A Connecting Flight...?
I (17) have never flown outside of Europe and I'm flying to America on Thursday alone and I'm wondering how everything works when I get off the plane, but have another flight to catch. I am flying to Newark airport and then catching another flight to San Antonio.. I presume I won't need to get my bags because I'm using the same airline (Continental), if I do need to get them, then I think I know what to do... If i don't have to get my bags how do I not go to baggage claim but go to immigration and carry on to catch my other flight, and what order? I hope that made sense, I'm so confused because I have never had a connecting flight, so I only know to go to baggage claim and I have never had to do the whole immigration thing. Thanks for reading, any advice would help! :) Thank you for your answers so far :) So I'm pretty sure now I won't have to get my bags. But there is a different way for me to go because I am connecting, but then is there another way to go because I am an Non-US Citizen? (just a thought?) All in all, once I am done with getting off the plane and immigration ect.. is it simple enough to just find my other flight?
Air Travel - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You will probably not have to get your bags. You can ask the attendants to assist you...it is their job.
2 :
Your carry on you just take with you. As far as the checked bags they should be transferred to your next flight automatically. If in doubt ask the flight attendant. Have a safe trip! Oh and by the way welcome to America!
3 :
Once upon arrival at Newark, look for a sign called connecting flights and follow it. You do not have to go through immigration UNTIL you reach your final destination. Bags are transferred for you since you are on the same airline.
4 :
Unfortunately, the earlier answers will provide a shock for you when you actually arrive in Newark. Upon arrival in the US, you will deplane and head to the US Immigration hall. There your entry into the US will be processed by the border agents who are part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, a section of the Department of Homeland Security. Once your immigration paperwork has been completed and have been granted access to the US, the US Customs laws require that all arriving international passengers (US and non-US citizens alike) collect their bags from the baggage claim area and present the customs clearance forms to the Customs inspector at the exit of the arrival hall along with all the bags. Neither the flight attendants from the airline nor any ground staff will help you with this function. There may be porters (Red Caps as they are known in Newark) available to help you for a per bag fee plus tips. Alternatively, you can rent a baggage cart in the arrival hall for a few dollars. When the customs agent reviews your declaration form, you may find that you are selected for a detailed baggage inspection or simply be waived through as the most likely scenario. The secondary selection is supposed to be random as to whom is selected and why but my experience has shown that lots of bags from countries with what the US considers questionable backgrounds will get searched more often. Once you have exited the arrivals hall and thus cleared the INS and Customs procedures, look for the sign for connecting flights and find the Continental check-in desks who will confirm your onward connection and recheck your bags to San Antonio. When you land in San Antonio, you collect your bags from the baggage hall like you are already used to doing. The good news is that, in San Antonio, you have no further administrative processes to endure before leaving for your local destination. The overall process can be time consuming depending upon the number of other international flights arriving at roughly the same time. The longest part is the immigration process for non-US citizens. In can take hours on bad days to get processed as you will have to have all the forms completed correctly before they will even begin to process your arrival. Then they take a photo along with finger prints from both hands. The good news is that a long INS delay means that the bags have usually made it onto the baggage claim and so no extra delays would be expected. So, if all your paperwork is in order, the actual procedure to make your connecting flight is really quite straight forward and there are plenty of staff in the airport arrivals area who can assist you with your concerns on the day.
