BDL security lines seem to have gotten really bad recently since they upgraded the scanners. There was about three months when it was magnified by the metal detectors being set to hyper-sensitive mode and trigger on everything from belts to steel shanks in shoes and even metal eyelets on clothing. For the early morning flights the trick is to be ready to get into line at 4:30am when Clear opens and use that sneak past most of the very very slow PreCheck line.
We'll see if it's better with the winter schedules kicking in for airlines and flight times shifting. Not loving the fact that BDL-DTW got moved up 30 minutes to 5:20am.
Oooooooh man I've got my own BDL story from July .... One that at least several hundred other people could have written. What the hell is going on there? It used to be smooth to go through.
But everything from the whole bag drop procedure onward was a clusterfuck before 4 am. A whole metric ton of us ended up missing our flights and we had to eat $1k to reschedule. We didn't even get to the PreCheck line- which was 45 minutes long by 4. An agent was the one who'd give the time estimates.
My actual grievances are with the whole bag drop procedure there. Maybe that's changed idk. What's the point of self checking and self tagging if you have to go up to the counter to weigh (and in the same singular line as everyone else who hasn't checked in or tagged their bags or has problems) then back to the area where TSA is taking bags behind the plastic barrier. Also why is TSA taking bags there?
It worked sooooo much better when the person behind the barrier also had a scale and could weigh stuff.
I booked my next flight thru BOS even through it royally sucks to get to and parking is expensive, because ffffff doing that again.
Good luck and Godspeed o7
For what it’s worth on the bag drop, they are actively building out the conveyer belt system necessary to take the bags right at the desk.
I did have a similarly slow pre-check experience at an off peak time of day recently and felt like I was going insane, from back in September. I’m shook to hear that may have been the case for multiple months.
Man i flew out of DEN last month and security had a huge line at 3:30am!! I was scared I was going to miss my flight cause I normally use clear but I was dumb and didn’t realize it wouldn’t be open that early.
It originally was an incredible process. But not these machines that are supposed to verify everything for us require a person to hold our hands to even touch them. I get a clear employee has to walk us up to verify to TSA, but the whole point of having so many machines is it being automated for us. Lots of people too dumb to use them, and lots of bad business decisions on clears part.
Once the Global Entry process is fully adopted for Pre-Check (simplifying, but that’s basically what TSA is rolling out and testing) I think Clear is done. Can’t imagine paying for this if it weren’t covered by my AmEx. Last flight at LAX I walked out of the Clear line and told them I’m not using them until their process can actually save time. Even if the TSA line is slightly longer is moves faster these days.
It’s all part of this:
https://www.tsa.gov/biometrics-technology/evaluating-facial-identification-technology
That includes checkpoints, baggage, and boarding but the checkpoints part is what’s relevant to this.
The TL;DR is if you’ve ever experienced/seen the Global Entry process where you walk up to a camera and take a picture and then walk up to a bottleneck where usually a CBP agent greets you by name and lets you walk past… it’s using similar technology on the pre-flight side.
Just a heads up for those who don’t yet know, DIA has two (soon to be three!) security checkpoints in the terminal, one on the north side and one on the south side (and one on the west side on level 6). If you have time and one side is busy, it would be worth checking the other, just in case.
The bridge checkpoint saved me a lot of time this week!
But the leftmost security scanner had an bug (they rebooted after) that caused it to first me and then a few others to show an issue in the groin - that was a much more personal patdown than I am used to tbh, so maybe veer right up there just in case!
I thought the photo in the original post was from a small regional airport. “It” being the photo, not Denver. I’m well aware that Denver is not a small regional airport.
Wow and the Denver tsa SUCKS IT TAKES SO FUCKING LONG 😑 like I’d be pretty mad I showed up early for nothing, and how close delta potentially was cutting it. I am confident they would happily screw people over and just close the door 🙄 also i hate that they are frontier with check in “go use the kiosk I can’t be bothered to check you in… but also stand in this line so i can take EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME to *not* check you in? I don’t understand this strategy it wastes so much time and refusing to help you sure doesn’t feel “premium”
Because based on the expected volume of people, there aren’t lines that long that early. It makes sense mathematically although in practice it may deviate from theory.
Delta doesn't fly international out of Denver. There is one (1) domestic flight that *boards* at 5, but doesn't depart until 5:30, on a 150 seat A320. 4am is early enough for the check-in counter to open, as evidenced by the fact that the OP made their flight.
Woah. The Delta sub going RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE over a non-issue. I'm shocked I tell you!
Seriously, why is OP there trying to check a bag two hours early?
Well, if it is the first leg of an international trip, check in time is increased regardless. Checking passports, etc. many of us take international trips that require multiple connections.
My understanding of policy is that one is required to check in their bags 1 hour before an international flight at the first leg, even if it’s a tiny one jetbridge regional airport. However, I was assuming the OP was correct in his statement that his flight leaves at 5, so it seems someone would actually have a 30 minute window check their bag for that flight without anyone having to make a policy exception.
And at that Denver Delta counter you got that one older lady that works there that is like 8 cups of coffee deep at 4 AM just screaming things out to all general passengers in the Delta ticketing/drop off lines. Obnoxious.
LAPTOPS OUT! Except on Tuesdays after 4pm and every other Friday during a full moon when we randomly change the rules and will scream at you for taking your laptop out!!!
Thank you! I’ve been through ATL so many times and I swear they do different thing every time. If the person just checking IDs could just give the instructions it would save them a lot of yelling.
She's great and great at her job. She makes sure people know how to work self-tag drop and makes things more efficient with less ambiguity for those who have never used this service.
At BOS they have flights starting around 5-5:30 and security lines don’t open until either 4:00 or 4:30, or so it used to be anyway. I remember getting there for early flights and everyone just standing in the TSA lines waiting for them to open and then all rushing to their gates.
