Is it an electronic ticket?

[virtua]

Guys, I have bought tickets online myself for the first time. There are several things that concern me a bit. Particularly, how am I going to obtain an actual ticket itself?  I hope for people who did it many times it will be easy to answer. I have flied 2 times before and I remember giving the printout of an electronic receipt in the airport and taking an actual ticket. So now I have bought tickets from 2 different airlines and have received confirmation codes and emails from both of them, but one airline sent me pdf (e-receipt), the other one (jetBlue) didn`t, although in the email they have code and ticket number provided.

So will I get an actual ticket just by showing the passport or just by telling confirmation code? Or should I print pdf from one and the email itself (from the 2nd one) and show these printouts during registration?

[rising_star]

I'm going to echo something fuzzylogician said to you a few days ago. Do you even try to find the answers on your own? If you use the airline's website, you'll be able to find out what you need to have to check in for your flight.

[fuzzylogician]

I understand it's stressful to do all these things for the first time, so I hope this helps: 

 

- In your confirmation email, each flight is associated with a ticket number (usually a long sequence of numbers, roughly 12-13 characters long) and/or a booking code (alphanumeric, roughly 6-7 characters long). The exact names of these numbers might change between airlines, but all of them will have something like a booking code. Make a note of these numbers somewhere that's easy to find when you get to the airport, along with the airline name and flight number, for each flight. 

- 24 hours before your flight, you can usually check in online. Some airlines will then let you print your boarding pass at home.

- Before you get to the airport, make a note of what terminal your flight is supposed to leave from, if there is more than one at the airport you're departing from, so you go to the right one.

- You can always print a boarding pass at the airport, if you don't have a printer or if you prefer to have the "official" boarding pass. When you arrive, there are two options. One is to use a kiosk (small computer) for your airline. There will be kiosks for many airlines, so be sure to find the right one. Input your booking code or ticket number and whatever other information they ask for, and the boarding pass(es) will be printed. If you bought the entire journey together, you should be able to receive all your boarding passes at your home airport even if they are with different airlines. If for whatever reason only the boarding pass for your first leg is printed, you will have to find the machines at the next airport and print your boarding pass there. The other option is to stand in line to talk to the people behind the counters, who will check your bag and print your boarding pass. The advantage to self-check-in and using the machines is that it's faster and there are fewer lines. If you're unsure of what to do, you can always stand in the longer line and have an actual person help you. 

- If you have large baggage that has to be checked, there is usually a bag dropoff line. In case you've already checked in at home, you can go directly to this line. This saves time. Your bag will be checked through to your destination, but remember that you'll have to pick it up and clear customs the first time you enter the US (as we've discussed in other threads). 

- Once you've done all this, you go through security and go to your gate. 

- For connecting flights, make a note of all your flight times and numbers, and check the electronic boards after you land to know where to go next. Flights might be organized by departure time or by destination city. Often you'll have to go to another terminal and therefore clear security again. If necessary, print your new boarding pass (could be before or after security, depending on the airport), go to your new gate, etc.

 

This is all very straightforward, and as rising_star says, you can easily find all this information online. 

[TakeruK]

Sometimes you are unable to print boarding passes for connecting flights because of some random reason or another. It could be particular airline policies or maybe you just happened to try to print your pass while the other airline's system is down (happened to me before). Like fuzzy says, you will then have to print the boarding pass once you get to that leg of your trip. Just to add to what fuzzy said:

 

1. You might have to go to a different terminal/building in order to print the boarding pass, especially if you are switching airlines and/or flying internationally. But you will have to change terminals anyways in order to catch the flight!

 

2. If your connection is really early in the morning (e.g. 3am or 4am local time), the airline might not have staff working, especially if it's not an airline from the country you're in. For example, I connected at Los Angeles once and needed to get to an Air Canada flight (at 7am) but it was 3am and the Air Canada staff at Los Angeles only work when their airline is flying. There was some problem (forgot what it was) but I needed to go in the long line and talk to a person but there was no one there yet. So if it's the middle of the night and you don't see the "long line", don't worry--they'll arrive in time to work the flight and help you!

[shinigamiasuka]

The "ticket" is a piece of paper with your reservation number, confirmation number, your name, flight number(s), and your itinerary. All of these should be on your receipt, and that's all you need to carry. What other "actual ticket" do you mean?

[TakeruK]

The "ticket" is a piece of paper with your reservation number, confirmation number, your name, flight number(s), and your itinerary. All of these should be on your receipt, and that's all you need to carry. What other "actual ticket" do you mean?

