ilovetofly

Just to confirmed this. Since airport upgrade list depends on check-in time for international upgrade, it is really inconvenient.

brp

Yup. This certainly hasn't been everyone's experience (from reading the thread) but it was mine:

Waitlisted upgrade prevents international OLCI
Intrnational OLCI provides for a better position on the list for waitlisted upgrade.

SNAFU.

Cheers.

sdsearch

Here was my recent experience:

I had a flight LAX-JFK-BUD that had all cleared in advance on 5/7, and then was returning BUD-JFK-LAX on 5/21. As I started out, the return BUD-JFK had cleared but the return JFK-LAX hadn't yet and was waitlisted. As soon as I landed in BUD, I could no longer access my reservation online. I presume it was for this reason.

But about a week later, I tried again, and then I was able to access my reservation online, although nothing had changed about the reservation in the meantime (JFK-LAX had still not cleared). So I dont know why I wasn't able to access it the day 5/8 that I landed but was able to within a week later.

Then a few days later, on 5/18, my JFK-LAX finally cleared, and I was then able to continue to access my reservation online (including changing seat assignement on 5/18 and doing OLCI on 5/20).

However, the benefits of doing OLCI at BUD were unclear. I was able to get through security, get through border control, and get into the (Malev) lounge, and then go to the gate (right below the lounge!) no problem. I even showed my OLCI boarding pass to a gate agent and they said I was ok. But then when I went to actually board, things got very confused, because they didn't expect anyone to have not gone through the security questions at physical check-in. The agent had to find a special terminal, scan my stuff there, then ask me some quesitons, then attach a sticker to my passport.

I'm not sure why AA doesn't explain this better. I'm not aware of anything in the OLCI process that warns you clearly that even though you've checked in online, you have to (a), (b), and/or (c) once you get to the airport. (IMHO it should print a page of instructions, along with boarding pass, that explains what I need to do at the airport, if I'm checking in overseas.)

norf9

Last month in DFW I heard (I think it was) CO making an announcement for an international flight that you needed to come to the gate if you did OLCI so they could check your documents. I've never done OLCI for AA (I prefer the paper tickets the agents print out to printer paper) but I wondered if we have to do this as well. I can't really see a way around it unless they check everyone's passport at the gate (which seems to be hit or miss in DFW).

sdsearch

Well, there are (or at least have been in the past) some airports (overseas) where (before you could do int'l OLCI overseas) they did a secondary check of passports at the gate or shortly before the gate (eg, at BRU they had all the US-bound gates at the very end of the concourse, and you had to pass a secondary US-speicifc checkpoint to get to those gates). In those cases, that would take care of OLCI it would seem. But (a) I don't know if those still are set up that way (at BRU, for example), since I haven't flown out of that airport since either 2006 or 2007, and (b) I have no idea how it works at an airport I've never flown out of before.

It would seem, therefore, that I would make sense for AA to "educate" us about physical re-check-in during the int'l OLCI process. Obviously aa.com knows which airport we're flying out of when we do an OLCI, and so they could bring up airport-specific information.

But it appears the aa.com people who set up OLCI assume that it's all going to clear at the airport, and meanwhile the airport staff seem to assume that no one who's flying out of that airport for the first time will possibly use OLCI. Then those two assumptions clash...

BrewerSEA

Can't check in for my flights tomorrow SEA-DFW-LHR-RUH. Makes perfect sense considering one needs a visa to enter the KSA. Thankfully due to plentiful A inventory my SWU cleared at time of request months ago. Would have been bad considering DFW-LHR is showing F1A0 on EF at this point and I'm a lowly PLT who can't do online check-in...

pinniped

Is it possible that this is why I can't currently check in for my Shanghai flight tomorrow?

In fact, I didn't *expect* to be able to OLCI for China, but AA sent me emails inviting us to OLCI. So I tried, got a "check below for errors" message, but there were no errors below.

I called AA, talked to a regular agent and then a tech support again, and they said they'd open a website defect report. I suggested that perhaps the site was correctly *not* checking me in and that the defect is the messaging and the fact that emails were sent. The guy on the other end just said "I'll fill out a bug report."

