Flying alone for first time and I have a connection? How do they work?
In July I'm going to visit my relatives in North Carolina. I will be flying from Buffalo to Raleigh, but all the flights from Buffalo to Raleigh have a connection. I'm 16 and it will be my first time flying alone so I'm sort of nervous about it especially the connection. My parents are going to book either U.S. Airways with a connection in Charlotte or Southwest with a connection in Baltimore. I don't understand how connections work though. When I get to the connection city, do I stay on the plane while some get off and new passengers get on, or do I get off and go to another plane? If I go to another plane, do I have to pick up my bags from the baggage claim or do they take it straight to the other plane?
Air Travel - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You'll switch planes. When you exit, you'll already be in the right area -- you won't have to go through security again, or anything. You will just have to head to your gate number and weight. Usually you have way more time than you need -- it should only take ten to fifteen minutes. You might want to take that time to grab some food at the airports, they'll be located in that same area. Your luggage will be taken care of for you; you won't have to deal with that.
2 :
When you start your trip, your baggage will be ticketed through to your final destination. In your case, you will have just one connecting flight. If the connecting flight is on a different airlines, when you get off the first airplane, you will proceed to the terminal gate for the ongoing flight. Your best bet is to show your ticket to one of the flight attendants on the first plane, they are all very familiar with the airport layouts and will be happy to assist you.
3 :
You'll want to listen closely when they make the announcement of the plane's destination. Usually, a connection means you change planes, but if they say "continuing on to Raleigh" that means you stay on the plane. If you have to change, you'll have a separate boarding pass; just look for the arrival/departure board in the terminal and go to the gate that matches your flight number.
4 :
Little secret .In the airlines in flight magazine located in the seat pocket in front of you there is always a gate diagram for the airports that they fly into. So on approach they will tell you what gate you will be arriving at and what gate your connecting flight will be leaving from. Look it up on the map and figure out where you gotta go. Some airports like O'Hare & Dallas Fort Worth can be a real challenge to make a connection in under 30 minutes. Usually what happens is that you make the connection but your luggage doesn't When your folks book the flight ask them to leave an hour for connection times. If you're checking baggage make sure it that the proper airline codes are on you claim checks Southwest will look llike this BWI -RDU US Air will look like this CLT -RDU Have fun
5 :
okay its pretty simple, when you make a connection you have to get off the plane, find the other plane thats going to take you raleigh. dont worry about your luggage cause that goes directly to the plane you are going to board... so basically your just looking for the plane thats going to take you to raleigh. theres nothing to it. Make sure your getting on the correct flight... if you cant find the flight to raleigh look at the information screens near the gates and you will see all the departures on the screen and it will tell you where to go.
6 :
Connecting flights generally work as follows: a) you have to disembark at the connecting point and go to the plane that will bring you to the final destination. b) your luggage can be checked through, so you do not have to take it from one plane to another - just pick it up at your final destination. As for the airports: take the connection via Charlotte. It's probably one of the most user friendly airports in the U.S.A. and is probably much easier to navigate than any other. And one thing: airline people are generally helpful. Don't be afraid to ask if you need something or don't understand something.
