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England for the New Year... questions?

cyclonelifer

cyclonelifer

Active Member
Jan 30, 2007
383
110
43
Manchester, England
daveharm.blogspot.com
I would really appreciate your help with my traveling. I haven’t been on a plane in close to 30 years so I know things have changed quite a bit. And my goal is to make it as stress free as possible.

OK… I got my tickets from Orbitz and will leave Lincoln, to Chicago, then Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany and then finally arriving in Manchester, England the next morning.

As my departure day is getting closer I did some checking and saw there is “on-line check-in†as well as “luggage check-in.†According to Orbitz I can’t do this until 24 hours before the flight, so I’m trying to get my answers before then and this place seems to have had more then its share of travelers.

My question to start, is do I need to check in on-line for all my flights? That one I am assuming is yes, but like I said I haven’t flown in many years. The other is the luggage check-in. Do I need to check that in every time?

All the flights leaving are United, even though in Lincoln it is US Express and in Germany it is Lufthansa. My thought is if I do it with United then I shouldn’t have to do it again? Right or wrong?

Now the flight itself, the “killer†is Chicago to Frankfurt. That is a nine hour flight. Any suggestions to make time fly by? Can I use a laptop?

Any and all advice I would truly appreciate. What to wear… not to wear… all of it… like I said it has been a long time since I have been on a plane…

Thanks in advance
 
cyclonelifer said:
I would really appreciate your help with my traveling. I haven’t been on a plane in close to 30 years so I know things have changed quite a bit. And my goal is to make it as stress free as possible.

OK… I got my tickets from Orbitz and will leave Lincoln, to Chicago, then Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany and then finally arriving in Manchester, England the next morning.

As my departure day is getting closer I did some checking and saw there is “on-line check-in†as well as “luggage check-in.†According to Orbitz I can’t do this until 24 hours before the flight, so I’m trying to get my answers before then and this place seems to have had more then its share of travelers.

My question to start, is do I need to check in on-line for all my flights? That one I am assuming is yes, but like I said I haven’t flown in many years. The other is the luggage check-in. Do I need to check that in every time?

All the flights leaving are United, even though in Lincoln it is US Express and in Germany it is Lufthansa. My thought is if I do it with United then I shouldn’t have to do it again? Right or wrong?

Now the flight itself, the “killer†is Chicago to Frankfurt. That is a nine hour flight. Any suggestions to make time fly by? Can I use a laptop?

Any and all advice I would truly appreciate. What to wear… not to wear… all of it… like I said it has been a long time since I have been on a plane…

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

1. Yes, checking in online will save you about 30 minutes at the airport unless you have specific needs
2. You will have to go through customs at each country you fly into, there is no way around that. It will take about an hour or so for you to fill out the paper card and go through the screening.
3. Get noise canceling headphones or bring a small dvd player with you to watch some dvds.
4. Wear something conformable, I suggest sandles as you will have to take your shoes off a few times part of the screening process.
5. If you are bringing something back, you will need to put it into your suitcase once your connecting flight is back in the US, i.e. you fly into Miami from Mexico but have a connecting flight to Chicago, then Des Moines. You will not be able to take the item in question on the plane with you past your flight into the US.
 
cyclonelifer said:
I would really appreciate your help with my traveling. I haven’t been on a plane in close to 30 years so I know things have changed quite a bit. And my goal is to make it as stress free as possible.

OK… I got my tickets from Orbitz and will leave Lincoln, to Chicago, then Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany and then finally arriving in Manchester, England the next morning.

As my departure day is getting closer I did some checking and saw there is “on-line check-in†as well as “luggage check-in.†According to Orbitz I can’t do this until 24 hours before the flight, so I’m trying to get my answers before then and this place seems to have had more then its share of travelers.

My question to start, is do I need to check in on-line for all my flights? That one I am assuming is yes, but like I said I haven’t flown in many years. The other is the luggage check-in. Do I need to check that in every time?

All the flights leaving are United, even though in Lincoln it is US Express and in Germany it is Lufthansa. My thought is if I do it with United then I shouldn’t have to do it again? Right or wrong?

