first time flyer!

[gypsylakat]

Lol my bf and I are going to visit his dad in august and it will be my first time flyer... What all do I need to know? we leve from dulles at 6am.. (I did not pick this flight time, and am a little miffed because that was the ONLY thing I said, please not early.) So yeah, what all do I need to know.

So far I have-
Get there really early. 


and a leg razor is ok, because it's not a straight razor thing (right?)

And my bf and I are probably going to condense stuff to only have one baggage check and then have carryons... I think

[theChuck]

- if you're doing that with your carryons, make sure you don't overstuff them, or they'll make you check them.

- make sure your carryons follow all of the proper rules about liquids - 3 oz containers, in plastic bags, that sort of thing.

- get there early. though if you're leaving at 6 am, you can prolly get to the airport at around 430 or 5 am and still be okay.

and don't forget your headphones. odds are there will be at least one crying baby. @_@

[gypsylakat]

lol we're pretty light packers we're both really low maitenence, shampoo and a hairbrush, good to go. So we should be able to get a weeks worht of clothes in one checked bag and then just use backpacks for the mp3 players and laptops... I think.

[Kiss-me-Kate]

That sounds good. 
TheChuck is right.  I flew home from Nashville to Minneapolis and there was a ear piercing/blood curdling screaming baby all-the-way-home. 
I ramped up the tunes and missed most of the serenading.

[Lady Christina de Pond]

never ever eat the late night snacks!!!!!!!
I learned that on the way home from Peru

[Elennare]

When going through security, you will need to remove your laptop from it's bag.  You will need to take your shoes and any jackets/sweaters off and put them in the bin.  Small jewelry is ok to leave on, but metal on belts won't work.  All electronics need to come out of your pockets (cell phones, etc), as does spare change.  If you have lots of metal jewelry, take it off.  If you have anything in your bag that may look suspicious (i.e. empty water bottle, large pill bottle, tangled mass of wires), take it out of your bag.  Make sure your liquids are all in containers 3oz or smaller, and contained in one quart size ziploc bag (which you will need to also remove from your bag).  And last, make sure ALL sharp pointys have been removed from your carry-ons (if you're bringing your razor, put it in your checked bag).  Double check this!

Plan to get there at LEAST 2 hours early, even with your plane leaving at 6am.  Things will always take longer than you think they will, and that time goes away fast when you're trying to catch a flight.

If something goes wrong, and the gate/ticket counter attendants are being nasty, call the airline's reservation hotline.  They can often be more helpful than the people at the ticket counter (especially if they've decided they don't like you and will go out of their way to screw you.  Had that one happen to me-it wasn't fun.).  To that end, make sure you've got the number with you.  If you've made your reservations via a travel agency or on-line retailer, it doesn't hurt to have their customer service number with you as well.

If you get a beverage after you've made it through security, and it is not in a bottle with a screw on cap, don't use your carry-on bag as a table.  Sure, it's stable now, but when you bump it...no more tea. 

If you have a connecting flight, leave at least 1/2 hour between when you are scheduled to arrive and when the next flight leaves.

Don't wear heels to the airport.  Ever.  Doesn't matter who's picking you up when you arrive, wear comfortable shoes that you can take on and off quickly.  Change when you arrive if you must be in heels to meet whoever.

These are all lessons this frequent flyer has learned the hard way.  Planning to be at the airport 1 hour before my 6:30 am flight is how I ended up missing the plane.  And I'm still very sad about the loss of my leatherman (it was a Christmas present from my parents).

It's a hassle, but if you get there early, and have made sure everything is ready ahead of time, you'll get to breeze through security and have lots of time to find your gate, and you'll be there in plenty of time for boarding and won't have to be runninng through the airport to catch your flight.

And the most important part:  have fun!  Enjoy getting to do something only birds can.   

[Noble Dreg]

If you go salmon fishing the week prior to travel and leave your REALLY BIG Bowie knife (only thing that cuts salmon) in your normal carry-on remember to remove it BEFORE packing for your trip.  You think the TSA agent gets miffed by a stray toe-nail clipper you ain't seen nothing yet!

My impression of the TSA X-ray machine operator...

Then there was the rubber glove...

And the TSA guy wearing the rubber glove...



Then there was me watching the whole thing unfold to my co-worker/travel companion, ROTFLMAO!

[gypsylakat]

If you go salmon fishing the week prior to travel and leave your REALLY BIG Bowie knife (only thing that cuts salmon) in your normal carry-on remember to remove it BEFORE packing for your trip.  You think the TSA agent gets miffed by a stray toe-nail clipper you ain't seen nothing yet!

Lol we went to NYC one time, bf had his winchester knife, and a butter knife that he managed to have to hide from our chorus teacher and get through security and get them back. awesomeness. We discovered in DC however that if he just flashes his flipping military ID they don't even check him! loser. Doesn't work on planes though I'm sure.
worst that ever happens to me is I accidently have a itty bitty one inch dull pocket knife and a lighter with the safety on it from where we were camping in my backyard. I let him carry the pointy things.

[Capt. Bacardi]

And hope you never hear...."This your Capt speaking......Capt Bacardi our flight today....."

[gypsylakat]

nah, lol everyone knows it's all done with auto pilot anyways! and I'd go to the party in the cockpit! get my little pilot wings!