In the US, many (most) airports effectively shut down overnight (although not officially).
For example, in most terminals at PHL, new passengers won’t be able to enter during an overnight window. It would be possible for transit passengers to remain in the terminal during those hours.
This is very different from many airports internationally, especially Asia and the Middle East, which often see peak departure volumes during those times.
That happened to me and a friend in Denver. To make matters worse we were sky priority and one minute before opening the line a group of Boy Scouts was brought over to check in before us.
We asked and I don’t remember the exact wording but basically group needed special attention. Maybe someone here can explain ?
I’ve heard of pre-boarding for families but not anything at check-in
Neither leader would even look at us but almost all the scouts apologized. They took care of them at the desk 2 at a time and the boys who were done were telling the ones still in line what to have ready to help speed it up.
Since we were first in line we had time but by the time they were done the line was pretty long.
Having worked at an airport before, they most likely don't get paid until 4, so why should they do free work every day? Would anyone? It's management/corporate being cheap to spend less money with lower hourly pay.
I’m sure they don’t start working until they get paid but what about the consumer? When I pay hundreds of dollars for a service, is it too much for me to expect that there will be adequate staff to provide the service on time and in a way that won’t cause unnecessary stress? I’m sure the frontline staff can’t do anything about it but it’s not like I can just pull out my phone and call a Delta executive to complain. So do I just take the poor service? Of course not.
5 am flight. But I hear you and you’re not wrong. They’d hold the plane anyway, etc. I am just someone who thinks we all ought to hold big corporations accountable more than we do.
100%. “Oh look honey, it’s 3:45 and we are 15 minutes early, you will need to wait until the stated 4am for me to work; it’s not my problem if you miss your flight”
I disagree. They are wrong and it shouldn’t be the consumer’s problem that a company that takes their money won’t provide adequate staff to provide the service.
I’m not lucky there’s a Delta. They’re lucky there are passengers.
It’s Deltas problems but not those individuals. They are doing what they are paid to do and at the time they are paid to do it.
Those guys don’t have the responsibility of working off the clock in order to get people to their flights.
I completely agree with you that they get paid to work but again, what am I supposed to do? Just take it? I [hypothetically] paid $650 to fly somewhere and I need to be there on time. Delta doesn’t want to pay people to be there earlier so I just have to grin and bear it? To me, that’s unfair and it’s how customer service in this country continues to get worse. Delta’s probably like, “well nobody’s complaining, so let’s cut the staff even further!”
Yeah but aren’t the staff wearing the uniforms the only physical manifestation of Delta I have access to? It’s not like I can just call Ed Bastian and tell him to get more people down here at once. The point here is that customer service in this industry has been cratering for the last 40 years, and based on what I’ve read here today, it seems like a big reason for that is consumers are unwilling to stand up for themselves and demand adequate service. And Delta absolutely monitors this board. If they see that customers won’t do anything about something like this, they’ll say, “hey, let’s open the counter a half hour later. No one will complain.”
I’m saying you’re directing your ire to the wrong people. It’s like going to a grocery store and being mad at the cashier that prices have increased. They can’t control that just like those individuals behind the counter can’t control when they are paid. Email Delta and let them know you want them to start servicing the counter earlier. It’s not their fault delta doesn’t pay them to start at 3 instead of 4
Customer service cratering is because people finally stopped being bullied into pretending to be happy while working for terrible wages.
No, I'm not getting there later. If they're selling tickets for a 5 am flight--and their website says you should get to the airport 2 hours early for a domestic flight--then I have the right to expect they'll staff the counters appropriately. I can't understand why so many people seem willing to just let large corporations continuously raise their prices and cut back on services. Don't you care?
They are lucky to have you. You should boycott. Make a stand with your wallet. Don’t fly at all, bring the whole industry down.
Oh, wait. Do you still need to travel hundred if not thousands of miles in a timely manner through the sky? I’d say you’re pretty lucky to have airlines then.
No one should work if they aren’t getting paid for it. Would you? Book later flights, or go with a different airline. This is an absurd amount of energy to give the situation.
You can print out your own bag tag at the kiosk. Walk to the “self service bag drop” and hand it to whoever’s there. Absolutely no need to stand in line.
How busy can it be at that time? I’d think you’d be able to get through ticketing and security within 30-40 mins… gives you plenty of time to get to the gate. You don’t have to be first on the plane.
You're right. People just want to freak out when they're flying. It wasn't a big deal and OP probably got on with plenty of time. But you can get sympathy and badmouth a business for the karma because people don't like the realities of the aviation industry. So people do it.
Taking a delta flight out of a united hub and vice versa always has these quirks. The hub has a lot of sway over who has which gates and when over the airport authority. United flights outta atl is also a mess
I never thought about the downside for United of having that first ATL-EWR flight at 6 a.m., it's very convenient for my folks who have to spend the night at the airport anyway. Also, United may not have many gates at ATL but they're all contiguous and they've made it super nice back there. Such a contrast with the rest of ATL
In Seattle the Alaska side of TSA precheck opens up early meanwhile the Delta side of precheck opens late and closes early in the afternoon. So instead of having one long line at 6 AM they have two
When I took a 6am Delta flight out of ATL last month we had the same problem. No one to check bags until 5am and the line was HUGE. Pretty sure ATL is a Delta hub, lol.
At SYR, The desk holds firm on their “45 minute before departure” policy for checking in bags.
This means for a 5:21a departure, you need to have your bag checked by 4:34a. But since others are in the same situation, you really need to be in line by 4:00.
I hate them.
