First time flying with checked baggage. How does it work?
I'm leaving from Charleston, SC, to Atlanta, GA, and then from Atlanta, GA, to Baltimore, MD. I'm checking one bag and carrying the other one on the plane. How does the baggage transfer between the plane to Atlanta to the one going to Baltimore? Do I check my baggage at the gate when I leave Charleston, pick it up right next the plane, and then check it at the counter at Atlanta when I get to my connecting flight?
Packing & Preparation - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I'm in Australia so I don't know if our system is exactly the same as yours but I'll try anyway. When you get off the plane in Atlanta you'd get your baggage from the carousel and take it to the baggage check in desk (like you did when you left charleston) and check it in again for your second flight. In other words you have to transfer your baggage otherwise u end up arriving in Baltimore with no luggage
2 :
I presumed you will be travelling with the same airline all the way to Baltimore, upon check-in in Charleston, you will be issued a security number attached with your boarding pass this numbers corresponds the details on your checked-in luggage, including the flight number and destination. If you are travelling continously to Baltimore and transitting only from Atlanta you don't have to worry about the luggage it wil be transfered to your next flight bound Baltimore.
3 :
No, you only check your bag once if you're flying Domestic (that means you're not flying out of the country). The airport crew transfers your checked luggage from one plane to the next when you have a connecting flight. Sometimes they mess up and your luggage doesn't make it on your next flight. I fly at LEAST twice per year, and I've only had my bags messed up from that twice in my life. They send it on the next flight, which is usually only a couple hours later. You can choose to wait, or they'll ship it to you at whatever address you give them within 24 hours. No biggie. Don't fret :-) This makes some people nervous, so they opt to pack one days worth of essentials with them on the plane in their carry-on. But remember, you can't pack liquids in your carry-on bag.
4 :
No...No...No...we don't do what Australia does. If you are going on the same airline for both flights, they will make the transfer for you and when you arrive ...at your final destination....Wallah! Your bag is there too. Unless they don't get it tagged properly, they forget to put it on , they forget to take it off or,they go on strike, or the million of other things that could happen. Actually I've been flying about 8- 10 times a year for 25 years and only had one lost bag. I went to San Francisco and my bag went to Hawaii; but returned two days later with a nice tan.
