# ETicket Airport Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547 "2015-06-26T17:32:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pauly01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Pauly01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pauly01)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/1 "2015-06-26T17:32:58Z")
Have a flight international back to the USA. When coming from USA to outside usa, i always print the eticket since i have access to printer. I booked through orbitz and was told i needed to print eticket. Contacted jetblue and said all i need is the 6 letter confirmation code. So basically as long as i have passport and that 6 letter code, thats all thats needed? I didn’t know this b/c if i did, well i wouldnt print out an eticket each time. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/2 "2015-06-26T17:34:36Z")
If that’s what Jet Blue said then I think you can assume that’s right as far as Jet Blue is concerned. I’m not sure I would generalize it to all airlines though. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/3 "2015-06-26T17:40:18Z")
I’ve flown JetBlue many times. If I’m checking in at the airport, I just present my driver’s license to the agent. They look up my reservation and print out the boarding pass and luggage tags. I don’t actually need to tell them where I’m flying to. If you’ve printed out the boarding pass at home or using the JetBlue kiosk, present that along with the ID. ---
**Author:** ![Pauly01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Pauly01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pauly01)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/4 "2015-06-26T17:45:37Z")
Dewey, you had no issues with this with international flights right? Because i’m flying to the usa. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/5 "2015-06-26T17:49:47Z")
Many hotels have printing services to address just this need. Many airlines also have kiosks where you can check in and print your ticket/boarding pass without going through an agent line. As **dolphinboy** says, it is entirely airline-by-airline. I don’t know of any combined services (except among, of course, partner airlines). I believe some airlines have also gone to allowing smartphone-display tickets and boarding passes, but that’s definitely a check-first thing, especially for international flights. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/6 "2015-06-26T17:51:36Z")
> [@Pauly01](#): > > Dewey, you had no issues with this with international flights right? Because i’m flying to the usa. No, my experience is only on domestic flights. But you were specifically told by the airline that you just needed the six-digit confirmation code. If that’s what they told you, presumably that’s what you need. No one here is going to have better information than the actual airline with which you’re flying. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/7 "2015-06-26T18:02:14Z")
This is totally crazy – JetBlue has a web page where customers can print out boarding passes. What a country! It asks for your confirmation code, the city you are departing from, and your name. Be very careful – it asks for your FIRST and LAST name. In separate boxes. > **[JetBlue | Check-in](https://checkin.jetblue.com/WCI/wci;jsessionid=FBD79B7F1CFE7851C86C682385335967?execution=e1s1)** > > JetBlue Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Pauly01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Pauly01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pauly01)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/8 "2015-06-26T18:08:33Z")
My issue here is i don’t have access to printer. If i do, i could print it easily… Would they accept taking picture of it on my phone etc? I heard this was allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/9 "2015-06-26T18:10:13Z")
> [@Pauly01](#): > > My issue here is i don’t have access to printer. If i do, i could print it easily… Friend? Employer/client? Hotel? Internet cafe? Computer/tech store? “Business services” store like Staples? I’ve found one or the other of these is usually available, sometimes at the airport itself. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/10 "2015-06-26T18:18:50Z")
Perhaps to be more helpful to him: it is now entirely typical for the airlines - **even here in the Africa** - to not ask for anything more than the passport. I travel very frequently and I do not any more bother to print the tickets unless there is the pre-check-in where it is sometimes supposedly requires. As the Mexico is more advanced than certainly the Benin, the Senegal, the Cote d’Ivoire, or the Morocco, you do not need to stress yourself with the not well informed advices of the non-international travelers. I have also flown the Jet Blue to the Haïti from New York and I did not in leaving Port au Prince have to do more than provide the passeport and the number you are told. No stress. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/11 "2015-06-26T18:27:08Z")
> [@Pauly01](#): > > My issue here is i don’t have access to printer. If i do, i could print it easily… > Would they accept taking picture of it on my phone etc? I heard this was allowed. I don’t know what printing an eticket means. What you should be able to do is print your boarding pass at one of their kiosks - that is all the eticket I’ve ever seen, and it is good enough to get through security. However, on domestic flights you don’t have to go to an agent. I suspect that you do for international flights, since they need to check your passport and ensure your destination country won’t kick you back, which I think they are forced to pay for. (Don’t laugh - I know someone from England who let his visa expire, got kicked back after going home for a vacation, and was stuck there for weeks.) So, you should be able to print it there, but since you have to go to the desk anyhow they will be able to print it for you. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/12 "2015-06-26T18:29:27Z")
Wait… did I totally misread the question? Is the question, “Can I get a boarding pass for my flight at an international airport?” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/13 "2015-06-26T18:29:54Z")
Many airlines have kiosks at the airport for you to print your boarding pass. What **Voyager** said. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/14 "2015-06-26T18:43:27Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > As the Mexico is more advanced than certainly the Benin, the Senegal, the Cote d’Ivoire, or the Morocco, you do not need to stress yourself with the not well informed advices of the non-international travelers. Who are you calling “not well-informed”? My advice was to follow the instructions already given to the OP by the airline (i.e., to present his passport and six-digit confirmation code). Perhaps you’re not familiar with **Pauly01** but he has a history of questioning the answers to _every_ question he’s ever posed, even when those answers are authoritative. And the airlines fully well know that some travelers are on vacation and don’t have access to a computer and printer. So their processes, generally, allow for this. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/15 "2015-06-26T18:58:53Z")
Have I cited your name? There are many answers that are presuming he needs to print. And the new responses do not understand his question correctly as he is of course refering to the now out of date habit of having a ticket printed before getting the boarding pass. This is clear. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/16 "2015-06-26T19:03:57Z")
Another thing. If the airlines required you to print it, there would be little point in calling it an [eticket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_ticket). ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/17 "2015-06-26T19:18:55Z")
You are probably fine. It’s definitely standard worldwide to simple present your ID to recieve a boarding pass. That said, in my travels across 27 countries, I have run in a problem exactly once, flying out of the Philippines. They would not let me in to the airport without a printout of my ticket, and I had to go through a pretty long process involving lots of waiting in the airline’s office to get the situation resolved.]qwI have no idea why that happened, but it happened. I can think of a few other countries where you are expected to show some kind of ticket or receipt in order to enter the airport, but this rule is only enforced with people who look local. In sum, you are almost certainly fine, but it’s a good best practice to have a printout on hand if at all possible. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/18 "2015-06-26T19:21:00Z")
I found the same thing when we flew out of New Delhi; we were required to present a paper ticket to get in the airport. But this requirement was made clear to us well in advance. In this case, **Pauly01** has already been told by the airline that he doesn’t need anything printed. He just _has_ to question everything. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/19 "2015-06-26T19:48:35Z")
Be aware that the airline requirements may be different from the country’s immigration control requirements. It’s possible that the US immigration/border checkpoint will want to see a printed itinerary or return ticket to verify when you plan to leave the country. You might be able to get by with the eticket on a smart phone, but I wouldn’t assume it’s okay to just have a number memorized in your head. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547/20 "2015-06-26T20:02:55Z")
He is an american. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eticket-airport-question/723547.md?page=2)