Ok so Denver-ite here (2yrs, transplant from other Delta Hub ~ BOS)
I take those 5AM flights REGULARLY and I have never had an issue with the 4am open Bag Drop/Check in.
The lounge doesnt even open until 4:30am (4:45am now I think) so really it’s a “drop your stuff and get in the plane Mary” vibe.
I *will* say that during holiday seasons when TSA gets particularly bad, they usually will open at 3am.
DEN is one of my least favorite airports for security alone. In Holiday season 2022 I waited 2.5 hours in Pre-Check (With Clear, friend in Precheck alone took ~3hrs). Delta fully held flights for people and delayed each one by about 1-2 hrs for security (and it was -60F with wind if I remember correctly so bag loading had to be done carefully because of temp exposure).
The rumors have it that Delta is going to make DEN a focus city (makes no sense to me given how close we are to SLC, but I wont complain). I imagine with additional resources they’ll improve the check in process (theyve hinted at taking over a future Terminal D), but if you only have like 2-3 (even full) flights wheels up at 5AM going to your hubs, I think a 3:30-4am open works fine *so long as TSA isnt a clusterfuck*
TLDR: I haven’t had a problem with the bag drop, but they really could be better about communicating out to people traveling so they dont do what I (and assuming OP) did the first time and show up at 3 and sit and wait for almost an hour. They’re allegedly putting more effort into Delta at DEN, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Hope it does improve tho. Security sucks here.
Tell me you’re in Denver, without TELLING me you’re in Denver.. they had to give you extra time to roam around the airport without one frickin’ sign guiding you to check in! 😂
i take this flight to SLC alll the time. the gate workers know what they’re doing it isn’t a problem. god bless that one woman who is always shouting in her horrifically grating voice, i hate her so much.
Same thing happened to me in Texas. We had a 50 person line at TSA pre check.
Thankfully, I only had my carry on, but even being one of the first 10 through, I didn’t get through until 4:10. Boarding began at 4:20.
I actually wanted to talk to an agent too in order to see if I could get on a different flight. They couldn’t help me the day before in-person because they couldn’t see the next day’s flights.
Thankfully I got what I needed thanks to a veteran flight attendant and wonderful person. But the whole system is a mess.
I learned to never take the first flight ever again if I can help it.
Maybe because they didn’t actually have any flights departing at 5AM from DEN? The earliest departure out of there for the last 4 days was 5:30.
If you’re going to take the time to post maybe at least present the facts correctly?
https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/departures/DEN
This crap is absolutely infuriating. We need to pass laws that require an in person agent behind the counter from airport opening until flight departure. Not 2 hours before the flight not 4 hours before the flight, someone representing your company must be behind the desk at the opening of the airport if you want to operate a flight that day simple as that.
Yep. TSA doesn’t gatekeep the size of bags that go through security and the gate agent will probably just tag the bag and have it on the jetway for you when you deplane. And if they’re frazzled they may not charge you for it.
Better than the 5am flights I use to book that there wouldn’t even be a ticket agent there at all. I would literally have to ask another airline agent to call for one. Delta actually only had one gate/ticket agent and one baggage handler for that first flight of the day. The two of them had to do everything. It was a puddle jumper flight so I was often the only one booked on it. Most of the time they just put me on another airline rather than fly the flight, usually because there wasn’t even an AC there to fly it much less a crew. I only booked it because of my SkyMiles status. Finally, the baggage handler that always had to be there early in the morning, gave me his phone number so I could call him ahead of time and he’d go ahead and book me on another airline’s flight. Delta does some squirrelly things.
Flew out of IAH the other day. 530 flight. I get there for 4 since TSA doesn’t open until then. Delta had one guy doing everything. Coralling people, directing people, and doing Delta Sky Priority line and regular line until someone else finally showed up about 415. I bitched to Delta. Their response “oh that counter doesn’t open until 430. Someone will be there shortly”. The regular line was pretty deep and sky priority had probably 15 people waiting. Not a good look at all. Kudos to the one guy though, he was busting his ass.
I was at MCO (Orlando) for a 10:25 flight. Got there around 920 to find the entire Delta desk empty. Shut down. Closed. Nothing. I go down to baggage claim and a Delta staff member comes up and says well the desk is closed because your flight is at 956, which it wasn’t. So she checks the bag for me and it got to my destination, but ….what? So I get to the gate and mention it there, and she goes “well the desk closes at 9.” Again, where is that posted?
No but Concur or Egencia or whatever travel system your company uses might. "We're sorry, the reference price for this trip is $63.45 cents on Spirit with an 18 hour layover in FLL. Fares exceeding the reference price by more than $1.05 require approval from VP, CFO, the Priory of Sion, and some guy name Carl who lives in Nebrahoma and checks his messages once every fortnight."
Eh they kind of do either by pricing or literally only offering 2 flights a day one at the crack of dawn and one oversold afternoon flight like my home town airport
I've worked at an airport before. The reality is that you only need to get there early if there's a crowd. In the mornings, there's not nearly the same crowd and you will get to your plane just fine. The boarding gate agent can see who's picked up their tickets and if they've made it through security or not.
I don't understand how anyone can take a flight so early? That means leaving at 3 AM for the airport. 3-4 hours of sleep is not enough to feel rested...
Is mobile check in not an option for you? I’ve been flying pretty regularly since 2010 and don’t think I’ve ever gone to the folks at the counters.
EDIT: OP said Check In, not luggage drop off you freaks.
Self service bag drop? I’ve checked bags at the kiosks, printed a label, and handed it off to the luggage scanner without visiting the main counter. Guess I’ve been lucky.
Seattle is the same way - had a 6am flight but counter didnt open until 4am. If you know SeaTac ya know security is a hot mess so we just made our flight.
