Originally Posted by
Globaliser
An oft-quoted rule-of-thumb is that something like 10% of confirmed reservations simply fail to show up on the day.
As an outsider, you can never know whether a cabin is truly full, anyway.
If, indeed, the term "full" has any real meaning in a dynamic situation in which the number of reservations taken can go well beyond the number of seats on the aircraft, usually with a degree of confidence that that the number of passengers ultimately wishing to travel will not exceed the number of seats; and when check-in (which is when reservations are finally matched to physical space on the aircraft) starts at about -3 days and continues until 45 minutes before departure. Just what definition would you apply to the word "full"?
Well said...of course, you can still check-in, and or even get a boarding pass at the airport and not show up for and/or miss the flight.
What really is the advantage of checking in online, especially for Club and 1st class pax? I guess if you are not checking bags, you can go straight to security, which saves a few mins...but otherwise, until they start cancelling out the seats at T-20/30 mins, they never really know who's really there...and still, then, there are people who show up at the airport and still miss their flight.
I do find that airlines, in general, make an effort to page you and hold your seat, especially if they know you are in the airport (esp if you are in-transit), which I appreciate, so I actually feel there's a slight advantage to checking in or re-checking in at the airport, even if I used OLCI (so they know I am on premises, even if I am lost somewhere).
