Nightmare fuel. Glad ya made it back safe. Ideally you get a proper Iceland experience by design someday. Sounds like the kid was a trooper throughout the process.
Pappasita’s near gate E1. Auto-stop every time if I can swing it. Get the frozen marg with Tajin (if you feel like drinking) and a quesadilla.
Just discovered something really stupid about PHX.
They won’t let you check your luggage outside of 4 hours before your departure. So if you’re like me and sometimes you wrap up your business early and go to the airport to sit in the lounge and do some work while you wait on your flight, I guess you’re just supposed to stand around with your dick in your hand until it’s 4 hours from departure.
The United premier line agent was less than helpful, all she said was “it’s not my rule, it’s an airport rule.”
So fuck it, I took two bags with me through security, maybe I can gate check one. If not I guess I have to go back through security again. But if it had been a bag containing stuff that wouldn’t get through TSA I guess I’d still be sitting by the check in area. Stupid.
I feel like this is fairly standard.
I don’t think so, otherwise I would have been stopped from checking skis/golf clubs or other stuff in the past. It seems pretty capricious to me - airlines are always telling people to plan on arriving early because they expect busy travel season, but the airport says “no not that early.”
Maybe it is and I’ve just never run into it, but I still think it’s stupid.
Here’s a streamlined table with the earliest baggage check-in times for 10 major U.S. airports:
| Airport (Code) | Earliest Baggage Check-In Time | Notes |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Atlanta, GA (ATL) | 4 hours | Standard for Delta and most major airlines |
| Boston, MA (BOS) | 4 hours | Airlines open check-in counters 3–4 hours before departure |
| Chicago O'Hare, IL (ORD) | 4 hours | United, American allow check-in 4 hours prior |
| Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) | 4 hours | American’s main hub; check-in opens 3–4 hours prior |
| Denver, CO (DEN) | 4 hours | Some carriers may open counters closer to 3 hours |
| Los Angeles, CA (LAX) | 4 hours | Major airlines typically allow 3–4 hours before departure |
| Miami, FL (MIA) | 4 hours | International flights may allow earlier check-in |
| New York, NY (JFK) | 4 hours | Especially for international flights |
| Orlando, FL (MCO) | 4 hours | Family and tourist traffic; counters often open early |
| Seattle, WA (SEA) | 4 hours | Alaskan and Delta operate with 3–4 hour early check-in windows |
> **Tip**: While 4 hours is a general rule of thumb for the earliest baggage check-in time, individual airline and airport policies may differ slightly. Always verify with your carrier for the most accurate window.
Ha-rumph!
I only found out about policy that after a Seattle/PNW golf trip. I finished the last round of the trip around 5p, got the airport around 6p with a plan to eat dinner in the lounge. I had to wait until 7p to check my golf bag before the 11p redeye home.
That’s why pre security amenities are also important at an airport.
SFO, while being perfectly fine after security, sucked for anything other than an understaffed coffee shop pre security. At least when I used to travel.
Contrast that to Denver. We have a brewery right next to security. I spend many a trip waiting for my wife’s ™ plane to land there.
Checkmate
If the two of you can survive CLT together you’re destined for a life of love and happiness
WTF is this shit?
“Additional gate screening?”
This is so fucking redundant and pointless. They are checking everyone’s ID and boarding pass.
This is because you complained about the 4 hour check in policy…
The perks of being an employee, I can get the ticket counter to keep my bag in their office if I’m going to explore the city for a few hours but flying out later.
We ran into the same thing in Eugene. With so few flights, some airlines (United, Alaska) don’t even staff the desks until 2 hours before flight time, which sucked for our 4th, who rode with us from Bandon, but was leaving 3 hours after us.
Waiting for Security Theater to end
I just wish they were consistent. Flew to Maui the other day. No issues.
Flew back from Maui and got popped for my 4.6oz shaving cream.
Like any good fascist country, the powers make the rules up as they go
My assumption was that they don’t have a location with enough space for the bags to be in limbo for longer than 4 hours before the flight. Maybe some airports have bigger holding areas.
This has happened to me at both MCO and AUS, and did lead to the delightful experience of going to Chili’s up the escalator at MCO outside of security, a pilgrimage if you will.
It wouldn’t be so bad if all airports had amenities outside security, but PHX has zilch.
Waited on putting in a plus points upgrade request for my partner and I on our red eye from HNL-SFO tonight, banking there would be two available first class seats. It paid off. Sorry to the rest of the CPU list.
Now, it is a 5 hour flight on a 737 Max 9 so it’s not all great but at least it will be comfortable.
Being stuck at PHX leads to liminal rides on the only functional transit Phoenix has, going between the rental car center and the 44th street station.
(PHX is an F- tier airport and nothing can change my mind after living there for 5 years)
