Do I get a Paper Boarding Pass
 

Hi,

I just got an email saying that my tickets had been changed. I'm okay with the change in time, but they say I get an electronic boarding pass and will not be given a paper ticket.

Does this mean I won't get a paper boarding pass when I get to the airport counter? They said, "We recommend you print this page", but it's just a page listing my times for my flights and an ID number.

Perhaps this has been covered before, but I'm a little uneasy with just a printout at the airport without a boarding pass?

CK.

Why do you want a paper BP? From where to where? Changes happen all the time, don't sweat it, it'll be fine. Thousands of people print their BPs at the airport.

I want a paper BP when I get to the airport. It's a domestic flight. Will they print me off a boarding pass at the counter? Do they mean to bring the email to the ticket counter and they'll give me one there?

CK.

Don't stress, it's just a holdover from when paper tickets were more commonly issued, rather than e-tickets that we receive these days.

As long as you have a ticket, which you say you have received in your email, you should have no issue going to the counter to check-in and get a boarding pass at the airport.

I take it in days past, you would pick up a ticket at the travel agent and get a BP at the counter?

I've never flown without getting a BP. I'm flying AC for the first time in 10 years so I don't know the procedures?

Am I stressing about nothing? Also, at a very small airport where I'm flying out of, is there a security checkpoint? Or do I just walk in, get my BP and get on the plane?

BTW, I reviewed the times on the e-ticket. They are identical to prior notices. I think I got the email as a courtesy.

CK.

Yes, you're stressing about nothing :)

You could even get your BP on a 'mobile phone', if you have one of these. This way you would have a virtual BP up to 24 hrs before departure.

Tickets and boarding passes are different things.

You will receive an electronic ticket (e-ticket) which may contain one or more flight segments. Most airlines no longer issue paper tickets.

You will receive a boarding pass once you've checked in for each flight segment (either online or at the airport). If you checkin at the airport you will be given a paper boarding pass.
If you do online checkin this may be a PDF which you can print, or a mobile boarding pass on your phone/tablet. You can still ask at the airport for a paper boarding pass to be printed.

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Your airport will have a security screening checkpoint of some sort. If it's a small airport the good thing will be that the time spent waiting in line should be very minimal!

If you have checked bags, you'll need to bring those to the AC ticket counter first along with your photo ID. If you didn't print your BP at home or have it sent to your smartphone, the agent can print your BP then. You then proceed with your carry on bag, BP, and ID to the security checkpoint and then on to your gate.

In the event you don't have a checked bag, you can skip the stop at the ticket counter unless you need/want your BP printed at the airport (though there may also be an automated kiosk if you don't want to wait in line at the counter). The rest is the same as above.

Are these Air Canada flights and did you buy the ticket from the airline?

If you have free and easy access to a computer and printer, print out the email you just received. Try to find and print your ticket/receipt and your itinerary from the AC website. Alternatively, try to find the details of your booking on checkmytrip.com or (believe it or not) the Saudia airlines website, which is surprisingly good for this type of thing.

They try to do OLCI on the AC website and print your boarding pass(es) at just under 24 hours before departure.

If this doesn't work, call AC and ask them if they can see your ticket and matching reservation. Write down your ticket number and reservation code/number, which is also known as the PNR.

If this stuff doesn't work, call

The flights are Air Canada but I booked with points.

I will probably just go to the counter to get a paper BP. I haven't decided whether or not I'll have checked baggage.

CK

I would like to try to clear up some apparent confusion in the preceding discussion. There is a difference between a ticket and a boarding pass. A ticket is a document that has the information about your flights and cost and payment and is a receipt for the purchase of your ticket. It used to be a paper document and you were required to present it when you checked in at the airport. There are no longer paper tickets - all of that information is stored electronically, the same way a hotel reservation is stored.

A boarding pass is a separate document issued either from your own computer or at the airport when you check in for your flight. In most cases this is still a paper document which you present to the gate agent as your board the aircraft, where it is scanned and returned to you, either in full or in part. However, it can also be sent to you and stored on your mobile document, which you simply show to the gate agent, who scans it just like the paper.

If your flights were changed, you won't get new paper ticket. You didn't get one when you purchased the ticket and you won't get one now. The information is all stored on the airline's computer. However, you will need a boarding pass,which is different from a ticket, in order to get on the plane. You get a boarding pass after you check in for your flight no more than 24 hours before flight time. When you do that, you can either print a paper boarding pass or be sent an electronic boarding pass for use with your mobile device. You can also wait to check in at the airport, where you will most likely get a paper boarding pass.

I hope that clears up the confusion.