Sky Airline Online Check-In and Boarding Pass

South American low-cost carriers generally open online check-in anywhere from several hours to a few days before departure, and close it shortly before flight time. For SKY, the exact time depends on the flight and is shown on your booking confirmation, which is the reference to trust.

A few safe rules of thumb:

• Assume online check-in closes at the latest one hour before departure, and take care of it the day before rather than on the morning of the flight.
• On international flights (Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia and other destinations in the network), build in extra time: document checks can still require a counter visit even after a successful online check-in.
• At the airport, counters close before departure time, so check the specific cutoff for your flight and airport.

If the airline changes the schedule, the rules shift. SKY treats as an involuntary change a flight brought forward by at least 15 minutes, a delay of at least 30 minutes, or the cancellation of a flight or route. In these cases, the booking must first be reconfirmed on the new flight before check-in can go through.

Check-in is done on the airline's website or on the SKY Airline mobile app, using the booking reference (PNR, six characters) and the passenger name exactly as it appears on the ticket. A valid email address on file is worth having, since that is where the airline sends its communications, including schedule changes, which a travel agency also receives through its GDS.

A few situations where online check-in may not go through, on SKY as with other carriers:

• A ticket bought through a travel agency or distribution system, with a booking still incomplete or not yet issued.
• Group bookings, which follow a separate process at SKY and are often handled by the issuing agency.
• An unaccompanied minor, a special assistance request, or a pet travelling in the cabin or hold: these cases are finalised at the counter.
• An international flight to a country requiring a visa or entry authorisation check.

If your booking was recently changed, check first that the new segment is confirmed before attempting check-in, otherwise the system may reject the booking without a clear explanation.

Once check-in is confirmed, the boarding pass is available digitally (a PDF sent by email or a pass in the app) and can also be printed. On an international flight, having a printed copy on hand can save a discussion at certain access checks or local police posts.

The boarding pass shows your name, flight number, the gate indicated at the time it was issued, and the boarding cutoff time. The gate and time shown can change after issuance, so keep an eye on the airport screens once you are in the departure area.

One point that is often misunderstood: the boarding pass does not replace checked baggage drop-off or the check of your travel documents. It only confirms that your seat is secured and that you are expected on board.

If you arrive at the airport without having checked in, the boarding pass is issued at the SKY counter. Depending on the airport and route, a fee may apply, and the amount is shown at the time of payment, before the boarding pass is issued.

Baggage allowance depends on the fare purchased. The cheapest fares on the South American market often include only one personal item placed under the seat, with cabin bags for the overhead bin and checked baggage sold as extras, cheaper when bought in advance rather than at the airport. Check the baggage line of your booking before you travel, since that is where most unpleasant surprises at the counter happen.

Plan to arrive at the airport with a comfortable margin, wider still on an international flight, where document checks take place at the counter. If you are travelling with checked baggage, online check-in does not exempt you from a visit to the bag drop counter, which closes before boarding.

Check-in refused, booking reference not recognised, name misspelled: these blocks almost always come from the state of the booking rather than a data entry error. If the ticket was bought through a travel agency, that agency holds control over the PNR at SKY, including for groups and reissued tickets.

• Incorrect name on the ticket: this must be corrected through the sales channel before check-in, never at the airport at the last minute.
• Flight changed or cancelled by the airline: for an involuntary change, SKY provides for a date or flight change with no penalty or fare difference within the ticket's validity, or a full refund to the original payment method.
• Unused or partially used tickets: these remain valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
• Cancelling your trip: SKY applies a right of withdrawal, with a full refund of the amount paid and no penalty, under the airline's stated conditions, on both domestic and international routes.
• Death of the passenger or a direct family member: the airline provides a specific waiver, with a refund of unused segments upon presentation of the death certificate.

Travellers who prefer it can have their online check-in handled by iBoardingPass, an independent, paid service unrelated to the airlines, covering more than 227 carriers. It checks passengers in automatically as soon as the airline's check-in opens and sends the boarding pass by email.