 

Just to clarify further, the actual "e-ticket" is electronic only and this information is stored in a database, not a piece of paper (hence e-ticket). The printouts that you can make (at home or at the airport) are just copies of the same information and are mostly for convenience. It's also a good idea in case the airline's computer system crashes so that you have a backup. The e-ticket is issued within 24-48 hours of making payment and you normally get an email with this information. Usually the email contains both the eticket and the receipt showing how much you paid.

 

There is only one e-ticket for each reservation, no matter how many legs/connecting flights you make.

 

This e-ticket is then used to get a boarding pass which can also be printed out at home (or in a hotel or at a computer cafe or library etc.) or in the airport. Each flight on your eticket/reservation will have a separate boarding pass. Airlines will not issue a boarding pass until you check in (either online or at the airport) and most airlines will not let you do this earlier than 24 hours prior to your flight. If you print a boarding pass at the airport, it will usually be the size of a Number 10 Envelope (i.e. rectangular, 1/3 of a piece of letter-sized paper). If you print it at home, it will just be on your printer's paper. The boarding pass contains information like which terminal/gate to report to in order to board your flight and it's what you show to the gate agent before you board the plane. This might be what virtua meant by "actual ticket" since at many other places, such as the theatre, you show your ticket to someone at the door before you can enter. If you print your boarding pass early (usually more than 6-12 hours or so prior to your flight), the airline might not have assigned a terminal/gate to your flight yet and this information will not be on your boarding pass. When you get to the airport, you should check the screens to find out where to go (or ask someone for help).

 

PS: You can also get mobile boarding passes which you get on your phone. Sometimes this is just simply a barcode that appears on your phone but for some airlines, they have apps that keeps track of your etickets and boarding passes. If the airline offers this and you have a phone capable of using it, I find it the most convenient way to present a boarding pass (although I always keep a physical copy of the e-ticket confirmation somewhere just in case). I especially like the app because I can check in using the app, get a boarding pass, and the boarding pass automatically updates with new information (such as gate/terminal location) whenever it is assigned or updated. 

[shinigamiasuka]

Just to clarify further, the actual "e-ticket" is electronic only and this information is stored in a database, not a piece of paper (hence e-ticket). The printouts that you can make (at home or at the airport) are just copies of the same information and are mostly for convenience. It's also a good idea in case the airline's computer system crashes so that you have a backup. The e-ticket is issued within 24-48 hours of making payment and you normally get an email with this information. Usually the email contains both the eticket and the receipt showing how much you paid.

 

There is only one e-ticket for each reservation, no matter how many legs/connecting flights you make.

 

We've only used our printed out confirmations or receipts ever since we've started booking flights online, and they work just fine. Thanks for clarifying the conept of what the "e-ticket" is; I used to think it's the booking confirmation we print out.

 

On the other hand, we've never printed our boarding passes since they give it to us at the airport anyway.

 

The boarding pass contains information like which terminal/gate to report to in order to board your flight and it's what you show to the gate agent before you board the plane. This might be what virtua meant by "actual ticket" since at many other places, such as the theatre, you show your ticket to someone at the door before you can enter. If you print your boarding pass early (usually more than 6-12 hours or so prior to your flight), the airline might not have assigned a terminal/gate to your flight yet and this information will not be on your boarding pass. When you get to the airport, you should check the screens to find out where to go (or ask someone for help).

 

PS: You can also get mobile boarding passes which you get on your phone. Sometimes this is just simply a barcode that appears on your phone but for some airlines, they have apps that keeps track of your etickets and boarding passes. If the airline offers this and you have a phone capable of using it, I find it the most convenient way to present a boarding pass (although I always keep a physical copy of the e-ticket confirmation somewhere just in case). I especially like the app because I can check in using the app, get a boarding pass, and the boarding pass automatically updates with new information (such as gate/terminal location) whenever it is assigned or updated. 

 

Or maybe he/she meant the ticket booklets that were used previously? I remember travel agencies used to issue those kind of tickets.

 

+ Thanks for the mobile boarding pass tip!

Edited July 22, 2015 by shinigamiasuka

[TakeruK]

I remember those ticket booklets! My first family vacation that involved a plane as a child used them and our family booked our tickets through a travel agent as well. I remember I thought it was cool since it was one of the first time I saw carbon copy technology and that my parents were "Mr." and "Mrs." but the children name's on the ticket were "Master (Name)". That was our only experience with those tickets though, since the next time I flew anywhere (years later), e-tickets became the norm.

