Carpatair boarding pass: how to check in for your flight

On a charter flight, check-in is organised by the tour operator, the chartering company or the agency that sold the seat. Depending on your booking, you may receive an online check-in link, or you may simply be asked to go directly to the airport counter. On a wet lease flight, the aircraft and crew belong to Carpatair but the flight is sold under another airline's code: in that case, it is that airline's check-in procedures and mobile app that apply, and it is with that airline that you should look up your booking.

To know which counter to head to, check the flight code printed on your confirmation: Carpatair's general conditions state that the carrier is the one whose code appears on your boarding pass. This code determines which rules apply to your flight.

In practice, always check your booking or ask the organiser whether online check-in is available. When it is not, allow enough time at the counter, since check-in desk opening hours for a charter flight are set on a case by case basis.

Carpatair's general conditions define a check-in cut-off: the point beyond which all formalities must be completed and the boarding pass issued. This cut-off is set by the carrier and varies depending on the airport, the flight schedule and the organiser; once it has passed, it is not negotiable.

The exact time appears on your travel confirmation or itinerary, and that is the reference to follow. Treat it as a firm deadline rather than a guideline: arriving after this cut-off can result in denied boarding.

For a charter departure from an unfamiliar airport, arriving well ahead of time avoids unpleasant surprises: the check-in desk may only open late, and security checks at busy times can take a while.

The boarding pass is the document that allows you to board; it shows the boarding time and the gate number. It is issued once check-in is complete, along with your checked baggage tag if applicable.

Check-in includes verifying your travel documents and issuing the boarding pass and baggage tag. Your passport, visa or any other document required for your destination must therefore be in order: a missing or expired document can rarely be sorted out at the airport, so check it before you leave.

If you are travelling with a cat or a small dog in the cabin, transport must have been booked in advance with Carpatair, and the animal must travel in a container no larger than H26xL50xW35 cm, with the combined weight of animal and container not exceeding 6 kg. The animal's passport, microchip identification and rabies vaccination are required for travel between European Union member states. Carpatair does not carry animals in the hold.

Going to the counter is also when your bags are weighed and measured. Carpatair's standard rules are as follows:

The checked baggage allowance is one item for an adult, and 15 kg for infants. On a charter flight, your travel agency, group leader or flight organiser will confirm the exact weight and size limits that apply to your departure.

In the cabin, your bag must fit under the seat in front of you or in the overhead bin. If there is no room on board, or for safety reasons, an extra or oversized bag may be turned away at the boarding gate or at the aircraft steps and placed in the hold. Carpatair recommends keeping your documents and valuables with you in the cabin: passport and other forms of identification, visa, health insurance certificates, tickets, electronic devices, cash and bank cards, jewellery, medication. Liquids in the cabin remain subject to European security rules and must be presented at the security check.

You can't find an online check-in link: on a charter flight, check-in is most often done at the airport counter. Check your travel confirmation to identify the organiser and the flight code.

Your booking does not appear on the website of the airline that sold you the ticket: check the flight code, as a flight operated by Carpatair under a wet lease remains managed by the airline whose code appears on the ticket.

You arrived after the counter closed: go straight to ground staff instead of waiting in line, since rebooking depends on remaining seats and your ticket's fare conditions.

A lost or missing boarding pass should be sorted out at the airport counter or with ground handling staff before check-in closes, and with the carrier whose code appears on your ticket.

For any direct question, Carpatair customer service can be reached at +(40) 256 300 900 and at customer.service@carpatair.com; the head office is located at Calea Torontalului nr. 69, Vox Technology Park, Timisoara. The applicable general conditions of carriage are those last published on www.carpatair.com, and they may be changed without notice.

If you would rather have the process handled for you, iBoardingPass can complete online check-in on your behalf as soon as it opens and send you the boarding pass by email. Other regional airlines work on similar principles: see the Air Corsica check-in process or Binter's check-in procedure.