Hi! I'm new to FlyerTalk. Nice to meet all of you.

I've got a lot of questions to ask, so please bare with me.

I've finally booked my tickets through an online travel agent for me and my 3 family relatives in which we will all be flying to the Middle East this August with Turkish Airlines, hopefully, if all goes to plan.

This is the very the first time I've ever booked any flight ticket. This is the first time I've actually heard of the term 'e-ticket' and so I'd like some brief information of what it actually is and how it differs to a normal ticket you'd get through physically going to a travel agent shop? I know from researching that once you've got your invoice and e-ticket receipt you must print out the documents (which I have) and you must go to the airlines website to review your reservation using the codes they've given you - which I have done and all seemed right till....... I noticed that for all the names of me and my family, our first names and middle names had been merged together. Meaning, there was no gap between our first names and our middle names. However, on our e-ticket receipt, there was a gap. Will this cause a problem on the day of our departure? I don't want to have to be stopped by security telling us we cannot board our flights... It was nerve-racking and worrying enough just typing in everything online without making any mistakes!!

Secondly, on my e-ticket receipt through the travel agent it says: "Please re confirm flights 72 hours prior to your departure on all sectors." What does this actually mean and where do I go to re confirm my flight? :S

Thirdly, on the Turkish Airline website it says I must check in online 24 hours before my departure time. How do I do this and what details will the online check in specifically tell me to input? Furthermore, once I've checked in online, what does this tell Turkish Airline about my booking? That I will be arriving for my flight in 24 hours definitely? OR will it tell me that I've already checked in and I don't have to go check in at the airport check in desk?

Fourthly, when I've tried to review my e-ticket online through the Turkish Airline website, it doesn't allow me to do even though I've put in the e-ticket number of the passenger whose credit card is being used to pay for the flight. Is this because there are 4 passengers?

Fifthly, I've paid for the entire flight with a debit card online. Do I need to bring this credit card with me to the airport on the day or will the invoice receipt be enough to prove that we've paid the full amount for the flight?

Finally, what will happen if I don't check in 24 hours prior to my flight? Will I not be allowed to fly even if I have all the necessary documents, passports, visa's, ID's, credit card and e-ticket receipt on the day at the airport?

Sorry for the vast amount of questions... I just need some reassurance that my flight has been booked correctly and that there are no little details that I have missed or don't have.

Thank you for your time and all your replies. I appreciate it very VERY much.

so names still match, shouldn't be a problem as long as they match your passports
most airlines do not require a reconfirmation, that is a very old school requirement, you booked through a travel agent, ask them what that means and how to do it. I'd also ask if this reconfirmation is actually needed.simply input your confirmation number, all you are doing is informing Turkish that you plan to be on the flight, you do not need to arrive 24 hours before your flight.the fact that there are 4 passengers does not matter. Ask your travel agent why your itinerary doesn't come up, as per your #3, you'll need your reservation to come up in order to check in.it is very rare in my experience to be asked for the card used to charge the airfare but why chance it, bring the card. ask your travel agent & ask Turkish Airlines. All airlines have cutoff times for checkin but they are not 24 hours before the flight. Cutoff time will most likely be a couple hours before departure, but again, clarify w/Turkish.

Welcome to Flyertalk

E-ticket just means electronic ticket. Instead of a paper ticket to lose, forget, etc, it's all stored in their system now. I'm not sure many travel agent shops are actually giving out paper tickets now, so there is probably no difference in what you have and what you would get someplace else.

First and middle names lumped together is common, don't worry about it as long as the names are correct.

Please reconfirm 72 hours before the flight means you should call the airline and tell them you are reconfirming the flights. That's not very common anymore, it's possible they have been adding that to the receipts for years, but you just call the airline and they will tell you if you need to do it or not. Most people no longer confirm flights.

They do not say that you MUST check in online 24 hours before the flight, but they say that if you want to check in online you CAN from 24 hours before the flight to 90 minutes before the flight. If you don't want to check in online, you can also check in at the airport.

To check in online, go to the website, click the tab for checkin, put in your first and last name, and either the PNR record from the e-ticket or the e-ticket number and click continue, it will take you through the steps, and you can print your boarding passes if it's a flight you don't have to get them at the airport.

All it tells turkish is that you have checked in for your flight, not much more. It depends on the actual flights if you need to still stop at the airport desk or not, they may need to check for visas, etc

To review your ticket, you put in the ticket number and your name, not the person who paid for the ticket.

