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Question About Flying...

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 6042 **6/25/17 4:56 pm**

I haven't flown since I was a teen, so I don't know just how it works now....

When I go to the airport, do they print out my tickets THERE? Or should I already have them before I go, etc.?

If so, then I suppose I just need some sort of identification?

Anything else I should know that might make life easier?

Let me know--and thanks!

Acts-celerater Posts: 566 **6/25/17 6:16 pm**

You can go to the airline's app and pull up your boarding pass there. Show it and your ID at security. If you are checking bags, go to the airline desk first.

Acts-celerater Posts: 787 **6/25/17 8:06 pm**

Just remember you will have to remove your shoes and belt as well. Don't leave anything in your shirt pockets. Guess how I know that? I learned to pack as light as possible. Your wallet, change, comb, and anything else in your pants pockets have to go in the plastic tub at security.

Carry on luggage is subject to search. Last time my wife died I flew, she stuck,a,couple of small yogurts from the motel in our carry on, intending to eat it while with. to board. Security saw the yogurt on the scanner so they took everything out of the carry on and did a 100% search. They were VERY serious at that point.

Laptops go in a separate plastic bin.

One last thing: never,ever put your boarding pass in the plastic bin before you go they the scanner. I did that for some unknown reason and it disappeared! Fortunately the carrier printed me a new one.

Happy flying!
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01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **6/25/17 8:43 pm**

When we flew our Grandson out for a visit, he said he printed his tickets at the airport kiosk. I used to love to fly. Still love to fly just not all the xxxx stuff and hoops you must jump thru.

I would first try to print the tickets at home, and maybe the boarding pass as was suggested.

Good luck and have a great trip!!! Cool

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Acts-pert Poster Posts: 16646 **6/26/17 7:49 am**

You come across as a terrorist.

So I expect them to do a full cavity search in numerous parts of your body - and then still refuse you to board.

Cuffed and stuffed and taken to a dark site where your only connection to anyone on the outside will be through Actscelerate.
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Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **6/27/17 9:35 am**

I fly quite a bit because of my work. Here's how I do it.

Someone from HR emails me the ticket or whatever it is, a page with the ticket number and codes and the flight numbers and times and all that.

I take that ticket with me to the airport to get the actual boarding pass. At the airport, first you park or get dropped off. At the airport I go to a lot, the service counter for the airline is within a secured area, but it's a light security check without removing shoes. I think the last US airport I left from did not have a security check before going to the Delta desk.

You can go to the desk. There is a screen, probably with your flight number, over the desk. Some airlines take any 'ol flight from the desk, it seems. I don't know if that's good for routing bags or not. You check in your luggage at the desk. They let you keep one smaller piece of luggage, the carry on, on the plane per person. You also get a 'personal bag' which can be a backpack, purse, or computer bag. If I'm doing a short trip, I'll try to keep everything in carry-on luggage to avoid waiting on lost luggage. Luggage being last seems to happen about 5 to 10% of the time. If you put something frozen or something that needs to be cold in an international flight, like cheese or meat, it's likely not be at the airport waiting for you.

Some airlines let you print a boarding pass with your passport or ID and ticket information at a little kiosk, probably close to the desk with the customer service people. I may have done this once. If you are using only carry-ons and really need to avoid a line, this is an alternative.

You've checked in. What do you do? If it's an international flight out of the country, you may have to go through imigration. If not, then you'll have to go through a security check that will involve taking everything out of your pockets and putting them on a little conveyor belt that goes through a big metal scanner while TSA workers decide whether to rummage through your stuff. You will have to remove your wallet, watch, belt, (glasses if you have them) and shoes. So you need to have some kind of bag for this stuff.

They won't let you take certain things in your carry on like larger bottles of lotion or larger tubes of toothpaste. I think the US allows travel sizes still. They used to not allow that. I think you can get a razor in there, though I'm not sure if that's allowed or they just don't always catch it. They tell you if you brought scissors or a butterknife or a real knife and throw it away.

They also won't let you take a bottle of water with you into the security-checked area. An airplane can get much drier than the dessert, so it is easy to get dehydrated. For comfort on the plane, it makes a lot of sense to have a bottle of water, so I generally either bring an empty bottle through the security check and fill it up on the other end, or if I'm somewhere overseas where drinking water is not provided, I'll by a bottle on the inside. Sometimes I buy water or another drink on the inside anyway to have a bottle to drink out of on the plane. It is more important for those really long 15+ hour flights to have a bottle than on a shorter one, of course.

I was hardly able to sleep at all on 20+ hour trips initially. But then they started making those inflatable neck pillows, which gave way to the regular foam, memory foam, or bead pillows. I've got to have one of those to sleep on a long flight. Some people like the window seat so they can sleep against the wall with the little pillow the plane gives out on the long flights.

