Frequently Asked Questions
What is Advance Check-In (ACI)?
- Advance Check-In (ACI) is a feature that takes a user’s entries (key strokes, selections, etc.), and then executes them 24 hours before a valid domestic flight.
- ACI is not a paid service, it is a free feature within e.Halo/e.Halo Gofers/Halo for Mac and Halo for Windows. There is no guarantee for this free feature.
Isn’t ACI cheating? I thought the Company said that we were not allowed to use other systems to check in after they started First Come First Serve.
- ACI is not cheating (now if we could just stop the actual cheating that seems to be going on, we would be getting somewhere). It is not using a different system to check you in. It is using the same Web Check-In on Travel Planner.
Do you have ACI for Android?
- ACI is a part of e.Halo for iPad, e.Halo Gofers for iPhone, and Halo for Mac and Halo for Windows - they are not available to Android.
How do I use ACI?
- First, if you are going to be available to use Web Check-In 24 hours before your flight, you should use e.Halo/e.Halo Gofers/Halo Check-In Gofer. It will check you in immediately, and you will also know immediately if there were any errors during the check-in process. ACI should NOT be used if you are inside 24 hours before a flight.
- If you are not going to be available 24 before a flight to check-in, the best way to use ACI is to first, logon to Travel Planner and make your non-rev listing exists and has the flghts and dates you want. Make note of your confirmation code (PNR). Then follow these steps:
- Press the Travel Planner Gofers tab in e.Halo/e.Halo Gofers (Halo for Mac OS X, click the Prepare link)
- Prepare a Itinerary for PRN gofer with the PNR for your non-rev flight(s)
- Press Process Gofers
- Aftere.Halo/e.Halo Gofers/Halo retrieves your Itinerary for PNR gofer, the results will be displayed
- With your Itinerary for PRN gofer displayed, select the Update Options button on the bottom left side (Halo for Mac and Halo for Windows, select the Update Results Option menu)
- From Update Options, select Advance Check-In for PNR option
- The ACI view will display. Confirm the date, time, airports, and enter your email address.
- Press the Schedule Advance Check-In button
- The Scheduled ACI will appear in the Gofer Results list. From there you can open it up and the Update Options will include a selection to Cancel the scheduled ACI.
- Check your email for an “ACI Scheduled” message
- 24 hours before your flight, you should receive either a “ACI Check-In Confirmation email, or an “ACI Error” email if ACI was unable to check you in with Web Check-In.
Errors and Tips
There are quite a few common mistakes that people make when using ACI. Here are some tips to make sure your experience is easy, efficient, and error free.
- Before making an ACI, make sure you can logon to Travel Planner, and that your current credientials are working. Make sure your working credentials are also in Halo/e.Halo/Halo's preferences.
- Keep your AA password up to date. Do not let your password expire or even get close. The AA password expires every 90 days. Either chose a new one often, or better, recycle your current one. All the Halo/e.Halo/Halo apps have an AA password recycle gofer. Use it often.
- Avoid the temptation to put multiple legs on multiple days in a single PNR. While multiple legs on the same day through a hub can elevate your position in the standby list - do not apply that same logic to multiple dates. Keep a separate PNR for each date.
- Always, always, always check the date and time for the first leg of your PNR on a given date. Make SURE that it is set correctly when making ACI.
- Better yet, always use a gofer to get your PNR itineraries. Then press the Update menu in the gofer result for a PNR Itinerary and your ACI can be scheduled automatically - no typing!
- Don't complain to gate agents, customer service, or reservation agents about your posiition in a standby list, and never mention Halo/e.Halo/Halo. Even though it does not cheat, many of our fellow employees think you are cheating if you use it.
Password Tips
- Your password can never included special punctuation marks such as "+","/", "&", or "\" – if it does you must change your AA password to something without those characters in order to use Advance Check-In
- If you chose to change your password to something different, you must cancel all scheduled ACIs, change your password in e.Halo/e.Halo Gofers/Halo and then reschedule ACIs again.
Does ACI work subsidiary employees?
- Yes ACI will work for subsidiary employess. If you can access Travel Planner, ACI will work for you, even if your airline does not have access to Jetnet.
Can I schedule ACI even if I don’t want to use a gofer to retrieve my Listing Confirmation (PNR)?