Some airlines will ask for the card used to purchase the tickets, but some won't. Some that do ask, don't need to see it if you did not buy the ticket directly from them. You need to check with Turkish to see for sure, but if you have the card and it's in your name you should bring it just in case. If it's not in your name, you need to ask them if there's anything else they need. They will know the flight was paid in full, they just want to make sure you are not using somebody's card illegally.

Nothing will happen if you don't check in 24 hours before the flight. Look at the airline website for the deadline to check in at the counter, it's probably 2 hours or 90 minutes or something like that. If you miss that deadline, they may cancel your tickets or give your seats up. There is no requirement to checkin 24 hours before.

Thank you all for your replies!

This thread seriously brings me back to 1996 when Expedia would let you book your ticket online and they send out the real ticket. Then in 1999 I booked my own E-Ticket So I know how you feel.

Be sure that all the names match the passport and enter in the API (Advanced Passenger Information) which inlcludes Fist, Middle and Last Name, Gender and Birthdate. Be sure to enter in the pasport ifnfo if you have it along with the address of your first night in the USA.

Also be sure to bring along the credit card you used to book the reservation just in case they ask. Take a copy of the itinerary along with the ticket number and Airline Confirmation Code .

Hope you have a great trip.

As a general rule the airline cannot cancel your reservation if you don't reconfirm. But as a general rule I always reconfirm my flight by calling the airline with my booking code to confirm that my special meal request has been entered and that my seats are reserved. I also confirm the flight departure time, what terminal its leaving from etc.

Be sure your Travel Agent confirms your seats and request an aisle or window. If you want to request special meals do so with the travel agent she or he will tell you if they are available. Also sign up for the Frequent Flier Program if you don't have a number. If you do have the agent enter it into the reservation for you.

Be sure your tickets show "OK" under the Confirmed portion of the itinerary.

Here is a sample itinerary.

Smith/David Jones
Smith/Rachel James

Lufthansa(LH) Confirmation Code 342JKY
Amadeus Confirmation Code(3QYJDK)
Ticket# 00122099883

LH 458 Departure Munich(MUC) 16:00 Status:OK
Arrival San Francisco(SFO) 19:05
Airbus Industrie 340-600 Jet
Your Check In is with Lufthansa
Latest Checkin Time: 14:00

Services:
Meals: Meal,Meal
Movie:Yes
Seats :

Smith/David 33A
Smith/ Rachel 33C

Special Requests

Smith/David VGML(Vegetarian Meal Requested)
Smith/Rachel VGML(Vegetarian Meal Requested)

Hope this helps.

Thank you all for your replies. It was very helpful and I have enquired with Turkish Airlines.

However, they were very vague about my next questions so I'm hoping I can get a more detailed answer here.

Firstly, once checking in online and arriving 3 hours prior to the departure time, since we don't need to wait in line for the check in desk, where do we place our baggage? I'm aware we need to get baggage tags from the counter but dropping our baggage off, I'm not so sure. I am departing from Heathrow Terminal 3.

Secondly, since we are connecting at Turkey, Istanbul Ataturk, will we able to print out both boarding passes for both flights, for Heathrow to Istanbul and for Istanbul to our destination? Also, if yes, can we print out both boarding passes for our arrival back to Heathrow?

Thirdly, since we will have to print out our boarding papers at home, once we arrive at the airport, do we go straight from dropping our baggage to security checks and from there wait in the departure lounge for our flight? Is this what the 'Fast Track' signs at the airport mean?

Fourthly, on our reservation, we might have selected an aisle seat and window seat as our preference. Can I change my seat preference to any other seats for those that I have specified when checking in online? So, if I've chosen a window seat, can I change this seat to a non-aisle seat? Or will I only be allowed to choose window seats?

Fifthly, this 'liquids and baggage' allowance and rules are the most annoying. I'm travelling economy, internationally and the Turkish Airline website
says 20kg is allowed per adult. However, my family is convinced it's 30kg
per person...! Someone explain that it isn't, or am I wrong?

Finally, I have found out that one plane we are travelling in is a three by three seat plane, meaning there is only one aisle. This sounds quite crammed? Anyone experienced this type of seat plan before since I'm fairly new to this all new smaller plane than what I usually fly on.

Thank you all once again.

Regarding luggage weight limits, when in doubt, go based off what the airline's website says. So if their website says 20 kg limit per person per bag with no allowances larger than that, then you have to limit your stuff to 20 kg in one bag.