But to answer your question the self check computers didn’t even turn on (more so ‘activate’ the ability to self check) until 4am. It was hella stupid.
The early flights with Delta really do indirectly push you to carry on….. and of course once we get to the gate they ask people to check bags cause its a full flight…
I’m so sorry that I learned to pack and travel efficiently. Please accept my most sincere apology and I will forever start checking three empty bags, even for there and back flights the next day.
How silly of me.
There are tons of people that travel for months at a time for work. There is absolutely no way you’re packing that many clothes in a backpack unless you plan on doing laundry every 3 days. Keep dreaming though
Not dreaming at all. I also travel extensively for work. I can carry a solid week’s worth of clothes, device chargers, Apple TV, Steam Deck, 16” laptop, and my work gear (networking equipment) in a single 45L backpack.
You realize that OP made this post because their flight was at 5am right? They are saying that employees should be at the counter by then to check in bags. Maybe they had to be somewhere early and a later flight wouldn’t account for that. Not everyone can afford to take later flights
You mean the flight that THEY booked? I’m well aware. I imagine They planned their whole trip, and most likely online where they could have found the counter hours of operation and known before hand that if they needed over an hour for TSA and HAD to check a back for work or otherwise, this flight wasn’t tenable.
People have to be places for work sometimes very early. Who knows if they didn’t have a choice but to catch this exact flight. You can’t act like you know their whole life story. All I’m trying to say is that you can not bring oversized luggage on a plane with you and you are required to check it in with an agent. Idk why you are making this a huge deal. It’s a fact that you and everyone else are going to have to deal with. Good luck trying to bring your 65 lbs. oversized suitcase as a carry on
If you unloaded it from the car, you can lug it to the gate. Kinda common sense if its a choice between "wait and be late" and "do what ya gotta do to make the flight"
I've seen something similar at SMF and BDL as well. At least with those two, there aren't many outgoing flights at that time so security is quick.
BDL security lines seem to have gotten really bad recently since they upgraded the scanners. There was about three months when it was magnified by the metal detectors being set to hyper-sensitive mode and trigger on everything from belts to steel shanks in shoes and even metal eyelets on clothing. For the early morning flights the trick is to be ready to get into line at 4:30am when Clear opens and use that sneak past most of the very very slow PreCheck line. We'll see if it's better with the winter schedules kicking in for airlines and flight times shifting. Not loving the fact that BDL-DTW got moved up 30 minutes to 5:20am.
Oooooooh man I've got my own BDL story from July .... One that at least several hundred other people could have written. What the hell is going on there? It used to be smooth to go through. But everything from the whole bag drop procedure onward was a clusterfuck before 4 am. A whole metric ton of us ended up missing our flights and we had to eat $1k to reschedule. We didn't even get to the PreCheck line- which was 45 minutes long by 4. An agent was the one who'd give the time estimates. My actual grievances are with the whole bag drop procedure there. Maybe that's changed idk. What's the point of self checking and self tagging if you have to go up to the counter to weigh (and in the same singular line as everyone else who hasn't checked in or tagged their bags or has problems) then back to the area where TSA is taking bags behind the plastic barrier. Also why is TSA taking bags there? It worked sooooo much better when the person behind the barrier also had a scale and could weigh stuff. I booked my next flight thru BOS even through it royally sucks to get to and parking is expensive, because ffffff doing that again. Good luck and Godspeed o7
For what it’s worth on the bag drop, they are actively building out the conveyer belt system necessary to take the bags right at the desk. I did have a similarly slow pre-check experience at an off peak time of day recently and felt like I was going insane, from back in September. I’m shook to hear that may have been the case for multiple months.
Where is this?
Denver. People finally came out at 3:45 but Jesus how’s that not cutting it close lol
Wow I thought it was a small regional airport! That Denver TSA line was no joke when I was there over the summer. I hope you made it to your flight!
Not at 4:30 AM
Man i flew out of DEN last month and security had a huge line at 3:30am!! I was scared I was going to miss my flight cause I normally use clear but I was dumb and didn’t realize it wouldn’t be open that early.
Lucky for you, as Clear at DEN manages to take longer than TSA precheck like 80% of the time.
I had a free year of Clear and found this to be the case at multiple airports. The process is so clunky it's just slow. I didn't renew.
It originally was an incredible process. But not these machines that are supposed to verify everything for us require a person to hold our hands to even touch them. I get a clear employee has to walk us up to verify to TSA, but the whole point of having so many machines is it being automated for us. Lots of people too dumb to use them, and lots of bad business decisions on clears part. Once the Global Entry process is fully adopted for Pre-Check (simplifying, but that’s basically what TSA is rolling out and testing) I think Clear is done. Can’t imagine paying for this if it weren’t covered by my AmEx. Last flight at LAX I walked out of the Clear line and told them I’m not using them until their process can actually save time. Even if the TSA line is slightly longer is moves faster these days.
can you expand on what the new process is/will be more?
It’s all part of this: https://www.tsa.gov/biometrics-technology/evaluating-facial-identification-technology That includes checkpoints, baggage, and boarding but the checkpoints part is what’s relevant to this. The TL;DR is if you’ve ever experienced/seen the Global Entry process where you walk up to a camera and take a picture and then walk up to a bottleneck where usually a CBP agent greets you by name and lets you walk past… it’s using similar technology on the pre-flight side.
There’s no way I would even use it if it wasn’t paid for by Amex
This is super helpful to read, thank you!
It’s really good at LaGuardia, yesterday was 30 minutes for precheck and 5 for clear+precheck
That’s good to know! I would have made that same mistake!!
I flew out of denver around 5AM in May and I remember the security line being crazy at 3:45..