As far as seats go, I want the aisle seat. I've seen out the window before, and the longer flights often have a screen for everyone, and some let you see the view from a camera under the plane if you want that. The dreaded middle seat has no advantages for adult that I can think of. It's good for kids who want to be near parents.

For shoes, I've tried crock-like shoes at the airport. They are comfortable, light, and easy to remove, but look ugly. It's a way to have shoes to wear in the hotel that you can also wear to substitute for athletic shoes for foot comfort. If you are just using a carry-one, this could be a solution.

Airplanes can get cold in the summer. I learned the hard way when I was young to avoid shorts on the airplane. If there is a micro-leak that keeps the plane too cool, or even just regular flight temperatures, you could feel rather cold. I'll usually wear something comfortable like cotton Dockers and a short-sleeved shirt and bring a jacket. It is important to wear socks. I've worn them with crocks on the plane.

US carriers are terrible about providing food and customer service. They may charge you $8 for some dinky sandwich. They do usually provide something to drink, though. If you have connecting flights and no time to pay for the overpriced airport food, you can take a bag of beef jerky as a really solid snack that substitutes for a meal and other snacks. If you fly overseas or especially between countries, they usually take care of you. I would try to avoid an international flight that is actually run by a US carriers. Asian carriers tend to have better food and customer service from the flight attendants. The airports in the US tend to be kind of run down and are stingy with things like carts that are free to use in a lot of other countries. Take $5 or a credit card to cart your luggage around, or pay a sky cap, which costs quite a bit more, but is good if you have more than you can handle yourself.
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About checked bags...

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 6042 **6/27/17 8:09 pm**

Can you carry any size bottle in a checked bag? Or is that subject to the 3.4 oz. limitation also?

What about scissors in a checked bag? Or a knife?

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 6042 **6/27/17 8:10 pm**

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **6/27/17 10:19 pm**

Re: About checked bags...

Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **6/27/17 10:52 pm**

[Insert Acts Pun Here] Posts: 14803 **6/28/17 8:30 am**

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/liquids-rule

(I liked Link's warning that the TSA workers might decide they want to rummage through your "stuff." That's the part that would make me want to rent a car, lol.)

Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **6/28/17 9:12 am**

Bonnie,

They definitely rummage. I think they have to check all laptops. I had a butterknife in a backpack when I took silverware with me for eating my own lunch on campus when I was a grad student, and used the backpack on a trip. They confiscated the butter knife. I thought a fork would actually be more dangerous. But rules are rules. Putting a lot of liquids in your bags are a way to get them rummaged through.

They usually rummage in front of you. If you want something not rummaged through in public, it's probably best to check the bag and let them put it in the cargo hold. But then you can't see them rummage through that stuff.

I wondered why cold meats and cheeses that you want to get in the fridge or freezer fast after a 20 hour+ flight tend to come in on the next plan and have to be delivered to your house. My theory is the dogs they use to stiff for stuff go wild, or they check things that are at a low temperature for some reason.

Several years ago, there was a shoe bomber, and we had to take off our shoes. i remember thinking, "I sure hope there isn't an underwear bomber." Then there was. But instead of having us remove our underpants, they just make us walk through an X-Ray machine that sees through our clothes.
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Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **6/28/17 9:19 am**

On my most recent flight, since I didn't need dress shoes, and to avoid sore feet I wore athletic shoes, but it is lot easier to wear slip-on dress shoes, crocks, or something else. In some airports, especially if you are in a rush between flights, or if people are behind you, you have to rush to put the stuff through the scanner and get it out. When you get to the other side to get your stuff, that's crucial, because your valuables are in there and someone could walk off with your bag with your wallet and passport inside.

I've got kids, so I have my oldest child go through first and watch the bags and the other kids. The second child can help with the younger kids after she goes through and the oldest watches the stuff. If I'm with my wife, she can go through first while I load the bags into the conveyor. Then I get through and watch the stuff and the kids. You kind of need a system for security for the kids, safety and protecting belongings
.

Traveling alone with children who are all small would be difficult.
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[Insert Acts Pun Here] Posts: 14803 **6/28/17 12:41 pm**

Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **6/29/17 11:33 am**

I was living overseas back in the late 1999's in a house that had a VHS player and three tapes. One of them was a Beevis and Butthead movie. The ATF mistook the two youths for dangerous criminals and pursued them around the country. They got a ride with a bus full of nuns and left the bus. The ATF stopped the nuns and the man in charge said,

"Full cavity searches. Don't stop until you get to the back of their teeth."

They were making fun of the ATF after Wacko, but now it reminds me of the TSA. I haven't been pat down like the guy in the video. The 'see you naked' machine should be enough these days. I hope they don't keep the pictures. Could you imagine if one of those leak sites got a hold of them?
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