Depends on the airline but 3 hours for long haul flights is not at all unusual .
Even though it is excessive compared to shorter distances, you have to keep in mind you are flying on a much larger plane with many more passengers, and often the check-in desk is dealing with several flights at once. The check-in procedure itself can therefore take up to an hour.
It's also worthwhile remembering that long-haul flights are frequently 'overbooked' IE. they take money from more passengers than they can actually fit on the plane, banking on people no-showing. Usually they get it right but occasionally they won't; and if you arrive late, or have not checked online beforehand, you can find yourself not being to get on the flight you've already paid for.
Well, for a start, you can't check-in after the flight has taken off. The airline will tell you how long before departure the gate will close. You can then guestimate how long it will take to find your check-in area, queue up to check-in (behind 300 people traveling on later flights), negotiate security, queue to buy any snacks or drinks or papers, walk half a mile to the gate, or wait for a shuttle train if it's in another building building etc etc, then work back from there.
Or you could just arrive in plenty of time. Maybe, if you're running late, you'll be allowed straight to the front of any queues. Or maybe not.
I'm assuming you're flying from a large UK airport, otherwise things can be a little more relaxed with smaller, compact airports overseas.
BIB - this really pees me off when this happens. Last time we flew from Heathrow, a security alert was going on and it was taking 2 hours to get through security as they were checking everything. Airline staff kept taking people to the front of the queue because they had left it to the last minute.
When we got near the front, another airport woman brought some people up and asked if we minded if they went in front of us so they didn't miss their flight, I chose that moment to have an outburst of tourrettes, and told them that if they had bothered to get up at f'ing stupid o clock like the rest of us, then they wouldn't be in danger of missing their flight. I then refused to let them in front of us, and so did the people behind us, and the people behind them, and so on. After an awful lot of humiliattion, the late peeps joined way back down the queue and hopefully missed their flight.
I arrive very early, regardless of the airline, airport or destination. I flew from Dubai a few years ago and got there at midnight for a 4:30am flight and the airport was still packed. Same as Seattle. I had done everything I wanted to in the city, had a flight at 10m, but got there at 6 to have dinner and relax a bit before my flight.
I'll never understand those who leave it to the last possible minute to come to the airport, some people even plan to get there as close as possible to check in closure time, leaving no flexibility whatsoever in their plans. I always leave double the amount of time I need to get to the airport 2 hours before my flight. If it says I need 30 minutes on the train, I'll give myself 60, if it says it's an hours drive I'll leave 4 hours before my flight etc. Even when a friend or a taxi is taking me to the airport I always say my flight is 1 hour earlier than it actually is so that even if they are late, I still have a bit of a safety net.
For most airlines check in closes strictly 1 hour before the long haul flights, but it is also not unknown for them to have a cut off of 90 minutes too, but that's rare in the UK. You have to also consider that a lot of airports now adopt a security compliance time too. They won't let you pass through security less than a certain time before departure to ensure they aren't delayed by late running passengers.
When you fly frequently you get used to how long you need and the likelihood of delays. It then becomes tempting to leave it till the last minute rather than wasting time waiting around the airport lounge, especially if it means getting an extra hour's sleep at the start of a long day. 95% of the time you can get to an airport an hour before the flight and make it fine. You just have to judge whether the 5% risk of missing the flight is worth it; for a regular business trip or short European flight it probably is, for an expensive flight or if you have connections depending on it then it's probably not.
Comments
Even though it is excessive compared to shorter distances, you have to keep in mind you are flying on a much larger plane with many more passengers, and often the check-in desk is dealing with several flights at once. The check-in procedure itself can therefore take up to an hour.
It's also worthwhile remembering that long-haul flights are frequently 'overbooked' IE. they take money from more passengers than they can actually fit on the plane, banking on people no-showing. Usually they get it right but occasionally they won't; and if you arrive late, or have not checked online beforehand, you can find yourself not being to get on the flight you've already paid for.
BIB - this really pees me off when this happens. Last time we flew from Heathrow, a security alert was going on and it was taking 2 hours to get through security as they were checking everything. Airline staff kept taking people to the front of the queue because they had left it to the last minute.
When we got near the front, another airport woman brought some people up and asked if we minded if they went in front of us so they didn't miss their flight, I chose that moment to have an outburst of tourrettes, and told them that if they had bothered to get up at f'ing stupid o clock like the rest of us, then they wouldn't be in danger of missing their flight. I then refused to let them in front of us, and so did the people behind us, and the people behind them, and so on. After an awful lot of humiliattion, the late peeps joined way back down the queue and hopefully missed their flight.
When you fly frequently you get used to how long you need and the likelihood of delays. It then becomes tempting to leave it till the last minute rather than wasting time waiting around the airport lounge, especially if it means getting an extra hour's sleep at the start of a long day. 95% of the time you can get to an airport an hour before the flight and make it fine. You just have to judge whether the 5% risk of missing the flight is worth it; for a regular business trip or short European flight it probably is, for an expensive flight or if you have connections depending on it then it's probably not.