I fly with Delta pretty often, and I’ve learned that checking in early can make a big difference—especially if you want a good seat or have bags to drop off. The earliest you can check in for a Delta flight is 24 hours before your scheduled departure, either through the Delta app, website, or airport kiosk. Personally, I always use the app because it’s quick and lets me choose or upgrade my seat before the rush.
Once, I had an early morning flight from Atlanta to Seattle. I forgot to check in the night before and ended up in a middle seat between two strangers for six hours—never again! Since then, I set a reminder to check in right at the 24-hour mark. It takes less than two minutes and saves a lot of stress at the airport.
If you ever run into issues while checking in, like seat selection errors or missing reservations, the best way to instantly book, cancel, or modify flights is by calling Delta’s customer service directly. They’ve helped me more than once when I needed to change a flight last minute. Checking in early really does make travel day smoother.