Airline information
Check-in, baggage, seats and schedule changes are handled by the airline, not by us. Here is what each one controls and how to reach them.
Who to contact for what
The airline handles check-in, seat selection, extra baggage, meals, and anything on the day of travel. We handle your fare, your ticket, changes, cancellations, refunds and invoices. If you are not sure, call us and we will point you at the right one rather than send you round in a circle.
Online check-in
Opens 24–48 hours before departure on most airlines. You need your airline reference and surname. Print the boarding pass or save it to your phone.
Worth doing every time: several airlines now charge for check-in at the airport, and with no hold baggage you can go straight to the gate.
Baggage
Hand and hold allowances vary by airline, by route and increasingly by fare type. Low-cost fares usually include no hold bag at all, and some scheduled airlines now sell hand-baggage-only fares on the same aircraft.
Adding a bag in advance is always cheaper than at the desk — sometimes by a factor of three.
Managing your booking
Seats, meals, assistance requests and frequent flyer numbers are added on the airline's own site using your airline reference. Changes to dates, names or the ticket itself come back to us.
Schedule changes
Airlines move flights, sometimes months ahead and sometimes by hours. They notify whoever holds the contact details on the booking, so make sure we have a number you actually answer.
A significant change can entitle you to a free re-route or a refund — talk to us before accepting it.
Airlines we book
The carriers we hold fares on most often. Go to the airline for check-in, baggage and seats.
Emirates Airways
EK · check in
British Airways
BA · check in
Turkish Airlines
TK · check in
Qatar Airways
QR · check in
Air India
AI · check in
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KL · check in
Virgin Atlantic
VS · check in
Etihad Airways
EY · check in
Air France
AF · check in
Lufthansa
LH · check in
Delta Airlines
DL · check in
American Airlines
AA · check in
Swiss Airlines
LX · check in
United Airlines
UA · check in
Cathay Pacific
CX · check in
OMAN AIR
WY · check in
Kenya Airways
KQ · check in
Singapore Airlines
SQ · check in
IndiGo Airlines
6E · check in
Brussels Airlines
SN · check in
Ethiopian Airlines
ET · check in
Finnair
AY
Royal Air Maroc
AT · check in
EgyptAir
MS · check in
Gulf Air
GF
Air Alps Aviation
A6
TAP Air Portugal
TP · check in
Thai Airways
TG
China Southern Airlines
CZ
Iberia Airlines
IB
Saudi Air
SV
Kuwait Airways
KU
Not listed? Go to the airline's own website — or call us and we will find it for you.
Travel documents
You must travel with a valid passport or ID and every document your destination requires, including visas and any transit visa for a country you only change planes in. Airlines check this at the gate and can refuse boarding — it is not something we can override.
The IATA Travel Centre lists entry requirements by nationality and destination, and we would also contact the embassy or consulate of the country you are visiting for their most recent requirements. See our visa requirements page.
Conditions of carriage
Every airline has its own conditions of carriage covering baggage, delays, denied boarding, and what happens when things go wrong. They are the contract between you and the carrier once your ticket is issued, and they differ meaningfully between airlines. Check your airline's before you fly — particularly on a fare chosen for price alone.
How airlines use your data
Your personal data is processed in accordance with the carrier's own privacy policy, and where the booking is made through a global distribution system (GDS), with that provider's policy too. Both are available at iatatravelcenter.com/privacy or directly from the carrier. They set out how your data is collected, stored, used, disclosed and transferred — including to border authorities, which is a legal requirement on most international routes.
How we handle your data is a separate matter and is covered in our privacy policy.
Not sure which airline to call?
Tell us your booking reference and we will tell you who owns the problem.