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We are leaving next Sunday (7/18) on the 6am flight out of Philly. All of our other trips have left at 7 so we'd get to the airport at around 4-4:30. I really have no desire to try to be at the airport at 3am - although I know TSA reccomends being there 3 hours prior to boarding for international flights - do you thinkit's really necessary?
How early do you get there? Is the airport even open at 3am to check bags?
The desk probably won't even be open that early. I would call the airline and see when they open that desk. You can't go anywhere until the ticketing desk is open so there is no sense in getting there that early if nobody is going to be there.
Check with your airport and airline to see what time the counter opens. I know for Denver that counters don't open until 4:30am so there is no need to get there any earlier even for a 6am flight.
In my opinion, no, it's not necessary to be there that early. In our experience, we have taken the 5:30 am flight out and did stand around for quite some time waiting for the counter staff to show up. Now, having said that, we fly out of Milwaukee and I would venture to guess it is a somewhat smaller airport than Philly, so it may be different in your case, but we did a whole lot of standing around when we could've used that time for a little extra sleep.
Beer_Suds... We leave from Philly at 6 AM next Friday. Our TA told us if we are there at 4 AM that would be plenty of time. She traveled with a group in May on that early flight and was at the airport at 4AM. I don't think anyone is even there before that. Which resort are you going to? We are headed for CSS. We can't wait.
Been on several 6 am philly flights as long as you are there by 4:45 you will have no worries no one is there that early. You can look up the handfull of pre 7 am flights. Good news is you should be on a negril beach by 1 pm
Call the airline and find out what time their ticket counter in Philly opens. Of course, Philly may be a busy enough airport that the counter never closes. Last December we had a 6:00 AM flight (out of a much smaller airport) and the ticket counter did not open until 4:30 AM. Had I not called the airline and been told this little bit of information we would have arrived at the airport earlier for no reason.
I would get there around 4-4:30...on our honeymoonto CSA our flight left out of Chicago at 6am we got there around 4:30 and all was ok.
We had a 6 AM flight out of STL for our trip to CSA a couple of weeks ago. We arrived at the airport at 4 AM, the US Airways desk did not open till 4:30 and we were second in line. By 4:30 there was a line of about two dozen people waiting to get checked in.
I would recommend getting to the airport by 4.
Have a great trip!
Thanks everyone.
I just got off the phone with Air Jamaica (...which I guess retrospectively would have been the easiest way to go in the first place - but then the answer wouldn't be here for the next person.)... The ticket counter in Philadelphia doesn't open until 4am, so being there any earlier is just a waste of good nap time.
See ya in Negril in 9 days :D
You will need to be at the airport 2 hours in advance for an international flight.
Deb Schroeder
Classic Travel
We've got a 5:30 am flight out of KCMO on US Air when we go in September & I know there's no need to get to the airport before 4:00 because there won't be anybody around to check us in anyway. Been there - done that ....... It'll be a mad scramble at the end I'm sure to get people all through the process. I hate those early flights but we'll be in Mobay earlier this way, though. WOO HOO
We left Boston this past February, on USAir, and our flight left at 5:30 am. We got to the airport around 3:30 am and the ticket counter didn't open until 4:00 am. Security didn't open until 4:30 am.
The important thing to do is check in online the day before your flight leaves, this way you are "checked in".
Call the airline and ask what time the ticket counter opens to get there to check in your bags.
Just met a couple this past week who had to be in the lobby by 3am for a 6am flight from CTI....they just pulled an all nighter and slept through the flight back to Denver.
We had a 6 am flight out of Louisville. We were at the airport by 4 and we were 2nd in line. No the counter wasn't open yet, but before the counter opened at 5, the line was almost out the door. The same thing happened with my son and I when we flew out of Lexington. We had a 4:15 flight and the airline said be there at 2:15. We got there, the counter wasn't open yet, but we got in line line and we were about 3rd in line.
We live in DE and arrived late the morning we were leaving. We actually got to PHL around 5am - and still made it. We leave mid week so it was not crowded at all.