Originally published by Fairfax Media
A new service from Emirates plans to alleviate the hassle of check-in at the airport, even if you're flying economy.
The service, called Home Check-in, allows passengers to check in from the comfort of their own loungeroom, office or hotel, or wherever they might be staying, between 48 and seven hours before their flight.
Passengers can book the service from Emirates' website up to 12 hours before they fly.
Emirates will then send an agent to their address, who will undertake the security check, weigh and tag bags, check passengers in and issue them with their boarding passes.
Best of all, they'll then escort their bags to the airport, which are individually sealed and then stored in a separate hold in a van.
Passengers will be able to make their own way to the airport, bypassing the check-in counter as they make their way to immigration.
So, what's the catch? The service doesn't come for free, and passengers will be charged AED350 a trip for up to seven pieces of luggage.
Passengers will also have to be residing in or travelling from Dubai, as the service does not yet operate in other countries.
The airline has been running trials of the service since October last year to ensure customer experience and security checks are up to scratch.
Home Check-in complements other luggage services already in place, such as the one for passengers arriving in Dubai, whereby luggage is retrieved, cleared at customs and delivered to the address of their choice.
The new service will be available to passengers across all classes on Emirates flights.
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