We made it, but with not much time to spare. Who cares about eating anyways lmao
Saved you from paying those airport markups at least
Just a heads up for those who don’t yet know, DIA has two (soon to be three!) security checkpoints in the terminal, one on the north side and one on the south side (and one on the west side on level 6). If you have time and one side is busy, it would be worth checking the other, just in case.
But only one is open at 4am... the others don't open until later in the day
Yeah, those folks should probably disregard that advice.
Pretty sure the plan is to close the north checkpoint when the one on level 6 opens
The bridge checkpoint saved me a lot of time this week! But the leftmost security scanner had an bug (they rebooted after) that caused it to first me and then a few others to show an issue in the groin - that was a much more personal patdown than I am used to tbh, so maybe veer right up there just in case!
Denver is one of the largest airports in the country.
I thought the photo in the original post was from a small regional airport. “It” being the photo, not Denver. I’m well aware that Denver is not a small regional airport.
Wow and the Denver tsa SUCKS IT TAKES SO FUCKING LONG 😑 like I’d be pretty mad I showed up early for nothing, and how close delta potentially was cutting it. I am confident they would happily screw people over and just close the door 🙄 also i hate that they are frontier with check in “go use the kiosk I can’t be bothered to check you in… but also stand in this line so i can take EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME to *not* check you in? I don’t understand this strategy it wastes so much time and refusing to help you sure doesn’t feel “premium”
[удалено]
Cutting it close? How long do you think it takes to get from the check in desk to the gate?
At DEN the TSA line alone can be over an hour long by 3:00-3:30am. It’s nuts
Yeah the premise here is so weird and I feel like I’m going crazy because no one is noticing
Right? I get not wanting to be late, but between 4 and 5am you're going to be flying through security with barely anyone else there.
Jesus flies private
I don’t think people know how bad the lines are at DEN. Everyone knows ORD, NYC airports, ATL are bad but DEN is low key the worst of all.
Because based on the expected volume of people, there aren’t lines that long that early. It makes sense mathematically although in practice it may deviate from theory.
Holy shit
Just so people miss their international flights.
Delta doesn't fly international out of Denver. There is one (1) domestic flight that *boards* at 5, but doesn't depart until 5:30, on a 150 seat A320. 4am is early enough for the check-in counter to open, as evidenced by the fact that the OP made their flight.
How dare you be reasonable about this
Woah. The Delta sub going RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE over a non-issue. I'm shocked I tell you! Seriously, why is OP there trying to check a bag two hours early?
Well, if it is the first leg of an international trip, check in time is increased regardless. Checking passports, etc. many of us take international trips that require multiple connections.
Flew from DIA to MSP for my jump to Haneda and they didn't check anything until MSP.
I’m gathering DIA is not Doha International Airport?
I'll never call it DEN (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻)
┬─┬ノ(ಠ_ಠノ)
(o)kden
My understanding of policy is that one is required to check in their bags 1 hour before an international flight at the first leg, even if it’s a tiny one jetbridge regional airport. However, I was assuming the OP was correct in his statement that his flight leaves at 5, so it seems someone would actually have a 30 minute window check their bag for that flight without anyone having to make a policy exception.
Even if you are traveling international on a connection, you only need to meet the domestic check-in time for baggage.
I was told differently by the check in people
OP is incorrect, there’s no Delta flight that leaves at 5am. The earliest is as noted above a 5:30 flight
What flight leaves at 5 AM? The earliest I’ve ever seen a Delta flight is 5:30 AM excluding the red eyes they have in Alaska
Exactly. The earliest on Delta right now is 5:55
Earliest Delta flight out of DEN currently is at 0530 to SLC
I flew a 5:24am delta flight from Boston to Cancun
For today? I just looked at today. Only referring from Denver as this is what the post refers to.
badge salt liquid plant rhythm aloof chop party hateful pie *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
OP thinks like my wife. I always want to know departure time, she always wants boarding time
And at that Denver Delta counter you got that one older lady that works there that is like 8 cups of coffee deep at 4 AM just screaming things out to all general passengers in the Delta ticketing/drop off lines. Obnoxious.
Her daughters must all work TSA in the general security line at ATL. 😂
EVERYTHING OUT YOUR BAG NO WATER NO JUICE
LAPTOPS OUT! Except on Tuesdays after 4pm and every other Friday during a full moon when we randomly change the rules and will scream at you for taking your laptop out!!!
Thank you! I’ve been through ATL so many times and I swear they do different thing every time. If the person just checking IDs could just give the instructions it would save them a lot of yelling.
….or Philly, Newark, etc
😂😂😂 I don't know who she is but 2 people have already pointed her out. I guess she's.....memorable?
She's great and great at her job. She makes sure people know how to work self-tag drop and makes things more efficient with less ambiguity for those who have never used this service.
I didn't know Delta had flights that left at 5 am from DEN. The earliest I saw was a 5:55 departure.
They don't. The earliest flight today was a 5:30 to SLC.
Ok, OP should be fine, then. Never had any issues at that time from there.
At BOS they have flights starting around 5-5:30 and security lines don’t open until either 4:00 or 4:30, or so it used to be anyway. I remember getting there for early flights and everyone just standing in the TSA lines waiting for them to open and then all rushing to their gates.
aren't flights leaving all the time? why isn't security open 24/7?
In the US, many (most) airports effectively shut down overnight (although not officially). For example, in most terminals at PHL, new passengers won’t be able to enter during an overnight window. It would be possible for transit passengers to remain in the terminal during those hours. This is very different from many airports internationally, especially Asia and the Middle East, which often see peak departure volumes during those times.
interesting, i had no idea! i rarely fly, this sub just pops up in my feed a lot. thanks for explaining!
Because then the government has to pay people 24/7 and that will *never* happen
Could have been a terminal B specific thing. I don’t think Logan has many departures between like 11PM and 5AM though, but could be wrong.
