24hr check in and seat reservation without verifly

[Washborne]

Sorry this is a really trivial question compared to many that are posted and I suspect it will be a 2 post thread.

About to fly for the first time since covid. I’m aware that I can’t check in online without verifly being complete and Will more than likely complete that, but as I’m flying to the US I’m aware there have been issues.

Once the usual 24hr window has opened for those of us without any status (I don’t count blue as a status level) am I still able to at least pick and reserve a seat if I can’t complete check in online. Having never had the issue where online check in can’t be completed it’s something I am unsure about whether any seat selection would be cancelled if check in doesn’t complete.

While I am doing pretty much all I can to avoid any chance of a positive test beforehand I don’t particularly want to pay for a seat (I prefer the aisle seat) and then find I can’t fly and lose that money and with the test only being a few hours before check in opens don’t really feel like giving BA any extra money if I can avoid it.

As an aside, does anyone know how busy the BA LHR to PHX is at the moment.

Thanks.

[yonasl]

Don’t know exactly about being able to book the seat once the 24hrs window has open as you need to initiate your check-in for that which requires to have completed verifly.

You do a lateral flow test the day before your flight departs (everywhere it says 24 hrs but it is simply the day before).

Get a home test you do with a webcam and complete as much as you can in verifly (I used DocHQ with the BA code last time I went). As soon as you receive the pdf with your results upload them and it shouldn’t take long to allow you to do the checkin.

[ChrisC]

@yonasl

You don’t have to do the test the day before but that’s that’s the earliest you can do it.

You can do it the day of your flight if you want.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 12 months ago by .

[Mick S]

I’ve not been able to check-in online for my last two trips to the US (Feb and Apr). Even after verifly is complete, and I’m actually en-route to the airport it still wont allow the check-in – some error on the lines on “check in unavailable at this time”.

I don’t know whether this is to do with having a connecting flight from MAN – LHR, or whether it’s the usual IT nonsense from BA.

[Mick S]

I’ve not been able to check-in online for my last two trips to the US (Feb and Apr). Even after verifly is complete, and I’m actually en-route to the airport it still wont allow the check-in – some error on the lines on “check in unavailable at this time”.

I don’t know whether this is to do with having a connecting flight from MAN – LHR, or whether it’s the usual IT bullshit from BA.

[Washborne]

Thanks for confirming that there are the check in issues I thought there were.

Does the need to provide the verifly evidence come before the chance to select a seat.

If it does then obviously if I have the same problem then I won’t be able to sort out my seat until I get to the airport the next day.

If the verifly stuff comes after, does a selected seat remain valid if the verifly evidencing is causing issues.

Thanks

[NorthernLass]

If BA’s system has you recorded as not having completed VeriFly properly (whether you have or not), you won’t get any options to check in online. We had this issue on MAN-LHR-BOS last month. We were staying at MAN the night before so went over to the terminal where they checked us in manually so we didn’t have to queue the next morning. The ground staff said there is a known issue with VeriFly, especially on US routes.

[Washborne]

Thanks for the tip off. I’m at the Thistle the night before and while I’m flying out of T3 and it’s a bit of a faff to do that trip twice, I’ll have time so it may be worth me popping over there that evening.

Did they let you drop your bags as well or was it literally just to check in and you did your bag drop the next day?

[NorthernLass]

We were HBO which worked out well as on the return trip no luggage was loaded onto the LHR-MAN flight! But most people have been able to check in online so you may not have any issues.

[dougzz99]

Seat selection should be available from 24 hours, separately to being able to check-in.

Verifly not perfect, but a common problem seems to be connections. You Verifly the transatlantic only. So a MAN-LHR-JFK for example you enter the Verifly details as if a LHR-JFK flight. Once successful I can believe that doesn’t feed through BA IT to the MAN-LHR sector. BA definitely want the Verifly completed before the first leg of the journey, if that’s how you choose to proceed. If they see the pass they can manually OK you at airport. They can also manually OK from presenting the docs to them. I did this showing them various screens on my phone, which in the basement of CDG was impressively slow and appreciated by those waiting in the queue.

The whole documentation testing thing is quite muddled, and airlines are not familiar with testing day before travel relative to an initial flight on the journey versus the transatlantic flight. On a recent LAX trip starting at CDG having OK’d it all with BA, prior to CDG-LHR connection, AA wanted to repeat that at LHR as the operating carrier.

[toddy]

I completed Verifly but was unable to check in (or select my seat) with BA.

I called up, explaining the situation and the agent was able to reserve our seats. We then completed the check in formalities at the airport.