Now the flight itself, the “killer†is Chicago to Frankfurt. That is a nine hour flight. Any suggestions to make time fly by? Can I use a laptop?

Any and all advice I would truly appreciate. What to wear… not to wear… all of it… like I said it has been a long time since I have been on a plane…

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...


You are not required to check in prior to your flight but it may save some time. Although I assume that you will need to check luggage you will have to wait inline to get your luggage tags anyway so I'm not sure how much time you will save.

Since I assume you are checking luggage I would reccomend putting all of your liquids in a checked bag. This will save you from having to buy the travel size of everything and having to deal with pulling it out of your carry-on when you pass through security.

You can take a laptop its not a problem. If you do you will need to have it out of the bag (unless you have one of the approved bags) when you go through security. Not a big deal, it would be worth it for a long flight.

As others have said wear comfy clothes and shoes that are easy to get on and off.


Good luck and have a great time!!
 
Can you do a "check in through" for your luggage ? I assume you could, providing that Lutfhansa and United are in the same codeshare.
You should ask when you check your luggage whether you can do a check in through, if yes, you will only need to pick your luggage in your final destination (make sure first).

BTW are you going to watch soccer in Manchester ? :)
Hope for the nice weather - I was in UK last December (including Manchester) and they had probably 2 inches of snow and it was total chaos as they never had to deal with more than 2-4 inches of snow total during the entire winter.
 
cyclone13 said:
Can you do a "check in through" for your luggage ? I assume you could, providing that Lutfhansa and United are in the same codeshare.
You should ask when you check your luggage whether you can do a check in through, if yes, you will only need to pick your luggage in your final destination (make sure first).

BTW are you going to watch soccer in Manchester ? :)
Hope for the nice weather - I was in UK last December (including Manchester) and they had probably 2 inches of snow and it was total chaos as they never had to deal with more than 2-4 inches of snow total during the entire winter.
Click to expand...

That would be a big mistake - NEVER call it soccer in Manchester, it's FOOTBALL over there...
 
Very nice advice thank you...

For me, we play football and they play soccer, except when I'm talking to my girlfriend then they play football...

My biggest concern is luggage, just one suitcase, but don't want to lose it...

I remember that with the snow in Manchester last year... I wasn't there but GF told me how chaotic it was... which blows my mind... they are further north but don't get that much snow...
 
We traveled to Germany a few months ago. We left from Omaha and the kiosks at the ticket counter allow you to enter your information, scan your passport, and print your boarding passes for each flight all the way through. You will still have to check your luggage at the counter.

Returning we went through canada just because that was the cheaper route. We passed through customs there. Painless proceedure.

As far as the flight over the pond, our United flight was on a Boing 777 and each seat had a monitor and remote control. They have free movies that are out of theatres but not out on dvd yet. They also have booze.
 
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I also recommend not bringing any change with you. If you do, put that and your keys in your carry-on or computer bag along with your watch, maybe even your wallet - you shouldn't need it to go through security if you're using your passport for other reasons (ID) anyway.

I agree with the comfortable shoes, but I wouldn't wear sandals. Just slip into your tennis shoes but make sure they are tied loosely so you can easily slip them off and on at the security checkpoint

Basically, it is a pain in the *** to get through security. It's almost like getting undressed and dressed again. The fewer "loose" items you have to deal with the better.

And like someone said, you have to take the computer out of the case to put it through the scanner separately.
 
To pass the time on the plane: free booze on trans-atlantic flights. Have a few and go to sleep.
 
azepp said:
To pass the time on the plane: free booze on trans-atlantic flights. Have a few and go to sleep.
Click to expand...

I was told this also but when we flew United they only gave us two free drinks. Anything more you had to pay for.
 
CyOps said:
I was told this also but when we flew United they only gave us two free drinks. Anything more you had to pay for.
Click to expand...
Bummer. Last time I flew Alitalia and after the first three or so beers they got tired of us calling them and just gave each of us a six-pack.
 
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