- Yes, however it is far more likely to have errors in it that way. To schedule ACI without a gofer press the Travel Planner Gofers tab:
- Enter all the required information for your listing. Be careful to double check the date and time for the first departure, as well as the cities. The cities are only the first leg of your portion of the PNR that you are checking in for. In other words, if you are making a connection and then continuing on to your final destination, enter only the first leg’s cities. Web Check-In will make sure that you are checked in for your connections as well.
- Enter your email address
- Press the Schedule Advance Check-In button
What Date and Time do I put in to schedule an ACI?
- This is very important. Here is the bottom line on date and time. Enter the EXACT local departure date and time from the AIRPORT of departure. Do NOT set the date or time for when you want to check in. Got that? ACI knows when to check you in as it knows to adjust all dates and times for time zones etc. so it is very important that you not try and over think this. Here it is again: enter the EXACT local departure date and time for the departure airport.
- You'll be happy you paid attention to this answer when your ACI executes correctly, 24 hours before departure.
- Note: You can avoid any issue with date and time if you will follow the instructions to use e.Halo/e.Halo Gofers/Halo Gofers to get your PNR Itinerary. The instructions listed in the above paragraph "How do I use ACI" will make sure the date and time are set correctly.
Will ACI check-in all the people travelling on my listing, or do I have to make an ACI for each passenger?
- Yes, they will all be automatically checked in. Up to 6 passengers will be checked-in if they are listed on the PNR. Do NOT schedule an ACI for each individual passenger on a listing. You will enter your name to schedule an ACI - this is only a reference and has no bearing on check-in.
What order does ACI check-in e.Halo/Halo users on the same flight?
- e.Halo/e.Halo Gofers/Halo uses multiple cloud servers at check-in time. The odds of another user checking in for the same flight being on the same cloud server are remote. However, if multiple users are on the same flight, and also using the same cloud server, they are checked-in according to the date and time their ACI was scheduled. For example: someone schedules ACI a week before a flight will be checked-in slightly before someone who schedules ACI the same flight three days before the flight.
I received an ACI Error email message, what do I do now?
- Because your place on the standby list is determined by check-in time, you should go to the Web Check-In web site as soon as you can and check-in manually. It is very likely at that time you will see the same error message from Travel Planner, giving you some kind of idea what you did incorrectly. You can also use the Web Check-In Gofer in e.Halo/e.Halo Gofers/Halo to check-in immediately.
- Remember, ACI is simply a feature of e.Halo/Halo. It is not a guarantee - and it will not cheat.
- Make sure all your entries are correct before you schedule an ACI!
- Please cancel any ACI you will not use.
The History of Halo Technology
I originally wrote Halo in 2002. It was for Windows only. It stemmed from techniques that I had learned while contracted by a certain "government agency" to automate flying schedule interaction between a certain select group of pilots and that government agency. The techniques used involved interaction with a highly secure web presence. Although that agency eventually was rolled into another agency, some of my work still surives and is used today.
The original Halo was written for US Airways Employee Travel and used the "gofer" methodology to automate most of the tasks needed to make employee travel easier. The original Halo would create and retain non-rev listings, check you in, get and retain passenger booking totals, and much more.
After the merger between America West and US Airways, Employee Travel was completely overhauled and so was Halo. It moved from "the Hub" to "Wings." Employee Travel has undergone several upgrades over the years, and Halo has kept up with those changes.
In 2012, Halo was brought to iOS. First, the iPad with e.Halo for iPad. Later the same year, e.Halo Gofers for iPhone was implemented. e.Halo Gofers was a different app from e.Halo for iPad, primarily because the smaller iPhone screen size required significant changes to the way information was presented.
Halo, e.Halo, and e.Halo Gofers (Mac, Windows, iPad, and iPhone) have done non-rev check-in since the beginning. Because Halo also does positive space activities a number of management employees have also used it. It simply works, because it uses exactly the same method to check-in as manually starting a Windows or Mac web browser and manually typing in the check-in information. e.Halo/e.Halo Gofers/Halo is not a check-in service. It is simply personal technology for people trying to follow the non-rev rules.
Disclaimer:
No warranty is implied for Halo, e.Halo, or e.Halo Gofers. The author is not responsible for information displayed in Halo, e.Halo or e.Halo Gofers
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