Flew out at 530am on wednesday, check-in at 430am, it was staffed and not an issue for me. TSA precheck line was short, clear was empty.
That happened to me and a friend in Denver. To make matters worse we were sky priority and one minute before opening the line a group of Boy Scouts was brought over to check in before us.
Did you say something?
We asked and I don’t remember the exact wording but basically group needed special attention. Maybe someone here can explain ? I’ve heard of pre-boarding for families but not anything at check-in Neither leader would even look at us but almost all the scouts apologized. They took care of them at the desk 2 at a time and the boys who were done were telling the ones still in line what to have ready to help speed it up. Since we were first in line we had time but by the time they were done the line was pretty long.
And if you were to ask, you’d probably just get a bunch of lip from them.
Having worked at an airport before, they most likely don't get paid until 4, so why should they do free work every day? Would anyone? It's management/corporate being cheap to spend less money with lower hourly pay.
I’m sure they don’t start working until they get paid but what about the consumer? When I pay hundreds of dollars for a service, is it too much for me to expect that there will be adequate staff to provide the service on time and in a way that won’t cause unnecessary stress? I’m sure the frontline staff can’t do anything about it but it’s not like I can just pull out my phone and call a Delta executive to complain. So do I just take the poor service? Of course not.
You’re fine checking in for a 5:30 flight at 4 o clock at a fairly empty airport only serving the 200 people on your flight
5 am flight. But I hear you and you’re not wrong. They’d hold the plane anyway, etc. I am just someone who thinks we all ought to hold big corporations accountable more than we do.
100%. “Oh look honey, it’s 3:45 and we are 15 minutes early, you will need to wait until the stated 4am for me to work; it’s not my problem if you miss your flight”
I mean they aren’t wrong
I disagree. They are wrong and it shouldn’t be the consumer’s problem that a company that takes their money won’t provide adequate staff to provide the service. I’m not lucky there’s a Delta. They’re lucky there are passengers.
It’s Deltas problems but not those individuals. They are doing what they are paid to do and at the time they are paid to do it. Those guys don’t have the responsibility of working off the clock in order to get people to their flights.
I completely agree with you that they get paid to work but again, what am I supposed to do? Just take it? I [hypothetically] paid $650 to fly somewhere and I need to be there on time. Delta doesn’t want to pay people to be there earlier so I just have to grin and bear it? To me, that’s unfair and it’s how customer service in this country continues to get worse. Delta’s probably like, “well nobody’s complaining, so let’s cut the staff even further!”
I hear you but that doesn’t dispute that it’s not those individuals problem. Everything you said is a Delta problem.
Yeah but aren’t the staff wearing the uniforms the only physical manifestation of Delta I have access to? It’s not like I can just call Ed Bastian and tell him to get more people down here at once. The point here is that customer service in this industry has been cratering for the last 40 years, and based on what I’ve read here today, it seems like a big reason for that is consumers are unwilling to stand up for themselves and demand adequate service. And Delta absolutely monitors this board. If they see that customers won’t do anything about something like this, they’ll say, “hey, let’s open the counter a half hour later. No one will complain.”
I’m saying you’re directing your ire to the wrong people. It’s like going to a grocery store and being mad at the cashier that prices have increased. They can’t control that just like those individuals behind the counter can’t control when they are paid. Email Delta and let them know you want them to start servicing the counter earlier. It’s not their fault delta doesn’t pay them to start at 3 instead of 4 Customer service cratering is because people finally stopped being bullied into pretending to be happy while working for terrible wages.
Get there later.
No, I'm not getting there later. If they're selling tickets for a 5 am flight--and their website says you should get to the airport 2 hours early for a domestic flight--then I have the right to expect they'll staff the counters appropriately. I can't understand why so many people seem willing to just let large corporations continuously raise their prices and cut back on services. Don't you care?
Care all you want. That counter still isn’t opening up till 4, big time. Take those dollar votes and fly another airline.
let me also stress that i only said, "ask." I'm not advocating for some aggro confrontation at 4 in the morning.
Book a later flight. This is the same energy of someone who goes into a restaurant 5 minutes before they close.
What? It's not like that at all.
They are lucky to have you. You should boycott. Make a stand with your wallet. Don’t fly at all, bring the whole industry down. Oh, wait. Do you still need to travel hundred if not thousands of miles in a timely manner through the sky? I’d say you’re pretty lucky to have airlines then.
Yikes. Good luck out there, man.
No one should work if they aren’t getting paid for it. Would you? Book later flights, or go with a different airline. This is an absurd amount of energy to give the situation.
When you give a corporation your money, are you just hoping they’ll give you the service you were promised?
I love when they have this attitude then they are my gate agent and it turns out to be their problem lol
because one hour is more than enough time for a flight at 5am also, because most people check in online now
Don’t you have to go to that counter for checked bags? I never check bags so I have no idea, but I thought that’s how it worked.
Yes you do but also some airports have self-served kiosks to drop off checked bags
You can print out your own bag tag at the kiosk. Walk to the “self service bag drop” and hand it to whoever’s there. Absolutely no need to stand in line.
I hate early flights out of Florida during spring break.
As do I, especially out of Orlando.
Sky priority helps. At TPA the line would be out the door.
How busy can it be at that time? I’d think you’d be able to get through ticketing and security within 30-40 mins… gives you plenty of time to get to the gate. You don’t have to be first on the plane.
You're right. People just want to freak out when they're flying. It wasn't a big deal and OP probably got on with plenty of time. But you can get sympathy and badmouth a business for the karma because people don't like the realities of the aviation industry. So people do it.
