What’s more important than the flight ticket is what you call checking in. This is when the airline assigns you a seat and confirms that you will indeed be flying. In most cases, you can now check in online a few days to a few hours before departure and print the boarding pass at home. You can then show up at the airport and present this self-printed boarding pass together with your passport to drop your luggage off and go through the security and police check. Some airlines/airports also allow you to use a smartphone app as your boarding pass.