Bologna Aerobus from Airport to Train

What is the advantage if you can also buy them at their desk or a ticket kiosk?

Time and convenience are the only advantages of having a ticket in hand. I arrive 11:45 and would like to catch a 12:45 train. Maybe that's too ambitious.

The purchase site states that ticket emailed to you must be used on the the date shown on the ticket. I guess you just show it to the driver and perhaps he will cancel it.

One hour from plane arrival to train departure? That's rather ambitious. These are the steps:
Deplane on tarmac
Bus from plane to gate (not sure if jetways are at BLQ)
Baggage Claim
Walk to bus stop outside terminal
AeroBus ride to Bologna Centrale (30 min)
Get off go down underground to trains

We did this 6 years ago, so I did some checking to see any changes. Bologna is a relatively small airport, so we were off the plane and I to the terminal quickly. Once we got our luggage, we were out the door, turned to the right and there was the bus. We paid on board, and according to Trip Advisor, you can still pay the 6€ on board rather than buy a ticket ahead.

We did run into traffic and that did cause time stress, so you might want to check a taxi. The bus sailed along and then it hit traffic and slowed down, plus it had a least one stop before we got to the train station. At that time, we didn't have a chip credit card, so we couldn't use the ticket machines. . We had to turn in our emailed receipt for tickets at the window. It went pretty quickly, but it was a step.

It is an e-ticket not a voucher. but count on not making that train because the bus is crowded and that train station Bologna Centrale if you ever been there is complex has 2 levels of platforms that you will have to figure where to go from the big screen listing all the departures.

Unless they have changed the route since I used it, the station is the last stop for the bus. It heads into the central part of the city and makes stops there, then heads north to the university before finally stopping at the station.

I agree that counting on an hour from touchdown to boarding a train is ambitious.

Thank you all. This advice has been very helpful and I'll notify my destination that I will likely be on a later train. Bologna does seem to be a popular hub.

Since I will now have time to grab a bite of lunch, any recommendations near the station? Are there an bars/cafes inside the terminal?
Thanks again. The Rick Steves' Forum is amazing!

In the station itself there is a coffee bar, a cafeteria style restaurant, and also a McDonalds.
Outside the station there are a lot of restaurants and eateries.

Thank you Roberto. So you are pretty familiar with the train station. I am choosing between a Trenitalia and a .Italo train. My first choice is the .Italo train. Are both their tickets sold at the same booth, or different booths? Do you know if they are upstairs or downstairs in the terminal? Is there an elevator/escalator or just stairs? This is so very helpful!

you can buy the ticket from a machine
https://www.google.com/search?q=trenitalia+ticket+machines&espv=2&biw=1745&bih=864&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDjNWYwqLSAhXs1IMKHWh8CF0Q_AUIBygC&dpr=1.1

I don't believe that the Italo tickets are available from a Trenitalia machine.

Italo is a separate private company. I much prefer them, but both are good. Italo has a separate lounge for passengers and very helpful staff.

The McDonalds used to be outside the actual station, to the right as you look at the station.

Separate company, separate automatic kiosks, separate everything, but same station.
High speed trains are underground. Street level platforms are regional commuter trains.
Just look for one of Italo offices or machines at the Bologna station, pictured here

If you are going to Florence, just take whichever company has a convenient train for the time you arrive at the Bologna station. The trip is only 35 min. and there isn't a lot of difference between Italo and Trenitalia. They are both nice, that's why they charge so much. When I was a kid traveling from Florence to Bologna was cheaper than a beer at a bar.

Roberto, you are amazing! Thank you for the pictures, too. I am actually going to Verona for a month-long language class. I've looked at both schedules and just need to be sure I don't have to change trains. The .Italo sounds like the best choice of times. In April I will meet some girlfriends in Bologna and we will take the train to Forence, and later I will again take the train from Bologna to Milan to meet my husband. By then I should be quite familiar with the Bologna Stazione Centrale! Grazie mille per tuitte l'informazione e aiuto!