However, many airlines have over-weight fees and it varies depending on the airline. If your family members do not believe you, print it out right off of the airline's website and let them read it in black and white. :-) This is regarding checked luggage of course. There are usually different weight limits for carry-on luggage.

Heathrow's carry-on limits for liquids is the same as here in the US. If you go to Heathrow's website, they should have some good info there. Generally speaking, the rules are:

1. 100 ml limit per container
2. put all of your 100 ml liquid containers in a single quart-sized ziplock bag
3. things that are in a "wipe" form (like baby wipes) are exempt from this.
4. one quart-sized bag per ticketed passenger
5. larger quantities of liquids need to go in checked luggage or you have to throw it out.
6. when you go through security, you should remove the ziplock bag from your carry-on luggage so they can scan it seperately.

From what I can tell on the Turkish Airlines site, free checked baggage allowances are:

International flights:
business class - 30 kg
comfort class - 20 kg
economy class - 20 kg

Domestic:
business class - 30 kg
economy class - 20 kg
promo class - 15 kg

Exception to this is if your Turkish Airlines flight originates through a partner airline...then if the partner airline has larger allowances, then those other baggage limits apply instead.

Their site shows that excess baggage fees vary based on whether it is a domestic (within Turkey) flight or international flight.

I'm flying internationally on only Turkish Airline planes meaning it is only 20kg! I have shown them the website and my family are now rushing to remove the extra 10kg from each person...
It's funny to watch but at the same time problematic...since they secretly added an extra few kg to my luggage!! >:/

Thank you for your reply .

There is a great website called www.onebag.com that has a lot of good information about travelling light. It might give your family members some ideas on how to pare down the load a bit.

In order to check your baggage, you need to go to the counter. This usually means waiting in line, then the agent at the ticket counter will process your checked baggage, including confirming your identification, printing the baggage tags, and possibly collecting payment (if applicable). If you've already printed out your boarding pass from home, bring those with you. They may go ahead and print out new boarding passes anyway.

Usually, you will get all your onward boarding passes at your initial departure point. That means if you're flying Heathrow-Ataturk-XYZ, you will get boarding passes for both segments at Heathrow. You will not need to print out new boarding passes for your next segment in Istanbul.

You don't HAVE to print them from home, this is just an option that is provided to you. You can check in online the night before and print from the airport the next day. You don't even HAVE to check in 24 hours ahead of time. You can check in once you arrive at the airport for your flight, but it's generally "safer" to do so ahead of time in the event of traffic or some other circumstance delaying your arrival to the airport.

Show the website to your family. You appear to be correct, your family incorrect. If you have further questions, contact the airline directly. There are also different limits for hand luggage (carryon) vs. checked luggage, so be sure you're both talking about the same thing.

Depends on the type of plane, but it sounds like a standard mid-size aircraft, like a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320. It's not particularly cramped, in my opinion. Also, width is usually not the issue, but seat pitch (basically, legroom). www.seatguru.com shows the seating configurations for most airlines. Look up the aircraft on which you'll be traveling with Turkish for further thoughts on the seating charts. 31"-32" is generally considered a little snug, 33" is decent, 34"+ is considered pretty roomy.

Thank you so much! This was very helpful! The plane is actually a Boeing 737, but I'm not that bothered with legroom, only the fact that the width of the plane seems quite narrow in my perspective and travelling with someone with a light phobia of flying and being claustrophobic; 200+ passengers in one small space doesn't sound great for them...

Thank you for the website on lightening the load - it was very helpful. The family finally believe me on the 20kg baggage allowance and the 8kg hand baggage allowance. Again, I'm watching my mother cramming her beauty products into her hand baggage which isn't working due to the restricted 100ml liquid allowance in a 20 by 20 clear bag...

So, the night before I can (if I want) check in online and print my boarding passes. Then the next day wake up early and wait in line for checking in my baggage and getting baggage tags. Then going through normal airport procedures.

So I can get both boarding passes for both segments of my trip at Heathrow and by printing off the passes online?

And it would be very helpful if I could get an answer to my seat preference question.

What do the 'Fast Track' signs mean at the airport?

Thank you once again.

Yes, you should get both BPs at LHR. If not, just go to the TK transit desk at IST.
Yes, you can change your seat from window to aisle or vice versa (assuming the seat you want is available).
"Fast Track" is for premium (First/Business class) passengers and/or passengers with top elite status in a frequent flier programme.

For your phobic companion,I would suggest an aisle seat. Definitely feels more open.than the window or middle. _