Originally Posted by
chrisoffice
Last time when I fly with AA to Asia, I tried to check in online within 24 hours before the departure, I could check in, chose seats, etc, but the website would not allow me to print the boarding pass. I had to go to the airport kiosk and essentially checked in again, and the AA staff needed to examine my passport before the kiosk would print the boarding pass.
For international flight, is there anyway to print the boarding pass at home either through the AA app or aa.com website?
As many answers, “it depends”.
Some international destinations allow you to verify your travel document online as you go to retrieve your boarding pass.
Some require you present your travel documents, visas in particular but not exclusively, at a check in counter to verify those are all square. The airlines use IATA TimaticWeb to verify you meet all the criteria for travel. Airlines who don’t do this can find themselves both fined by the destination country and forced to issue a seat at their cost to passengers denied entry.
Does it happen? Oh, yes. A couple, friends, secured AA Business awards using Cathay Pacific SFO-HKG-DEL to catch a tour group to Rajasthan. Ground staff cleared them for travel at SFO and HKG, but her e-visa had a very minor typographical error. The immigration authorities at DEL were draconian, and denied her entry. She was detained and segregated, passport confiscated and CX required to offload another passenger to fly her back to HKG on the same aircraft. She was escorted onboard, her passport turned over to the Purser. She was further required to return to SFO, in spite of her ability to legally visit Hong Kong, and her passport was delivered to her on Gate arrival at SFO. (She attempted correcting the e-visa, disembarking and reapplying at HKG to return to join her husband to Rajasthan as they were planning to spend three days in New Delhi, to no avail.) And she was told Cathay would be fined $10,000. Nice way to lose an award and an expensive trip, because insurance won’t generally cover this.
That’s why you may be unable to print your boarding pass at home. And it’s why I recommend everyone use TimaticWeb to check the conditions of travel - it’s not unknown for airlines to misinterpret Timatic and deny you boarding. Examples reported here include AA staff misinterpreting China Transit WithOut Visa regulations.
Link to IATA TimaticWeb Passport, Visa & Health interactive form
Link to SkyTeam TIMATIC Passport, Visa & Health interactive form
AA and
oneworld don’t bother offering a link to Timatic.