The 30 minutes would be internal flights. The later you leave to check in the less chance you have of getting good seats. You may be split up as well. Also if you leave the minimum amount of time to check in you are leaving no leeway for things that can go wrong getting to the airport( eg road works)

don't you get allocated seat numbers on your tickets

You can have seats allocated but these are not guaranteed until you actually check in. They may for instance give the seats to a frequent flyer or to a family who does not want to be split up.

In addition to this, if you were to be delayed you might loose out on compensation if you were not to check in on time. Better be safe than sorry and check in early. Gives you also a very good opportunity for last minute duty free retail therapy (sp?) once you go past airport security.

Mark

And of course, if everyone waited until 30 minutes before take off to check in, then the plane would lose its take off time slot and the whole system would fall into chaos!!!!!!!

OK - no need to feel uncomfortable about having to seek advice on flying - we all have to have a first time.

You should have received tickets on which will be printed the name of the airline you are flying with, the departure and arrival airports, the flight times and the flight number for each flight (usually in the form of two or three letters followed by a number - each flight has an individual unique number). You will also discover the weight allowance for HOLD baggage and hopefully the letters OK which confirm your booking.

You should arrive at the check in terminal at least two hours before your flight is due to leave ... AFTER having parked the car, locked it (!) and taken the shuttle service to the terminal if using an off-airport car park.

On entering the terminal, you will see banks of television screens which tell you the order in which flights are departing and also the number(s) of the check in desks (s) for each flight.

Now find the check-in desk and join the queue! All the passengers in your party should stick together - you cannot check in only part of your party.

When you get to the top of the queue, please give the ticket agent a BIG SMILE and say Good Morning or some suitable greeting, and look him or her directly in the eyes. This should start off your temporary relationship on the best of terms, and she/he should smile back. Give the agent your tickets - one for each member of your party and all your passports.

The agent will then ask you to put your hold luggage on the weighing scale/conveyor belt at the side of the check in desk. You will be allowed to carry through ONE item of handbaggage per person (plus a lady's handbag etc).

If your baggage is 'overweight', the agent will tell you how to resolve the problem.

Each hold bag will have a ticket attached to its handle showing the airport destination code (usually 3 letters), and a bar code so that it can be checked up on if it goes astray. A separate bit of each baggage tag will be stuck to your boarding card, so that you have the bar code to help search for it!

Your luggage will disappear (legitimately!) and you will next meet it at your arrival airport on the incoming baggage conveyor belt.

You will then get back your passports, the tickets with the return coupon still in them (check this before you leave the desk) and a boarding card. The boarding card shows your seat number, which gate the flight leaves from and the time that you need to be waiting at the gate. Keep it handy, ditto your passport.

You will now need to go through a security checkpoint which effectively separates 'Landside' from 'Airside'. Once through this, you cannot return landside. You will be asked to take your coat off, perhaps even your jacket and put any metal objects into the plastic bin provided. You then walk through a scanner, and if it bleeps, you may be asked to lift your arms and a hand scanner will check you for metal objects (usually a key or a piece of loose change or even your trouser belt!). Your luggage passes through a similar scanner. It is perfectly safe for camera film.

When you finish with security you will be in a lounge with plenty of shops and bars to tempt you to start your holiday straight away. You many need to show your boarding card when you make any purchases as the staff are required to note the flight number.

Make sure you know which way to go to find your gate, as most UK airports are what are known as silent airports and just have TV-type screens and no annoucements. It's probably better to go to the toilet in the terminal before you head out to the aircraft - more comfortable and no feeling of holding up the queue!

When you get to your gate, there should be seating where you can waiting. Airline personnel will tell you when to get on the aircraft, and you will need to show your boarding card again (part of it will be retained by the gate personnel) and may be even your passport. Don't throw away your boarding card stub until you are safely out of the airport with all your luggage on your way to your hotel. You might just need to show it to the personnel on board the aircraft, especially if someone disputes your seat allocation!

When you arrive, well, all airports are very different, and time of day and how busy it is will affect your progress, but in general, you will disembark the aircraft, pass through the immigration control of the country you have landed in (need to show your passport) and then follow the signs directing you to the correct conveyor belt for the incoming luggage from your flight. Collect your baggage and head out for the mad crush that is the arrivals hall and look for the name of your holiday company on a clip board held by a representative from your holiday company. She or he will then advise you where to go and you will be well on your way to enjoying a well-deserved break.

