If you’ve ever made that dogged effort to get up at some odd hour to check in for your flight and claim decent seat choices, Lufthansa has a message for you: Go back to sleep and we’ll do it for you. And not just on Lufthansa!
The German flag carrier is behind airlinecheckins.com, which allows you to store your passport details, seat preferences and more. When you make a reservation on a participating airline, you simply forward your confirmation to the site, and it’s done. The service is free.
Once the flight becomes available for check-in, airlinecheckins goes to work “usually in the first minute,” using your preferences to snag the best available seat. Then it sends you your boarding pass, either by e-mail or text…your choice.
There’s no list yet of what airlines are supported; the site’s FAQ says “Airlinecheckins.com currently supports over 100 large and medium-sized airlines worldwide by offering online check-in.” TravelGumbo has signed up and sent reservations from American and Delta to the site…we’ll be monitoring this service. If you try it, please report (our next reservations are 60 days away).
Illustration: Bulldog Sound Asleep, Arthur Heyer (1872-1931)
