<p>I arrive in the US at Chicago airport. So customs will be done there. But the problem is that I have to catch a connecting flight in 80 minutes. Is this time enough to clear customs, immigration and catch the other flight?</p>
<p>If you bought the tickets together, this is a "legal" connection which means that the airline believes that it is possible. I am assuming that your luggage will be checked through to your final destination. That means that as soon as you clear customs, you will put your luggage on the conveyor belt that will rush it off to your next airplane. Meanwhile, you will get directions to the gate that your next flight will be leaving from, and you will more-or-less race there.</p>
<p>O'Hare Airport is big, and it will take time to get from one end to the other, but the signs are pretty good, the people are generally friendly, and you are young (and presumably strong and healthy). Wear sneakers.</p>
<p>Do not be surprised if your flights in and/or out of O'Hare are delayed by weather in Chicago. If anything like that happens to you, find a customer service agent for your airline, and they will sort out which flight to put you on to get you where you need to go.</p>
<p>Wishing you save travels and a successful year!</p>
<p>happymomof1,</p>
<p>I bought my tickets to fly to Philly from my country using the website of airline A, however, I'll fly from my country to LA using the airline A.. while from LA to Philly I'm going to fly using united airlines.. I have never flown this way.. what are the things that I have to watch out at LAX? Will I have to clear customs and check in again even though I bought the tickets on airline A to fly to Philly? How about my baggage?</p>
<p>Many thanks!</p>
<p>Happydad, Happykid, and I did this just a year ago, returning from a conference in Australia. Our flights were a Quantas/American Airlines code share from Sydney to Washington, DC. My memory is pretty foggy now (it was a 13 hour international flight after all), but here are the basics.</p>
<p>Since you bought the tickets for your whole trip as a unit on airline A's website, it is some kind of code share. On arrival to LAX, you will collect your luggage and go through customs, then you will drop your check-through baggage off at domestic security, and it will be sent on to Philly for you. </p>
<p>Just be sure that when you check that luggage in at your home airport, that the luggage tracking tags that the first airline puts on it have the Philly airport code (I think it's PHL, but you should be able to find it on your reservations and/or tickets) so that your suitcases ultimately end up at the right place! Also, be sure to get boarding passes for both the flight to LA, and the flight to Philly.</p>
<p>Many connecting domestic flights at LAX do leave from the international terminal, however, some leave from the domestic terminal which is about a block away. In which case, you will have a bit of a walk, and you will have to go through security again with your carry-on luggage. You won't have to check in again. You can go straight to the new gate with your boarding pass for the Philly flight.</p>
<p>In Philly, you don't go through customs (since you already did that in LA), you just go pick up your check-through luggage, and then figure out how to get to your college.</p>
<p>You can read about US airline security regulations at TSA</a> | Transportation Security Administration | For Travelers</p>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>
<p>happymom, thanks!</p>
<p>When I travel from my country to LA, i'll need to change flight (same airline tho) at country B, what do i have to watch out? check in? boarding pass?? baggage?</p>
<p>Interesting question! You should call the airline and ask about this. I've never had to change planes in an intermediate country, and I don't want to give you the wrong advice.</p>
<p>YOU, it's pretty easy to do if you use the same airline. just move in the terminal and you'll see where your plane departs from-ask people around there and look at the information boards. in general, you receive your baggage in your FIRST destination in the united states--that is, say you're flying from russia to united kingdom, and from there to new york, and from there to texas. you will receive your baggage in new york, then when you check in in the new york airport, give it for your texas flight. hope this helps.</p>
<p>happymon and echoes, thanks a lot! you guys were of great help.</p>
<p>I emailed the airline and they gave ma a call today.. saying the same things you guys mentioned!</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Just did this day before yesterday at O'Hare. It is possible to do the connection in 80 min. but EVERYTHING must go as smoothly/quickly as possible. That said, if the airline issued your ticket for this connection time, they are responsible for getting you to the final destination.</p>
<p>If you are not a US citizen/permanent resident, you will have to go through immigration formalities in a different line and it will probably take a bit longer. It is a long walk from the plane to the immigration lines. Walk as quickly as you can without running. Even if you are seated far back on the plane, you can usually get ahead of a lot of people that way. Have all your documents ready as you go through immigration. </p>
<p>Then you will collect your luggage. (They usually announce the baggage carrousel upon arrival although there are monitors that announce which flight is on which carrousel.) At that point, you will go through the customs line and turn in your customs declaration form. Make sure you do not have any food in your luggage (that is the most common thing that will get you additional questioning or a luggage search.) </p>
<p>At that point, you will recheck your luggage to your final destination. Make sure you tell the agent which flight you are trying to catch and its departure time. That person can tell you if you still have time, and, in fact, I believe they will not take the luggage if time is too short but will instead direct you to the customer service desk. (When we came through they told us we had just enough time and accepted our luggage for transfer.) That person will also be able to tell you which terminal your flight is leaving from. (You might want to familiarize yourself with the layout of the airport online before you travel)</p>
<p>There is an automatic train that you will take to travel from the international arrival terminal to the other terminals. </p>
<p>When you arrive at the other terminal, you will again have to go through security. Check out the TSA Web site for the latest requirements. Make sure you have all liquids in your carryon luggage in a quart-size zippered bag. Better yet, put any such items in your checked luggage. You must remove your shoes/jacket and take your laptop out of your carryon luggage. If you have anything in your pockets (cell phone, change, etc.) put it in your carryon baggage before you get to security. The same is true if you are male and wear a large watch or belt. This will remove any of the things that may sometimes set off the metal detector and will cause a manual search.</p>
<p>Once you have cleared security, head directly to your gate. If you only have 80 min. do not stop to go to the restroom or purchase food or anything until you have arrived at your gate. 80 min. is probably the minimum amount of time that can be scheduled for an international connection. (For information, our plane landed at 2:17 and our connecting flight left at 3:45. Everything went as smoothly as it could have (and we made a restroom stop), and our second flight was midway through the boarding process when we arrived at the gate.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>