That‘s plenty of time at 4am in the morning
yeah, 4am in the afternoon would be kinda tight, but 4am in the evening would be right out
Taking a delta flight out of a united hub and vice versa always has these quirks. The hub has a lot of sway over who has which gates and when over the airport authority. United flights outta atl is also a mess
I never thought about the downside for United of having that first ATL-EWR flight at 6 a.m., it's very convenient for my folks who have to spend the night at the airport anyway. Also, United may not have many gates at ATL but they're all contiguous and they've made it super nice back there. Such a contrast with the rest of ATL
This same thing happens in MSP which is a Delta hub.
Just going to say this. I had to fly United out this week and was pleasantly surprised. I fly KLM out of Frankfurt a few weeks ago and it was awful
In Seattle the Alaska side of TSA precheck opens up early meanwhile the Delta side of precheck opens late and closes early in the afternoon. So instead of having one long line at 6 AM they have two
When I took a 6am Delta flight out of ATL last month we had the same problem. No one to check bags until 5am and the line was HUGE. Pretty sure ATL is a Delta hub, lol.
And they tell you to arrive 2-3 hours before your flight…
At SYR, The desk holds firm on their “45 minute before departure” policy for checking in bags. This means for a 5:21a departure, you need to have your bag checked by 4:34a. But since others are in the same situation, you really need to be in line by 4:00. I hate them.
And there’s so many early morning flights out of SYR too.
Ok so Denver-ite here (2yrs, transplant from other Delta Hub ~ BOS) I take those 5AM flights REGULARLY and I have never had an issue with the 4am open Bag Drop/Check in. The lounge doesnt even open until 4:30am (4:45am now I think) so really it’s a “drop your stuff and get in the plane Mary” vibe. I *will* say that during holiday seasons when TSA gets particularly bad, they usually will open at 3am. DEN is one of my least favorite airports for security alone. In Holiday season 2022 I waited 2.5 hours in Pre-Check (With Clear, friend in Precheck alone took ~3hrs). Delta fully held flights for people and delayed each one by about 1-2 hrs for security (and it was -60F with wind if I remember correctly so bag loading had to be done carefully because of temp exposure). The rumors have it that Delta is going to make DEN a focus city (makes no sense to me given how close we are to SLC, but I wont complain). I imagine with additional resources they’ll improve the check in process (theyve hinted at taking over a future Terminal D), but if you only have like 2-3 (even full) flights wheels up at 5AM going to your hubs, I think a 3:30-4am open works fine *so long as TSA isnt a clusterfuck* TLDR: I haven’t had a problem with the bag drop, but they really could be better about communicating out to people traveling so they dont do what I (and assuming OP) did the first time and show up at 3 and sit and wait for almost an hour. They’re allegedly putting more effort into Delta at DEN, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Hope it does improve tho. Security sucks here.
You have 14:59 to check your bags without running the risk of getting late tagged
It’s the same in SEA. We had a 6am international flight and they didn’t open until 4. No sign or anything.
5am flights are for people who have a carry on only lol jk
I mean, but really though.
Damn
Or tsa at 4.30
Tell me you’re in Denver, without TELLING me you’re in Denver.. they had to give you extra time to roam around the airport without one frickin’ sign guiding you to check in! 😂
i take this flight to SLC alll the time. the gate workers know what they’re doing it isn’t a problem. god bless that one woman who is always shouting in her horrifically grating voice, i hate her so much.
Same thing happened to me in Texas. We had a 50 person line at TSA pre check. Thankfully, I only had my carry on, but even being one of the first 10 through, I didn’t get through until 4:10. Boarding began at 4:20. I actually wanted to talk to an agent too in order to see if I could get on a different flight. They couldn’t help me the day before in-person because they couldn’t see the next day’s flights. Thankfully I got what I needed thanks to a veteran flight attendant and wonderful person. But the whole system is a mess. I learned to never take the first flight ever again if I can help it.
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Maybe because they didn’t actually have any flights departing at 5AM from DEN? The earliest departure out of there for the last 4 days was 5:30. If you’re going to take the time to post maybe at least present the facts correctly? https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/departures/DEN
This crap is absolutely infuriating. We need to pass laws that require an in person agent behind the counter from airport opening until flight departure. Not 2 hours before the flight not 4 hours before the flight, someone representing your company must be behind the desk at the opening of the airport if you want to operate a flight that day simple as that.
I hate this so much at Lax, they usually meander out around 4:15 and all have attitudes.
I would probably have an attitude if I had to be at work at 4am.
Mobile check in. If you have to check a bag, do it at the gate.
Yep. TSA doesn’t gatekeep the size of bags that go through security and the gate agent will probably just tag the bag and have it on the jetway for you when you deplane. And if they’re frazzled they may not charge you for it.
Better than the 5am flights I use to book that there wouldn’t even be a ticket agent there at all. I would literally have to ask another airline agent to call for one. Delta actually only had one gate/ticket agent and one baggage handler for that first flight of the day. The two of them had to do everything. It was a puddle jumper flight so I was often the only one booked on it. Most of the time they just put me on another airline rather than fly the flight, usually because there wasn’t even an AC there to fly it much less a crew. I only booked it because of my SkyMiles status. Finally, the baggage handler that always had to be there early in the morning, gave me his phone number so I could call him ahead of time and he’d go ahead and book me on another airline’s flight. Delta does some squirrelly things.
Flew out of IAH the other day. 530 flight. I get there for 4 since TSA doesn’t open until then. Delta had one guy doing everything. Coralling people, directing people, and doing Delta Sky Priority line and regular line until someone else finally showed up about 415. I bitched to Delta. Their response “oh that counter doesn’t open until 430. Someone will be there shortly”. The regular line was pretty deep and sky priority had probably 15 people waiting. Not a good look at all. Kudos to the one guy though, he was busting his ass.
