airline offers both the qr code and the boarding pass as a pdf (but I don’t have a printer at home). I screenshot the qr code (front and backside) and downloaded the boarding pass to my phone. No services from google were used.
I screenshot the qr code three times because Im afraid quality won’t be good enough and I still have to ask: Is the picture quality good enough for the kiosks? Do agents simply check if there is a qr code and the name of the airline and let you board? or do they scan the code?
I’ve been assigned a seat right before the wings in the middle of a 3 seat row. Is this a good seat? Because I’ve heard people prefer frontal seats (rows 1 to 15), because engine noise shouldn’t be as loud and to choose a frontal seat is more expensive than a seat at the back. I’m not really convinced, because if you have a seat at the end of the plane, you are among the first to leave the plane. Being next to the wings means you have to fight other passengers to board and leave the plane. Is really that calmer at the front side?
Have you ever deliberately checked in physically to get a free window seat? A friend of mine did that and he got it.
I think people are far too concerned with airplane seating. Concerning boarding: The plane takes off at exactly the same time, whether you’re the first or the last person entering it. And upon arriving, the people are way quicker leaving. It’s maybe a difference of 3-10 minutes. This might matter if you’re in a hurry or want to be the first person in the customs line. I like to stay relaxed when travelling.
The noises are everywhere. There might be a minor difference and it probably really depends on the airplane model. The slight vibrations, engine noises and air-con noises are audible from front to the back. At least that’s my observation. Most annoying thing I had happen is a crying and vomiting 5-year-old in the row next to me. But I don’t think there is much you can do about that. I’ve sat right over the wings and it’s fine. And I think I’ve read those are better concerning safety, but you don’t need to worry about safety too much.
Even if you lose your boarding pass you’ll most likely be OK. You can contact the aervice desks and ask for a new one as long as you have ID with you.
I’ve even shown up to the gate right before entering the plane and told them straight up “Yeah, I have no idea where my boarding pass went”. Then they just find your name in the list of checked in passangers and do it manually.You’ll be fine.
Which country are you flying from?
Experience in the EU:
- they scan the code
- quality of the pdf should be enough, make sure that brightness is high enough when you scan
- for the seats and check-in, that’s airline dependent
Middle seats are usually “bad seats” as you are stuck between two people
Screenshots are good in my experience but make sure your brightness is fully maxed so they can scan it.
When screenshotting the qr, zoom in so it almost fills the screen. I have never had an issue with one scanning.
For most airlines and airports a qr code on a phone is fine. I’ve not seen one require paper tickets in years.
Seat wise. Middle seats are the worst option. A window seat gets you a little more space, with only 1 person beside you. An aisle seat gives you the option to stretch your legs, or get stuff from your bag, without disturbing anyone. The middle seat has you stuck in the middle, fighting for space on both armrests.
Location wise. I actually prefer being in the middle. The plane pivots on the wings. This motion gets more pronounced as you move forwards or backwards from the centre. This is at the cost of being one of the last off the plane.
It’s likely a bit late now, but I would definitely suggest getting some noise cancelling headphones. They are a godsend on a longer flight. They both reduce background noise, and let you both listen to music, audiobooks or podcasts on your phone, or plug them into the entertainment centre on longer flights. The provided headphones aren’t the most comfortable.
QR on your phone is fine, but yes they do scan it. When they do, set your phone brightness to maximum.
I only care about front rows if I need to make a tight connecting flight, or if I fly to a country where I need to go through customs and it’s a typical tourist flight, say to Thailand where every person leaving the flight before me means +3 min longer waiting in the queue.
Middle seats are my least favorite. Can’t properly lean onto either side without feeling like you’re creeping up on someone. I usually book aisle seats so I don’t need to climb over someone on the way to the bathroom, but that’s less of an issue on shorter flights. Window seats are better if you’re planning to sleep.
Not quite sure what you mean though with physically check in to get a window seat. Whether I select it online or through the website generally makes no difference.
Qr codes are usually very error tolerant by design. On the super tolerant ones they can work with like 30% of the code missing.
