How early to arrive at LYS for 7:30 flight to US

The default for any flight to the US is 3 hours. It’s not the time it takes to check in, as I understand, but the time taken to check with the US that they are happy with every passenger.

It all depends on your risk tolerance. I would never arrive more than 90 mins before departure but lots of folks on this forum are very risk averse and will suggest 3 hours. Only you can make the final call. In general smaller airports generally require less time than large hubs

I'm assuming you have a layover somewhere in Europe since I do not know about any direct flights between Lyon and the US. Therefore, 90 minutes are enough, or 2 hours for peace of mind. The exception being Saturdays in winter, which are hell there, but it does not apply to you.

Thanks! We fly to Frankfurt, then US. So, for this risk averse person 2 hrs should be safe. Better than 3+! Even at that time.

Also can depend on which airline. Sounds like you're probably on Lufthansa/United, and the Lufthansa check-in at LYS now seems to be reasonably functional. (In 2014-5 it was a disaster because the automatic kiosks never worked, and the process took forever.) Be aware that if your first flight is Lufthansa, it's their luggage restrictions that apply. I've had to pay a substantial amount to check a second bag that United let me take for free on the outbound trip, so allow extra time for that situation if it applies to you - you usually have to stand in a separate line to pay the baggage fee.

Thanks clawssmith. Yes, Lufthansa. We fly them from San Francisco, so we are familiar with their restrictions for luggage. Good to know they are functioning. I have never been to France, and reading the horror tales about CDG I didn't know if LYS shared those problems. It is sounding pretty average for a big city airport.