Deny Boarding
 

I was denied to board at the LAX arriving 40 min before departure time because I should be there 45 minutes instead. So I was basically 5 min late and the airport wasn’t busy at all, not even 1 person is waiting at the check-in line. I later found out from another agent at the evening that she could have tried to call the gate for us and believed there would still be enough time in my situation. Instead, I was just handed a boarding pass from the afternoon agent and told that my flight is 6.5 hours later and she didn’t say anything else or explain anything to me. And the evening agent told me that lucky that I stop by the counter first because he didn’t even see us on standby for the next flight and also explain to me that I had an option to pay $25 to guarantee a seat, so I went for it.

I'm not totally just blaming on her but I just thought she could have provide a better customer service or put more effort to help.

Sounds like you didn't meet the minimum checkin time. I'm not sure what it is, but it sounds like it's 45 minutes at LAX.

Best thing to learn from this is to check in online, ahead of time, whenever possible. You would've made your flight.

Does anybody know where the list of minimum check-in requirements by airport is? DL has a list on their website with LAX as an exception (45 min, versus 30 min at typical airport.)

CO has a list of "suggested processing times" (all inconceivably long versus reality) but I can't find list of check-in times by airport.

Sounds like you didn't meet the minimum checkin time.

If Travelnow had used the kiosk to check in, would no BP have been issued?

I got stuck in London because i was 55 minutes before the flight instead of an hour. Had to fly home via DFW. :-( That was pre-911.

This July in Vegas I had a big argument as I was there 30 minutes before the flight instead of an hour. I made the flight but it was tight.

I think it is counter person dependent.

Had the OP used the kiosk, it would have given a message similar to "we are unable to process your request. Please see an agent for assistance."

The second you pass the minimum check in time on CO or any airline for that matter, you are at the mercy and discretion of the ticket agent, or if you decide to escalate the situation, the manager on duty or station manager.

I've only been told too late to check in once (I tend to show up early). In that case, I offered that I had only one carry on bag, there no line at security, and I was ready to run and was checked in.

Also, I've read threads in the past on various airline forums that basically indicate that you are more likely to be refused check in when the flight is full and they want to minimize the risk of an oversell situation.

That only makes sense...they have to offer money to people to not board, or deal with the hassle of IDB stuff if they can't get volunteers. From their standpoint, you've essentially volunteered to not get on that flight for no compensation. They're not going to go out of their way to help you out if the flight is full.

Here is what to do next time:

1) As channa wrote above, check-in online before you leave for the airport. Even if you can't print your boarding pass, you can tell them you are already checked in for the flight and ask them to "reprint" your boarding pass for you.

2) If that is not possible, take the boarding pass issued to you for the afternoon flight and immediately go through security and right to the gate for the flight you really want. Speak to the agent at the gate, you often can get back on that flight if there is space available.

Boy, what a snoozer this thread turned out to be. I saw the title and thought I was going to get some good gossip about how you were denied boarding due to being inebriated or causing a disturbance. I guess I've been watching way too many episodes of "Airline."

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Sorry that we don't live up to the trashy caliber of the pax profiled on Airline! That show, more than anything else, made me want to avoid WN even more than I did previously.

its a different story for the international flights.. most airlines are strict about
that. (experienced a few exceptions)

I was once 5 mins late (55 mins before departure) for my 20:30 EWR-LGW flight. The Check-in agent said I was too late then proceeded to try and get me a seat on VS or KL. Both were full. He suggested the VS 08:30 flight the next day. I really had to travel that day. He then said this might be my lucky day in that he knew the gate agent. He rang her and she agreed to let me on.

The plane looked completely full, so probably they upgraded someone. My punishment was that I sat in an aisle seat with a non-functioning IFE and light!