Ad absurdum per aspera wrote:

And don't forget telephone check-in.


I wonder just what "check-in" means. Southwest, which I fly a lot,
allows you to "check in" and print your boarding pass as much as 24
hours in advance, over the Internet.

Which, obviously, is completely divorced from any implication that
you are not stuck in traffic or checking one last e-mail at the hotel
or lingering over coffee with your hosts; you have made it to the
airport and they can take a good guess whether you can get to your
plane on time.

It is interesting when standing by for a flight or upgrade on AA, and
they tell you they can't add you to the list, because "first class has
checked in full"..