Went to Singapore last Friday.

Did my online check in and printed my boarding passes.

Was in time at Suvarnabuhmi Airport and went to the check-in (document check) desk. I wasn't carrying check in luggage.

They saw my boarding-pass at a distance and waived me towards Immigration; no check what so ever.

In Singapore I was slightly late, but I was assuming that I didn't have to pass the check-in desk and could go straight to Immigration and the gate.

WRONG.......my self-printed boarding pass needed to be endorsed by the check in counter which was of course closed for my flight. So, although in time for boarding, I couldn't get the stamp and by the time the discussion was finished the gate closed too.

AirAsia offered to book me on the next flight for a whopping SGD 241 and a refund of the missed flight would be only possible for the airport-taxes.

Lesson learned: Check-in procedures of one particular airline do not have to be standard. It depends on the airport too. Take care that you always be at the check in desks before it closes for your particular flight.

I think you got waived in by mistake at BKK. They thought you were flying domestic. I have never heard of any airline which doesn't want to check your passport/visa before flying international. However, most will not let you print a boarding pass for an international flight either.

AA on-line and kiosk check-in need not have boarding pass endorsed at counter...but for international flights need endorsement..

AA on-line and kiosk check-in need not have boarding pass endorsed at counter...but for international flights need endorsement..

That's because it's the airline's responsibility to check that a passenger has the correct travel documents (visa, passport validity) for the country of arrival and they will be subject to a hefty fine if someone turns up and is not allowed into the destination country, as well as having to transport them back again.

Thanks for the report. Good info to know. I flew from Chiang Mai to Phuket on Air Asia and used the bording pass pre-printed from computer. So, good to go for domestic but not necessarily for international.