How "standard" is this advice? The Transportation Security Administration agrees with it, but airlines don't. For instance, American Airlines advises passengers to be at the airport two hours before flight time for international departures and 90 minutes for domestic flights. Also, there's an exception for flights to certain overseas destinations, which require that you check in earlier.United Airlines further complicates this issue by adding luggage to the equation. If you're not checking luggage, the carrier advises you to arrive at the airport at least 60 minutes before your scheduled departure time. If you're checking luggage, it's 90 minutes. For international flights, give yourself two hours, says United.It may help to note the likely motives behind the advice. The TSA and airports want you to get there earlier, each for its own reasons. The agency does not like to be rushed with screenings even if there's a long security line. Airports want you to take advantage of their incredible shopping and dining facilities, which you can't do if you're rushing to the gate. Also, they factor in the time it takes to find parking. Airlines, on the other hand, don't want you milling around the boarding area for too long.
But these guidelines don't take into account the fact that you're dealing with people — some with mobility problems, others who are nervous and would arrive a day before their flight if they could. That's where things get interesting, and that's where the "depends" really becomes apparent.Joe Reimers, a sales engineer from South Bend, Ind. , describes himself as a "conservative" traveler, especially when he's checking a bag. But if he flies out of his home airport, which he knows well, he sometimes arrives just 45 minutes before his departure.
"Flying out of less familiar airports on return trips is a different story," he says. He sticks to the airline advice of two hours for international flights and 90 minutes for domestic flights. "At very large airports, I may go even longer," he adds.Yet other experienced travelers say their lead time is always the same. Douglas Jensen, an IT consultant from Natick, Mass ., is a top-level elite frequent flier with 45 years of air travel experience."I always allow two hours for domestic flights and three hours for international flights," he says. That means leaving his home at 1 a.m. for a 5 a.m. flight, gives him the security of knowing that he won't miss his flight.And that really is the object of this whole exercise: to not miss the flight. So the real question is whether to go with the airport and TSA recommended arrival times which are more generous, or the airline times, which cut it a little closer.
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