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WHAT IS THE POINT OF CHECKING IN?

CEDRIC_STATHERBY

In the old days, one turned up at an airport and presented oneself at a check-in desk to (a) leave any hold luggage; (b) get a boarding card; and (c) confirm to the airline that you intended to fly that day (especially if you had an open ticket).

These days, leaving luggage for the hold is done at baggage drop points, not check-in desks, and boarding cards are pretty pointless because your ticket should be enough. Which leaves confirming that you are intending to fly, which is only valuable information if you check in and get the boarding card close to the time of the flight. The further in advance one “checks in” and prints off one’s boarding card, the less certain is the information that you