We barely scraped through when checking in for a flight to Puerto Vallarta last November. Our check-in process is complicated by that fact that we travel with our dog when we go down for the season. He's too big for the cabin, so we have to use the check-in counter (no self-serve option available for checked kennels).

In the past, whenever we arrived between 2.5 & 3 hours before the flight we were told it was too early for them to take the dog, and to come back later. So last November, we arrived at 08:25 for a 10:35 flight. We encountered a long line of people waiting to check their golf clubs in for a 10:55 flight to Las Vegas. The line moved very slowly. A number of people who we talked to while in line were unaware that they could use the self-check-in kiosks, and after we told them about it they thanked us and used them.

Once things were starting to get a little tight relative to our departure time, I went and talked with a WS rep to explain the situation. She said there was nothing she could do. We ended up getting to the front of the line at 9:32, at which point the agent told us we might have a problem but that she would try. In the end we were checked in, but told that our dog may not make the flight. We boarded the plane not knowing whether the kennel would make it. Fortunately, WS has a system to confirm to passengers with checked kennels that their dog has been loaded on the plane. Our plan was that in the event the confirmation didn't arrive, I would depart the plane and fly down the following day (flying carry-on, so no issues with my suitcase being loaded and me not flying). This ended up not being necessary, as we got confirmation that our mutt was on board. Stress levels dropped immediately, and off we went.

Three things stand out from this experience: 1) WS should make more effort to ensure that people waiting in the check-in line are aware they have the option of using the self-serve kiosks; 2) WS should manage / triage the line, to ensure people at risk of missing their flight are prioritized as long as doing so doesn't place others at risk (this would save both WS, and the passengers, a lot of hassle); & 3) from now on we'll arrive 2.5 hrs ahead of the scheduled departure time, even though that will normally result in us with time to kill before being allowed to check in the kennel.