Hi all! Have an AS flight next week and probably will be at the airport about 6 hours before departure time. I know AS policy is to accept checked bags 4 hours prior, but is there any chance they can accept them earlier? This way I can pass security and sit in a lounge instead of waiting outside.

It’s a late night flight so I’m sure the counters are open, so I’m only wondering if the system would allow agents to do so. If not, I might need to try not go to the airport too early.

Thanks in advance for any input!

I’ve never been able to get around the 4 hour rule. They always stand firm on that policy in my experience. What is the departure airport?

two agents at SEA said “NO” a couple months ago (routing was SEA-SAN-BWI) ... but I was able to talk the second one into letting me SDC to an earlier SEA-SAN, check bags thru to BWI, and then SDC back to my original flight

If flying from HNL there may not be an agent there to accept your bags more than 4 hours before departure. If there is, and the kiosks there print bag tags, tag it yourself and take it through the bag drop line. From my (one and only experience) trying to check a bag early, the kiosk will print tags before the 4 hour mark, but the tag must be activated by an agent. If they don’t but agents are working, you can always try saying you want a couple extra hours of vacation and agree to release them from delivery fees or delayed bag claims if the bag doesn’t make the flight.

The four hour cutoff is because baggage sorting systems have many outputs and change just like gates do. Within 4 hours the airline has a good idea of where your flight is leaving from and sets a permanent output. If you check in your bag before that time, it might be set to A2, but at the 4 hour mark switches to Z27. Now there is one bag at A2 and all the rest at Z27. The bag might be noticed in time, but outputs are shared with dozens of flights so that doesn’t always happen with time to take it to the gate and get it loaded. When you land and your bag isn’t there, you file a claim, the airline pays for necessities, then pays for shipping to you, and 1-2 of those cases every flight adds up to lots of money. Thus the 4 hour rule, saves airlines money, saves you stress at the end of your flight, and everyone wins.

Also sometimes the 4 hour rule is in place because check-in staff don’t arrive until 4 hours to departure which I learned the hard way in YVR.

another way of saying “Policy isn’t what’s written; policy is what’s practiced.”