. Singapore Airways, in the meantime, has an auto check-in field below the “Handle Reserving” tab which you could tick after you buy your flight and as much as 48 hours earlier than departure. It doesn’t price additional, and it ensures that you just’ll be mechanically checked in.

Should you do must examine in on the airport on the final minute, don’t stress an excessive amount of concerning the lengthy traces on the check-in counters inside. Many airports now have self-serve kiosks the place you possibly can examine your self in, so search for these. Main airways at main airports even have curbside check-in counters the place you possibly can examine in and drop off any luggage you need to examine. These curbside counters normally have a lot shorter traces. It’s a handy service that ranges from free to some bucks, plus a beneficial per-bag tip.