China Eastern Airlines: Online Check-In and Boarding Pass Guide

Online check-in opens 48 hours before departure in cities where the service is offered, according to the city-by-city tables published by the airline.

Closing time, however, depends on the type of flight:

Boarding pass reprinting and check-in cancellation stop at the same deadlines. Boarding gates close several minutes before departure, and even earlier at some airports: arriving at the boarding area well ahead of this limit is the only margin you have. Since airport counters sometimes close earlier than online check-in, verify the exact time shown on your booking and on the departure airport's page.

China Eastern's online check-in can be completed through the airline's official website, the China Eastern Airlines app, the mobile site, or the WeChat and Alipay mini-programs, via the Seat Selection and Check-in section. The app isn't required: the official website serves the same purpose.

What to know before you start:

• Eligible flights are domestic flights operated by China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines departing from certain designated airports (excluding some domestic segments of international flights), as well as select international or regional flights.
• Eligible passengers are adults and children travelling with an adult; infants are excluded.
• Passengers who have requested special assistance or a special meal must check in at the airport counter on the day of the flight.
• A special service request must be made before check-in; if it comes after, online check-in must first be cancelled.
• A ticket already checked in at the counter can no longer be checked in online.

The airline also offers automatic check-in for passengers who have already selected a seat: as soon as check-in opens, the flight can be checked in on your behalf and confirmation sent by text message. This feature remains limited to domestic flights (excluding internal codeshares and domestic segments of international tickets) and to certain international flights actually operated by China Eastern or Shanghai Airlines. China Eastern reserves the right to suspend online check-in in the event of delays or exceptional circumstances.

According to the airline's rules, the valid document for boarding is a boarding pass with a security control stamp; copies or cards without a stamp are not accepted.

The consequence is concrete: at many Chinese airports, after online check-in, you must visit the China Eastern counter to have your pass confirmed or reprinted before security screening. In other cities, the electronic boarding pass or one printed on plain paper is enough to go straight to security. The table of cities offering online check-in specifies, airport by airport, the dedicated counter and reprinting conditions: check the line for your departure airport before you travel.

On an international flight departing from Europe, plan on a counter visit regardless if you have checked baggage or a travel document that needs verification.

China Eastern asks passengers to arrive at the check-in counter at least 60 minutes before departure to check in baggage. On an international flight departing from Europe, queues, passport and visa checks take time: a margin of several hours before departure is reasonable.

On the document side, the airline reminds passengers that passengers are responsible for the validity of their travel documents, visas and name compliance, and must comply with the destination country's regulations regarding entry documents and visas. A misspelled name on the ticket or a missing visa gets sorted out at the counter, not online.

A few baggage rules worth knowing at this stage: items containing alcohol, knives and dangerous tools must travel in checked baggage, while spare lithium batteries are banned from checked baggage and can only be carried in the cabin, individually protected against short circuits, within the power limits set by the airline. Valuables, travel documents and fragile items should not be placed in checked baggage. On flights to the United States, electronic devices larger than a phone (tablet, e-reader, laptop) are subject to explosive trace detection screening at the boarding gate, and won't be allowed on board without it. Finally, gates change often: rely on the airport's information screens once you're there.

When the check-in page rejects your booking, the cause is almost always one of these:

• Your flight falls outside the eligible scope (operated by another airline, codeshare, domestic segment of an international ticket).
• You're travelling with an infant, as an unaccompanied minor, with an emergency exit row seat, or with a special service request: these profiles go through manual check-in at the counter.
• Check-in is already closed for your flight, or it has been suspended due to a delay.
• The ticket has already been processed at the counter.

If online check-in fails, go to the airport counter: the airline explicitly provides for this option, and check-in remains possible there until counter closing time, which is often earlier than you'd expect. Also note that being unable to check in online blocks activation of certain products, such as Platinum card upgrades or advance seat booking.

To cancel a check-in already completed, use the airline's official online channels; once checked in, the number of online cancellations or seat changes is limited, and beyond that you'll need to go through the airport counter or customer service. If you change or refund a ticket, cancel check-in and seat selection first through the channel used to book them.

Rules vary considerably from one airline to another, including among SkyTeam partners: see the procedures for Air France, those of China Airlines, the process at Air Europa, or the check-in at Air China on competing routes. iBoardingPass can also complete online check-in on your behalf, as soon as it opens, and send the boarding pass by email.