Manchester airport/flybe
On Sunday July 1st I was booked on a flybe flight from man to cdg. Went to the airport 2 hours before the flight as recommended.. As I got to the check in counters, I noticed that the queues were extremely long for the AF flights yet for flybe there were only a few people. Once it was my turn at the flybe counter, the lady looked at my e ticket and decreed that since the flight is operated by AF then I need to stand in the long AF queue...this is strange even though my contract is with flybe and not AF?
With no alternative solution, I decided to stand in the long AF queue. Then I noticed the self check in machines.. So I left my place in the queue and proceeded to the machine.. Followed all the instructions, then the machine confirmed that I was checked in and that my boarding pass is being printed.. 10 mins later it was still telling me that it being printed... I called an AF lady and explained to her what happened.. She said don't worry, you are now checked in...and the boarding pass I asked? She said, just stand in the queue and the guys at the counter will issue it....
When I told her that this defeats the objective of using the machine and after arguing for a further 10 mins or so, she took me to a counter and got the boarding pass issued...
My questions are:
1. Was the person at the flyby counter correct in refusing to check me in?
2. What is the purpose of the self check in machines when they are not maintained and more importantly have paper in them?
3. Why are the queues so long for check in when it was only for a couple of AF A320 s?