Philippine Airlines Online Check-In and Boarding Pass

Philippine Airlines online check-in opens 24 hours before departure, for both domestic Philippine flights and most international flights.

The closing time, however, depends on the type of flight:

Once this deadline has passed, your booking can no longer be processed online and you will need to head to the airline counter instead, which means arriving at the airport well ahead of time. Ground reporting deadlines remain strict, so it is best to allow extra margin on long-haul flights, since document checks can take a variable amount of time.

Online check-in is open to passengers holding a confirmed booking and a valid e-ticket, regardless of the purchase channel: PAL ticket offices, call centers, travel agencies, or the airline's website.

Some traveler profiles remain excluded and must go through the counter instead:

• passengers requiring medical assistance or special assistance;
• passengers whose booking has a pending payment or refund;
• unaccompanied minors.

Two scope limits are worth keeping in mind. A single transaction can cover up to 15 passengers, as long as they are all listed under the same booking. Online check-in is also not available for departures from several Chinese cities: Hangzhou, Guiyang, Tianjin, Nanjing, and Wuhan.

A return flight or connecting flight can be checked in at the same time as the outbound leg if both segments are on the same booking and the next departure takes place within 24 hours.

Once check-in is confirmed, the boarding pass is generated from the airline's check-in page by retrieving your booking. You can be identified either by booking reference (airline or agency) and last name, by e-ticket number and last name, or by Mabuhay Miles number and last name.

Your seat can be changed afterward through the seat selection option; in that case, the boarding pass must be reprinted to reflect the new assignment. Be careful if you had paid for a myPAL Seat Select seat (Extra Legroom or Forward Seat): changing seats means the amount already paid is lost, and the new seat is charged separately. A myPAL Seat Select seat chosen without payment is held until settled at the airport check-in counter.

The boarding pass from online check-in is then presented at the Online Check-in Bag Drop counter along with your travel documents.

Checking in online does not exempt you from going through the Online Check-in Bag Drop counter, where document verification takes place. Philippine Airlines requires passengers to present the online check-in boarding pass and valid travel documents or identification at the baggage drop-off counter; passengers who purchased their ticket on the website may be required to present the credit/debit card used online.

Ground deadlines differ depending on the flight and on whether you are checking in luggage:

• domestic flight, with checked baggage: at the bag drop counter no later than 45 minutes before departure;
• domestic flight, without checked baggage: at the boarding gate no later than 15 minutes before departure, except in Caticlan (MPH) where gates close 30 minutes before;
• international flight, with or without baggage: at the bag drop counter no later than 1 hour before departure, except when departing from Quanzhou (Jinjiang), where the limit is 45 minutes;
• special assistance requested: presence at the counter 90 minutes before departure.

The airline reserves the right to deny boarding to passengers who do not reach the bag drop counter or the gate on time. Cabin and checked baggage allowances depend on class, fare, and route: check the details on your booking, as a fee applies to oversized baggage.

Booking not found. Check that the name entered matches exactly the one on the ticket and that you are within the check-in window. A ticket issued through an agency sometimes carries two references: try the e-ticket number as well.

Check-in refused. This is often a sign of a blocked booking (pending payment or refund), a recorded assistance request, or a departure from an airport where the airline does not offer online check-in. The counter then takes over.

Travel documents. Entry requirements (passport validity, visa, local formalities) depend on the destination and are checked before boarding; check with the relevant authorities before you travel.

Changed schedules. If your flight time or flight number changes, the booking must be retrieved again to generate an up-to-date boarding pass.

Other Southeast Asian carriers apply comparable windows, worth comparing with Malaysia Airlines check-in rules, Garuda Indonesia check-in, or Bangkok Airways' procedure. Finally, travelers who prefer not to handle it themselves can turn to iBoardingPass, which checks them in as soon as the airline opens the window and sends the boarding pass by email.