no2chem

I'm really not sure why it's a problem if a colleague *who works for the same airline* verifies documentation is valid remotely who *will be at the next connection and can hold the identication document in escrow*, *possibly* doing a ID check would be in violation of any any made up rule (what rule were we talking about again?)
If an alien shows up when the flight from CMH, the AAgent at JFK can just deny boarding

I have no idea why this common sense doesn't make sense, except for someone who applies "rules" without a basic critical understanding of what they are for or if they exist at all!

Now if you're just saying AAgents won't apply common sense, I would agree full heartedly

LondonElite

LOL. Ah, no.

UKtravelbear

Of course if the parents had any sense they would have given their son his passport in the first place.

Doing zoom chats was never going to work. What check in or gate agent is going to have the time to do it in the first place even if they had the inclination with a queue of people to check in or board the plane.

And every flight I've ever done in the US and outside the check in agent checks the passport and swipes it a reader. Any check at the gate is cursory - does the passenger look like the passport is basically it. They aren't checking expiry dates or visas etc.

LondonElite

Indeed, and doing it at checkin corresponds to the agent’s requirement to determine entry requirements.

no2chem

Checking entry requirements and ID check are two different requirements. People keep referring to have to scan the passport, that's just an automated way of entering the text at the bottom of the passport into sabre 4DOCS/... My passport doesn't scan so they always hand enter it anyway.

The AAgent can accomplish an entry check requirement without the person physically present. In fact this sort of stuff is done at the club all the time: I can do the doc check for my wife at the lounge with the agent while she's eating,etc and they won't necessarily even ask to see her to verify her picture matches, and of course no beep at the gate. They just punch in the passport to make sure it's matched what we've already entered online. I would be surprised if this hasn't happened to anyone else, on/off FT.

I honestly don't know what "law"/"rule" people think is being broken here by my suggestion. Which to be clear is to hold the child's passport at JFK, docs clear the child remotely with a remote match over video and double verify when the child arrives and hand them the passport. Maybe someone can actually cite something?

Again, I repeat that I don't think an AAgent will do it because they've been trained to not problem solve and use common sense...

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The AC agents can (and often do) the passport check. I've had them do it frequently to avoid getting rescanned at the gate.

Since youre UK based (according to your username anyway), I know that BA definitely does not do this in the lounge for whatever reason, but definitely AC agents can and do. They have a lot more time to help than GAs, which I agree, would definitely laugh.

SUPERTRAVEL

And the answer is: MUST HAVE PASSPORT AT CMH.

Case closed.

john_nyc

Speak of the devil!

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I might have the exact issue posted here as well. I'm currently in NYC and I am traveling to Madrid for the sudden death of my grandfather (covid...). He's lived his life, but COVID was a horrible way to pass.

Moving to the relevant parts at hand, the problem is our daughter is currently in SF with my wife's parents, and we have her passport. We booked (stupidly) this SFO-JFK-MAD flight for her not thinking about the passport check issue. I didn't realize it until I read this thread this evening to prepare for travel! I called the Exec Plat line and they told me that the flight is sold out now so it's not like I can cancel it and book the SFO-JFK and JFK-MAD separately.

I'm going to try and take the OPs suggestion and arrive at the Flagship lounge early, (her flight is at 6AM pacific!) to see if there's anything we can do, and if they can try the remote verification thing. Otherwise AA94 (to madrid) is also full tomorrow, so we'll probably be spending the whole day unwinding this mess.. Might have to book an emergency flight tomorrow for her to JFK in the morning just in case

Thanks for the help!

vasantn

I'm 100% with you. No matter what the situation is, there's almost always a way to solve the problem. That attitude has enabled me to accomplish quite a few seemingly "impossible" things in my lifetime. I commend you for at least trying to come up with a creative solution.

platbrownguy

$25, LOL
More like $55 these days for normal 10:30am next day FedEx (and $80+ for 8am)

But worth it -- I overnight lots of stuff for work and USPS Express Mail has been abysmal lately. I'm maybe 2 for 10 on getting overnight letters there the next day (they will easily refund your $26.95 for being late, but that doesn't get the mail there sooner). FedEx has been reliable, maybe 8 for 10 on getting it there by 10:30 (and 10 for 10 on getting it there the correct day). The two times it was late recently, I was able to invoke the guarantee and get the $50-60 refunded.

OP, tldr, don't rely on USPS for this!

no2chem

Worse! You won't be able to travel while it's in transit at all cause you effectively have no passport! And you have to wait at the destination for it to show up. Better to just book a separate ticket to JFK and cancel the original fare. No change fees these days anyway

VegasGambler

Did you actually read the attached thread?

The problem was solved by rebooking the connecting flight as 2 tickets.

I'm not sure what you are gloating about.

no2chem

yes, I did.
See post 22/24.

Obvs ymmv, didn't work out for OP of that thread because of... AAgents. But clearly post 22/24 show that you just need someone who can apply common sense

VegasGambler

Post 22 described adding a stopover (or possibly a separate ticket; there were not enough details to be sure). So, again, they removed the connection. If OP wants to rebook the flight so it's not a connection then there should not be an issue, though the price may go up.

Post 24 is surprising, if true (and not missing critical details) It sounds like a GA breaking the rules (again, unless critical details are missing). I would not rely on that. I would suggest having plan that's actually guaranteed to work (or at least, within the rules) before starting travel. I think you are putting too much stock in a single data point.

VegasGambler

Same PNR is irrelevant. You can have a lot of tickets (11? 12? I don't remember the limit) on a PNR.

When traveling with a stopover (not a connection) you will not be asked for a passport. I've done this before with months-long stopovers (on the same ticket). It's not an issue. Post 22 talked about taking the 2nd flight 2 days later, which is clearly either a stopover or a separate ticket.

dblumenhoff

YMMV. I had a cake sent to me FedEx overnight from New York. The next day I check the tracking info and they claim they had attempted delivery at a time that there were six people home in sight of the front door and we have a ring doorbell which did not detect any motion. There was also no door tag. The shipper sent a new cake the next day, and the same exact thing happened. So you can't rely on any of them right now.