899 — Purchasing and Using an E-Ticket

Get your ticket to the nightmare that is an American airport in this episode. Enjoy your flight!
Slow dialog: 1:06
Explanations: 3:23
Fast dialog: 17:04
I thought I would save time by purchasing my airline ticket online and checking in at the airport with my e-ticket. I went onto the McQ Air website and selected my flights. The screen then prompted me to pay with a credit card. After I typed in my payment information, I got a confirmation receipt with my ticket number and my itinerary. I printed out a copy of my e-ticket and I was ready to go – easy!
But when I got to the airport, it was a different story. I went up to a self-serve kiosk and swiped my credit card to bring up my account. The computer said that it couldn’t find my account. I flagged down an employee and she didn’t have any better luck, suggesting I stand in line at the check-in counter.
I got in the long line and 45 minutes later, the employee helped me check in and gave me my boarding pass. When I asked her what the problem was, she said she didn’t know and it was probably just a glitch in their computer system.
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse