Online check-in: how to do it without problems

What to prepare before you start

In addition to the PNR and surname, for international flights you will also be asked for your passport details — number, expiry date, nationality — which you should have ready before opening the process, so you don't have to stop halfway through to find them. Always connect to the airline's official website or app, never to intermediary portals, to avoid the operation not being recorded correctly in the system.

Seat selection and extra services

The system displays the map of available seats: the most economical fares often assign a random seat unless you pay a small supplement, while higher fares include free seat selection from check-in onwards. Extra services offered during the procedure — additional luggage, travel insurance — can be skipped without any problems if you don't need them.

The most common problems and how to solve them

If the site times out, especially during peak hours, refreshing the page is usually more effective than starting over; the app, when available, tends to be more stable than the browser site. A typo in your name — almost no airline will correct it online: it needs to be resolved with customer service or at the counter. If the airline replaces the plane with one of different configuration after you've already chosen your seat, the seat map is regenerated and you might have to choose another one. If after several attempts the procedure remains stuck, the guide on what to do if you can't do online check-in lists the steps to follow before arriving at the airport.

Save your boarding pass safely

Avoid entering your passport or credit card details by connecting to an unprotected public Wi-Fi network: a personal mobile data connection is always the safest option for this type of operation. Once you've completed check-in, save your boarding pass offline too — as a PDF or in your smartphone wallet — because not all airports guarantee a stable connection in waiting areas.

As soon as you complete check-in, save your boarding pass offline immediately, even before closing the app: waiting to do it later, perhaps on the morning of departure with the airport Wi-Fi not working, is the most common way to find yourself without access to your boarding pass just minutes before boarding.