Please don't think I am telling you to suck eggs, but being prepared can take a bit of the stress out of a new situation. I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Alsacienne
that is a great explanation for a newbie in flying and should be a "sticky" at the top of the flights forum. Well done!

Alsacienne, I agree with fiona, and apologise for my flip reply above , considering that I posted a query about how my daughter would know where to check in for a flight to US, I should have known better

I have pmd a mod and asked about the possibility of it being made a "sticky".

I concur....

Alsac...

Can you copy the post and make it a new topic please so you get credit.

I can split the post but doing so will mean it is removed from this topic.

Van

Hi

Have just booked a cruise for next March around the Caribean leaving from Miami. We have managed to get a direct flight going on American Airlines from Manchester to Miami, but on the way back have to change at Boston then on to Manchester.

The flight times coming back, I know they can change, only allows us 54 minutes to get our connecting flight in Boston. I queried this with the Travel Agent and they said that this was fine.

I have just read a topic on this site and someone was saying about check in times and said that connecting flights now have a 2 hour check in time not 1 hour, we are only 54 minutes.

Has anyone had any experience of this and does anyone know what would happen if we missed our connecting flight, through no fault of our own.

Thanks.

Sue

If your return flights are booked as a "through ticket" - effectively both flights show on the same ticket,- OR, if both flights are with the same carrier (AA) - then the airlines are responsible for you if you don't make the connection.
You will probably check in for your second leg and have your bags transferred automatically to your Boston-UK flight - so you'll actually "check-in" for that flight in Miami hours before departure time anyway!!

all of the major airlines are very adapt at dealing with transferring passengers - we made a 35 minute connection in Paris with ease earlier this year - and my personal record was 8 minutes at Schipol because of a delayed inbound flight - had to run for it - but it did save a three hour wait for the next flight!!! worry not

Thanks for your quick reply, with security checks a high priority, we thought it did not seem very long, but I suppose we would go through all the procedures at Miami.

I have had a look on the American Airlines web site and there is an earlier flight from Miami, but I suppose there is some reason why we can't go on that flight, I think I will check with the travel agents tomorrow.

Sue

Hi

Thought I would give people an update.

I have checked with my Travel Agent and they said there would be not problem with the 54 minute connection time. American Airlines would not let Royal Caribean book the flight if they did not think we could made the connection.

The Travel Agent also confirmed that if we did miss the connection, American Airlines would get us on the next available flight, even if the flight was with another airline at their own cost, or put us up in a hotel for the night also at their costs.

So we are going to leave the flight as it is.

Sue

I work in a flights department for a major travel company, and 54 mins is really cutting it fine for a connection, but if its a through flight you should be fine, it means the airline is confident on the connection.

I would think that if your luggage can be checked through to your final destination, and if possible you can also get a boarding card for your onward flight at the same time as checking in for the first leg, you should be home and dry! Ask the checkin agent to label your baggage to the fact that it has to make a quick connection.

You will probably remain 'in transit' airside, between the two flights ... DO NOT try to get a coffee or go shopping!!!

When you get near to arrival at your connecting airport, ask the flight crew (politely!) if they can find out for you at which gate your next flight will be, and see if they will provide an escort to get you from gate to gate. This might be unlikely, but if you don't ask .....

Oh! And wear comfy shoes and clothes for your quick jog! No high heels or bare feet!

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I said to the Travel Agent about being escorted to the next flight and she said she was doubtful they would do it.

As far as checking in our luggage, she said our luggage would be checked in at Miami and we would not see it again until we reached Manchester, so as was suggested earlier, our luggage would go straight onto the next plane, so at least we don't have that to worry about.

With it being part of a cruise booking, I would have thought that we will have other cruise passengers on the plane with us.

Anyway, as my husband said, if we miss the plane theres always another one the next day and we will have a night in a hotel in Boston.

Sue

flying with thomas cook anyone know how long before flight we need to check in by
thanks

standard 2 hours check in time for european departures