Probably no biggie...not like I'm upgrading it or anything. Just annoying that something unnkown seems to be afoot in their systems.

tkelvin69

My last (recent) two flights to PVG wouldn't allow check-in as the visa needed to be entered. One I had the counter agent check me in, the other I was in the JFK FL (on another flight but less than 24 hours to check-in) and they put the visa number in and then was able to check in. You might get an agent over the phone to put the information in but I'd guess they'd be hesitant since they can't visually check the visa.

BrewerSEA

I don't think whatever algorithm AA uses to decide when to send out those emails is smart enough to differentiate between trips that are actually eligible for online check-in. There is no way AA would allow online check-in for flights to China without checking your visa (unless you had a PRC passport, perhaps).

supergrandslam

I will fly RDU-DFW-NRT in the near future.I believe I will not be able to OLCI at T-24 based on my past experience,so I want to go to airport at T-24 and ask AA counter agent for check in.

Problem is I will be in NY at T-24, so I will be able to go to only LGA/JFK instead of RDU.(I have a ticket for LGA-RDU but it is on different itinerary.)

Will counter agent at LGA/JFK help me to check in for RDU-DFW-NRT on next day?

tkelvin69

I got a tip from the JFK FL staff - if you need visa information entered, use the file: G - flt#/dateLAX(or appropriate airport code)_name I had both counter agents and AC agents that gave some excuse why I couldn't check in for a LAX-PVG segment and needed to wait until arrival at LAX. This is incorrect and it's the visa requirement that needs to be entered.

ESpen36

Yes, SABRE offers the capability to check in for any AA flight at ANY AA ticketing location (including ticket counters, full-function gate counters, AC/FL front desks, AA-operated CTOs, etc) WORLDWIDE, as long as you are within 24 hours of the flight's departure. It doesn't have to be located at any station that is part of the itinerary.

So, the issue in checking in at station A for a flight from B to C is not the technical capability. Instead, the issue is finding an agent who is willing to try. IME, most agents will just say "no, it's not possible," either out of misinformation, ignorance, or laziness. All you can hope is that you might find somebody willing to try it if you spend enough time asking around. You might have better luck at hubs and focus cities than outstations.


Let me give you an example. I used to fly a lot of South America runs originating ex-YYZ in order to take advantage of cheaper fares in Canadian $$. To make it work, I then used the Citi reduced mileage awards to fly the hop to/from home: LGA-YYZ-LGA. So, upon my return, I would fly SCL-DFW-YYZ on the first ticket, and then connect to an afternoon flight YYZ-LGA on the second. Usually, I would try to stand by on an earlier YYZ-LGA flight in order to get home sooner.

Because check-in time still matters for the standby list, I wanted to check in as early as possible. In the days before International OLCI, I would arrive at DFW from the SCL redeye and go immediately to a ticket counter after CBP to try to check in for the second ticket YYZ-LGA segment. Most agents said it was impossible to check in until I arrived at YYZ on the first ticket and went to a kiosk or ticketing position. But eventually, I learned that there was ONE AAngel at the DFW D club who was willing to try to check me in. It usually took him several tries, and many passport swipes, but he eventually succeeded. So, I learned on these trips to go back through TSA and straight to the D club, where I would ask for my favorite AAngel and he would check me in for the second ticket YYZ-LGA, and then do me the favor of adding me to the standby list for the alternate flight. Talk about WONDERFUL service! Thanks Jon! (I still see him all the time when I connect through DFW)

supergrandslam

Thank you very much for the info. It looks I will have a difficult time at LGA or JFK... I will try to go to AC@LGA but I am not sure I will be able to pass thru security using BP on next day.

jj1904

I have a return from BRU-LHR-LAX on 11/3. Currently waitlisted SWU for the LHR-LAX leg. Since BRU-LHR is operated BA and not eligible for upgrade, is
T-24 OCLI to get on the airport upgrade list at 10 am for the BRU-LHR flight or 12 noon for the LHR-LAX AA flight?

BrewerSEA

It's T-24 from your BRU-LHR flight. As a connecting EXP you should be right around the top of the airport upgrade list ^