How to obtain the return flight boarding pass?

The simple and, uh, comprehensive answer is:

• (A) you get it at that departure airport from a human

• (B) you get it at that departure airport from one of the kiosks,

• (C) you get it online, and print it

• (D) you get it online, and you actually don’t bother printing it; you just keep the PDF on your phone, or

• (E) you actually don’t need to get it online. Just get the app of that Airline and it will organize some sort of virtual a on-screen boarding pass.

That’s it.

Protip.

Nowadays like most people I just use “E” all the time. But. Even in this day and age, I find it incredibly useful to have a print out (C). A simple example, at many airports (say, Chhatrapati currently), merely to get in the door just after the taxi there’s a line and a basic security bloke, who really prefers something primitive – a paper print out. (Ironically of course, that would be tremendously easier to fake than some digital hook up.) And of course your phone can run out of electrons, etc.

As many have mentioned, how cautious you should be depends hugely on where you’re flying.

United has a mobile app that allows checking in 24 hours in advance – and it will then give you a boarding pass right there in your phone.

Assuming you have a working data connection (wifi, or data plan that works where you are traveling) I find this the best option.

Not only do you get your boarding pass, but it gives decent updates on flight status – gate number, delays, seating map… it even includes maps of airports to help you find your way to your gate.

It helps to create a frequent flyer number – I’m not sure how well the features work if the app doesn’t “know who you are”.

You have quite a few options, though specifics may vary based on the airline and the specific flight (not all airports accept mobile boarding passes, for instance):

• most hotels have a “business center” or even dedicated boarding pass printing workstations. You can go there, connect to the airline’s website, do your online check-in, and print your boarding pass. This is probably overkill nowadays.

• you can check-in online using your laptop, tablet or mobile phone, and get a mobile boarding pass. Depending on the airline, whether you use the website or app, and the operating system on your mobile phone, this may be an e-mail, a PDF in an e-mail, a PDF to download, a boarding pass in the app, a boarding pass in the Apple Wallet… Don’t know United’s app, but in general, I would recommend you use their app, it’ll give you the best experience on a mobile phone.

• you can check-in online, and not retrieve your boarding pass. You’ll be able to get it either from the kiosks at the airport, or from the check-in/baggage drop desk.

• you can just do the regular check-in at the airport. Note that not all airlines allow this, and some may charge a fee for this (shouldn’t be the case for United). Also, if you haven’t pre-selected seats while booking, this leaves you a lot less options. It also means that in case of overbooking or other issues, you’ll often have a lower priority.

I strongly recommend you check-in online, the earlier the better. If you have luggage to check in, you’ll have to go through a kiosk or check-in desk anyway, so you’ll be able to get your boarding pass at that point, but your presence will already have been confirmed, your seats assigned, etc.

When you go to the airport there, there are literally everywhere kiosks, about as big as a 10-12 year old kid, where you can print your boarding passes. on the touchscreen you can select your airline, enter your code and then print your pass. Usually these are situated right before where you check in your luggage.

Also, what you can do is online check in, and just have the QR code ready on your mobile. All they need is that QR code. So many people just check in with the mobile and have the QR code scanned from their mobile. Just put brightness to max if it doesn’t scan properly.

Quite simply, you go to the airport 3 to 4 hours before the flight, check the information boards for your flight number and the checkin desks serving that flight, and then go to those checkin desks. There you will be checked in by an airline representative, your baggage checked and you will be handed baggage tags and your boarding pass.

In other words, you do it the old fashioned way 🙂