If you are new to flying, this video is really for you.
This video is going to cover the most common terms you will hear at
the airport when it comes to checking your luggage with the airline so you don't feel
lost or confused when you arrive at the airport for the first time.
So, I think a good place to start is just to explain what the different
types of luggage are even allowed on the airplane.
For the most part you can bring suitcases,
backpacks, trunks, totes, duffel bags, purses, instrument cases,
sporting equipment, and really anything that's within the right size restrictions.
What are the right size restrictions?
Well it depends on the airline.
Each airline has different size and weight restrictions,
and they usually different for the different types of luggage you will be carrying.
The airlines categorize each luggage type into three categories.
Checked luggage, carry-on luggage, and personal item luggage,
or sometimes also called underseat luggage.
So, let's go through what each of these categories mean.
Let's start with checked luggage.
Checked luggage is the largest and heaviest type of luggage that you can bring.
At the airport you will hand over your checked luggage to the airline
employee and then they are stored under the plane in the cargo area.
Usually it's a paid service and you can expect to
pay between 35 and 50 dollars for your first checked bag.
If you want to check more than one bag then expect to pay even more to do so.
Although the size and weight restrictions differ between airlines usually checked
luggage needs to be under 62 linear inches and have a weight under 50 or 70 pounds.
Let's now talk about carry-on luggage.
Carry-on luggage is luggage that you physically carry on to plane with you.
Airlines usually allow each passenger to bring one free of charge unless you are flying a budget
airline like Spirit or Frontier in which case you will have to pay a fee to do so.
Carry-ons need to be stored in the overhead compartments on the airplanes,
and most commonly, they need to be under 22 by 14 by 9 inches in size.
So a question I get asked a lot about is what if
my carry-on is just slightly over the size requirements?
In most cases it will still fit as long as it's within a half inch or so.
The worst case scenario is if it doesn't fit,
you will be forced to check your bag, sometimes at no additional cost.
That leaves us with the third type of luggage which is the personal item or underseat luggage.
This is going to be the smallest of your luggage,
and each passenger is usually allowed to bring one free of charge.
Personal items need to be stored under the airplane seats in front of each
passenger which means that they are the most accessible type of luggage you can bring.
The size and weight restrictions differ between the airlines,
but most commonly they need to be under 16 by 12 by 6 inches in size.
Now if you are in need of some luggage for your next trip,
make sure you check out the show notes down in the video description.
I will link to some options that are within the size restrictions that I just mentioned.
Now if you get to the airport and discover that your checked
luggage is either over the size or weight limits for the airline you are flying on,
then your luggage will be defined as oversized luggage. i
If you find yourself in this position then you may still be able to check in
your luggage with the airline but expect to pay an additional fee to be able to do so.
Usually between $100 to $300 for each bag.
To avoid paying the extra fee try moving items from your checked luggage into your carry-on
or personal item luggage as there is usually no weight requirement for those two luggage types.
The next term you will need to know when carrying items in your
carry-on or personal item bag is the 311 rule.
Due to potential security threats, the 311 rule limits the number of liquids
each passenger is allowed to bring in the airplane in either of these types of luggage.
The 311 rule states that in hand luggage, each passenger has to store all liquids and
gels and bottles no larger than 3.4 ounces, all of them must be stored
in one quart size transparent bag and each passenger can only have one bag.
This bag of liquids will need to be taken out of your luggage for
separate screening when going through security.
Another luggage term you will need to know is baggage tags.
When talking about baggage tags, usually people are referring to two things.
The first one is personal baggage tags, which contain personal information about the passenger.
Anyone can choose to attach them to their luggage in case it gets lost.
The other one is luggage labels or a luggage stickers,
which airlines attach to all checked bags whenever they are checked in.
These labels include information about who the bag belongs to and where it is heading.
The next term is baggage handling.
Baggage handling refers to moving checked luggage from the airport check-in desk to the
airplane and then when the plane lands, unloading luggage and getting it to the baggage claim area.
This is done by the baggage handlers who are using various luggage conveyor
belts to help move your luggage from one airplane to the next.
Now I just mentioned the baggage claim area.
The baggage claim area is where you are going to
pick up your checked luggage at your final destination.
This is where your checked luggage is going to be dropped off onto a
either a conveyor belt or a spinning carousel where it will just go round
and round until you come and pick up your checked luggage.
The next three terms are terms used when checking your luggage at the airport.
The first term is Checking Baggage to the Final Destination.
This term means that checked luggage will automatically be sent over to
the final destination and you won't be able to access it during the layover.
This is really going to be the default option when you are checking your luggage
at the airport unless you have booked each of your flights separately or you
are traveling internationally in which case you will have to
go through the process of rechecking your luggage which is the second term.
Sometimes when you are traveling internationally, when you land in
the layover country, you will have to pick up your checked luggage from a carousel,
go through customs, and recheck it again for the next part of your flight at the check-in counters.
This whole process is called rechecking luggage.
Likewise, if you booked each of your flights on separate tickets,
you need to pick up your luggage between flights.
The third term is what's called short checking luggage.
As I mentioned earlier, most of the time your luggage is going
to be transferred to each of your flights for you.
But sometimes especially on very long layovers you might want to access your
checked luggage during the layover and that's where short checking your luggage comes in.
When checking your luggage you can ask the airline at the check-in desk to short check
your bag which means that you will receive it when you land at the layover airport.
This also means that you are responsible for rechecking it for the next flight.
And if you liked this video and you found it helpful make
sure you check out the rest of the video series.
You can click or tap the screen here to view
them or you can view the links down in the video description.
Thank you so much for watching and hope to see you in the next video.