 

When I started traveling more regularly with etickets, I used to be super paranoid and printed multiple copies of the boarding pass, at home and at the airport, and put them in various places (my jacket, my bag, my backpack etc.) just in case. But that was not really necessary since using the eticket or booking confirmation, I can always reprint it anywhere! However, sometimes having more than one boarding pass is useful because some schools will require a physical boarding pass to reimburse you and when I split costs between two schools, sometimes both schools want the boarding pass so having two copies is nice. Nowadays, I just save a PDF of the boarding pass when I check in so that I can print it out if I ever need it (luckily my current school will reimburse me with just the eticket receipt, no boarding passes needed).

[techboy]

Just for backup print all emails you received . It is very helpful if you are departing from small airports. Sometimes technology may fail.

[virtua]

Thanks very much to everyone for replies!!! I am still reading them 

 

I meant boarding pass by saying "actual ticket", sorry for my illiteracy

[virtua]

Guys, the question occured to me: how can I make sure that I really reserved/purchased a ticket?

because, you know, most of airlines let you enter your information, go through the all steps and get confirmation/itinerary-so it looks like you have bought a ticket, while in reality they haven`t charged you yet, so in fact, as far as I understand, you haven`t purchased the ticket yet in that case. Although, I guess, you get the ticket number only in case you actually purchsed it, I can`t remember. 

[random_grad]

Call them?

[rising_star]

You could check your credit card or account statement to see if they've charged you. If they've charged you, then you have a ticket. You should also be able to check on your ticket by logging into your online account with that airline.

[PoliticalOrder]

You don't need to print out anything. Just hand them your passport in check in. These answers are way more complicated than they need to be. 

[TakeruK]

When you make the purchase online, you usually get a reservation/purchase confirmation within minutes via email. However, you are right that the ticket does not get issued right away and can actually take up to 24 hours. The initial confirmation email says "THIS IS NOT A TICKET" clearly.

 

It may depend on which airlines you use, but I usually get another email anywhere between 1 to 12 hours after my purchase with an actual ticket. If you have a eticket number, then you have a ticket. If you cannot find this number, then probably best to call them and confirm it (and write down the number) and/or log into your online account and see if it's there, as rising_star suggested.

[virtua]

Ok, I purchased ticket from JetBlue (it`s not a part of connection flight), what would you guys recommend me to print?

I have email from them saying "Your itinerary for your upcoming trip".

I also requested receipt and now have it in my email. 

So which one would you recommend me to print?

[PoliticalOrder]

Like I already told you, you don't have to print anything.

[fuzzylogician]

Ok, I purchased ticket from JetBlue (it`s not a part of connection flight), what would you guys recommend me to print?

I have email from them saying "Your itinerary for your upcoming trip".

I also requested receipt and now have it in my email. 

So which one would you recommend me to print?

 

You should know the flight numbers & times of all your flights to help you find it on the boards in the airport, but you don't need to print the receipt or the itinerary. If you check-in online, you'll need to print your boarding pass at home (this will be possible roughly 24-48 hours before your flight), or you can check in and print your boarding pass at the airport, in which case all you need to bring is you passport and visa-related documents. It's also useful to know the booking number for your ticket.

 

Another thing to keep handy: the computer and/or person at the check-in counter will ask you for your address while in the US. Have that written somewhere that's easy to access. (If you don't have an apartment yet, you can give them the address for the hotel you'll stay at while searching for an apartment, or your department's address.) 

[TakeruK]

You don't have to print anything. I keep most of the information on my phone. I save the emails as a PDF, put it in my Dropbox, and "favourite" it in my Dropbox app so that it is accessible offline. I have a folder in my Dropbox for all of my travel confirmations such as flight, car rental, and hotel confirmations. I unfavourite files after a trip so only relevant ones show up on my phone.

 

Personally, I also like to print the itinerary because it is handy to have when traveling. Sometimes, while traveling, I need to do something on my phone (e.g. checking into my flight on my phone app, or call someone and tell them my flight info, or try to book a shuttle on my phone and needing my flight arrival time) so having a paper copy to refer to while using the phone is helpful. I'm also a little paranoid and would rather take the 2 minutes in my office to print out a paper. If you don't have room for lots of printed stuff, then just write down the booking confirmation somewhere, because that's the most useful and most requested part. If you want a boarding pass, that's the number you usually enter into the machine as well (sometimes they can look it up if you scan the credit card used to make the purchase but you might not have that with you).