Baggage Worries For International Flight - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

lemlern · 04-09-2007, 06:48 PM

I have been talking to friends about my trip (not always a good idea as they have been instilling fear into me), and they said something about having to grab your bags and put them on the next plane during a connection. For example, I am going from Minneapolis to Chicago and then on to Dublin on American Airlines. When I hit Chicago is it customary to go to baggage, grab your bags, and check them on to the next flight (since I will be going overseas after that point). Or is it like a domestic flight and let the bags ride all the way to Dublin? Also, do I have to go back through security during my layover in Chicago? Sorry, I am panicking that I am going to either a) arrive in Dublin with no luggage or b) miss my flight or c) both! If anyone can ease my worries, that would be wonderful

. Or tell me how I could find that out.

**marc873** · 04-09-2007, 06:57 PM

If you check your luggage on the initial check in, than they (American airlines) will connect them to your next flight, as long as the connecting flight is part of the original ticket purchase. If you don't have to check them, than I would just carry them on and store in the overhead. You would be amazed the size of carry on luggage you can get away with as long as you follow TSA rules and put overnight stuff in a ziploc for security check points. As for us, we never check anything, we just carry our packs on board and stuff them in the overheads

As for your connection, since you will be landing and departing into a secure zone, you shouldn't have to go through security again, although, some airports in the states have check points at the entrance to every concourse, just depends. If you are connecting with the same airline, than your gate should be in the same concourse and you should not have to do anything but deboard and go to the gate for the next flight in the same concourse to board.

**Brookers13** · 04-09-2007, 07:03 PM

I flew Cleveland to Toronto and Toronto to London...since they were both Air Canada connecting flights, my pack was just transferred and I didn't have to do anything. I kinda hadn't even wondered about that (haha) before I got to the airport and the lady told me how it worked and I was like wow thats nice

lemlern · 04-09-2007, 07:14 PM

Whew what a relief. This is the pack I am using... Do you think it is doable for carry on? If I could get away with stuffing it in the overhead, it would save me a lot of anxiety. What size pack do you normally use? This is probably now a separate thread under a new name lol.

http://www.ebags.com/high_sierra/com...?modelid=63378