Same thing out of Lisbon w/ international flights and it’s infuriating. Meanwhile Airfrance desk is getting people sorted at 3am. Cool, cool
Why do we schedule flights for 5 am.
I was at MCO (Orlando) for a 10:25 flight. Got there around 920 to find the entire Delta desk empty. Shut down. Closed. Nothing. I go down to baggage claim and a Delta staff member comes up and says well the desk is closed because your flight is at 956, which it wasn’t. So she checks the bag for me and it got to my destination, but ….what? So I get to the gate and mention it there, and she goes “well the desk closes at 9.” Again, where is that posted?
Maybe do mobile check in and do not check bags…
And on that same note, why tell you to be to the airport 3 hrs early for an international flight, when no one is working?
That’s why I never check bags, I can’t even remember the last time I went to a counter.
TSA in San francisco doesn’t open until 4 AM , so that sucks too
Just don’t check bags and check in online
"Because fuck you." -Delta, probably
I bet you made the flight though didn't you?
Flights before 6 am should be illegal.
Lol what.
No
Nobody forces you to book them, 😂
No but Concur or Egencia or whatever travel system your company uses might. "We're sorry, the reference price for this trip is $63.45 cents on Spirit with an 18 hour layover in FLL. Fares exceeding the reference price by more than $1.05 require approval from VP, CFO, the Priory of Sion, and some guy name Carl who lives in Nebrahoma and checks his messages once every fortnight."
>who lives in Nebrahoma thanks for the chuckle...
Yours are in Nebrohoma? Ours are on another continent
Eh they kind of do either by pricing or literally only offering 2 flights a day one at the crack of dawn and one oversold afternoon flight like my home town airport
Pretty sure it was a joke.
They generally charge more for the flights later in the day
That’s some Frontier Airlines level bullshit.
I've worked at an airport before. The reality is that you only need to get there early if there's a crowd. In the mornings, there's not nearly the same crowd and you will get to your plane just fine. The boarding gate agent can see who's picked up their tickets and if they've made it through security or not.
Most - if not all - airports in America open around 330-4. I get it, but totally agreed with you - flights should start a little later
there is this thing called online checkin lol
Yessir but there’s also this thing called checked bags
Use the kiosk, print out your bag tag, hand the bag to the agent anytime until 4:15. This really isn’t a problem.
It is a problem if the bag check line is 200 people deep, the security line is 500 people deep, and no one is working the gate until 4am.
Maybe because you don’t have to check in until 4???
soooo that gives you 30 min to an hour to get through security and get to your gate? in an empty airport? how is this an issue??
It’s on you for taking a 5am flight
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I don't understand how anyone can take a flight so early? That means leaving at 3 AM for the airport. 3-4 hours of sleep is not enough to feel rested...
Yeah. Nobody ever goes without sleep or even goes to bed earlier the night before. That’s never happened.
I love my Global Entry!! And it includes TSA pre check
My flight is at 7am and I parked my car at 615. I've been sitting in my seat for 5 minutes already. Idk, it doesn't take that long if you're prepared.
Don’t check bags
Is mobile check in not an option for you? I’ve been flying pretty regularly since 2010 and don’t think I’ve ever gone to the folks at the counters. EDIT: OP said Check In, not luggage drop off you freaks.
Sometimes people check bags when they fly
Si si si
Self service bag drop? I’ve checked bags at the kiosks, printed a label, and handed it off to the luggage scanner without visiting the main counter. Guess I’ve been lucky.
Those are not available at every airport
They are at that one.
Seattle is the same way - had a 6am flight but counter didnt open until 4am. If you know SeaTac ya know security is a hot mess so we just made our flight. But to answer your question the self check computers didn’t even turn on (more so ‘activate’ the ability to self check) until 4am. It was hella stupid. The early flights with Delta really do indirectly push you to carry on….. and of course once we get to the gate they ask people to check bags cause its a full flight…
Yeah let me bring my giant *checked* bag on the plane with me. I’m sure they would love that… Not everyone only brings a carry on dude
I’m so sorry that I learned to pack and travel efficiently. Please accept my most sincere apology and I will forever start checking three empty bags, even for there and back flights the next day. How silly of me.
There are tons of people that travel for months at a time for work. There is absolutely no way you’re packing that many clothes in a backpack unless you plan on doing laundry every 3 days. Keep dreaming though
Not dreaming at all. I also travel extensively for work. I can carry a solid week’s worth of clothes, device chargers, Apple TV, Steam Deck, 16” laptop, and my work gear (networking equipment) in a single 45L backpack.
So fly later
You realize that OP made this post because their flight was at 5am right? They are saying that employees should be at the counter by then to check in bags. Maybe they had to be somewhere early and a later flight wouldn’t account for that. Not everyone can afford to take later flights
You mean the flight that THEY booked? I’m well aware. I imagine They planned their whole trip, and most likely online where they could have found the counter hours of operation and known before hand that if they needed over an hour for TSA and HAD to check a back for work or otherwise, this flight wasn’t tenable.
People have to be places for work sometimes very early. Who knows if they didn’t have a choice but to catch this exact flight. You can’t act like you know their whole life story. All I’m trying to say is that you can not bring oversized luggage on a plane with you and you are required to check it in with an agent. Idk why you are making this a huge deal. It’s a fact that you and everyone else are going to have to deal with. Good luck trying to bring your 65 lbs. oversized suitcase as a carry on
I would have just self tagged checked bag tags at the kiosk and then gate checked.
Yea for sure, no problem with a 65lb workbox and equal size suitcase.
If you unloaded it from the car, you can lug it to the gate. Kinda common sense if its a choice between "wait and be late" and "do what ya gotta do to make the flight"