In article <3fa86076.53430457@news.supernews.com>, WaShizzle@aol.com says...
>
>On 4 Nov 2003 15:33:25 -0800, tchiowa2@hotmail.com (Tchiowa) wrote:
>
>>That's plenty of time. Check in at Don Muang isn't as bad as some
>>other airports. I arrive about 90 minutes before a flight (just in
>>case) and usually spend only 10-15 minutes on check in, if that.
>
>
>I hope that is not for an international flight , as checking in at
>least 2 hours prior to takeoff is standard and required on most
>flights.
>
>

*******5555555 Not if you are the "great Tchiowa".

On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 12:36:08 +0800, Chris Blunt
<chris_blunt@despammed.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 02:44:10 GMT, WaShizzle@aol.com (Wah Shizzle)
>wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 02:49:46 GMT, mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz) wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Required in what sense? The only time I was 2 hours early for a flight I
>>>fell asleep in the airport and missed it.
>>
>>Required for something nowadays called International Security , or did
>>you sleep through the last 3 years also.
>
>Which takes all of 10 minutes to complete.
>

Try doing it at JFK in NYC in 10 min.

mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz) wrote in message news:<%94qb.2158$7V1.1152@nwrddc01.gnilink.net>...
> The Man <tony@ticketyboo.me.uk> wrote:
> > mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz) wrote:
> >> Likewise, the state police request that you not drive 57 in a 55 mile per
> >> hour zone.
> >
> > Ahh so you must be one of the morons who check in 10 mins before
> > departure and make the plane late for everyone
>
> Maybe twice in the past few years I've been the last person on the plane,
> and they weren't international flights (just Southwest 1-hour hops).
>
> Fact is there's just a whole lot of sitting around in the departure lounge
> to look forward to if you get there that early.
[snip]

It's actually been getting quicker for me internationally that pre 9-11.
I used to budget 2- 3 hours before international flights out of major
airports. On more than one occasion, I've used it all. Nominally,
these days, getting there 2 hours is an assurance that you'll get
through in about 20 minutes. The hard part is having the kahoonahs to
do something like Miguel is talking about. There is this weird sorta
curve you experience. As the flight approaches, the time it takes
gets longer, more folks are arriving and checking in. Then, at some
point, folks stop arriving and it actually takes LESS time.

Now it is very airport and time of day dependent. For example,
on some airlines, like Virgin out of MCO for example, they only
have a couple of flights a day. However, BA out of Gatwick may
have a boat load. So you can find yourself in line with a bunch
of folks whose flights leave after yours.

One of the bigger risks you actually run is with checked luggage.
They need a finite amount of time to get your luggage through and
onto the plane. If you aren't on it, they have to take your luggage
off, but under some circumstances, if you're on it, but your luggagge
isn't, they can still leave. So arriving late might get you on
the plane, but your luggage won't. Miguel travels almost exclusively
with carry on so this isn't an issue for him.

Domestically I had an odd experience. I went up to get through
security, and we practically walked straight through. We were there
3 hours early (went to the airport with folks leaving earlier). I
got stopped at security because I had forgotten to remove my pocket
knife. I had to go back and mail it to myself. When I returned about
10 minutes later, there was a HUGE line at security. Half hour
later, you could walk straight through again.

Airports experience surges, the smaller, the bigger the impact
of the surges. If you are familar with the airport, and their surges,
you can easily show up with in the hour of your departure and
still get on your plane. In some cases, even when your wrong,
the airline will tend to work with you to get you on (unless they
are heavily overbooked, then you may have effectively just "volunteered"
to be bumped).