Internal U.S. Flight Help

sideswipe

This year will be the first time that I'll be visiting multiple places in the States and I wanted a bit of general info on flights. Some of my questions may seem a bit stupid but please bare with me.

1. If I take a flight from San Francisco to Memphis that has a 38 minute stop over in Atlanta, are you expected to collect your luggage in this time and board the next flight, or do they transfer your luggage to the next flight for you ? :huh:

2. If my flight from San Francisco arrived late into Atlanta and I missed the connection to Memphis is there anything you can do, or is it a case of booking another flight ? :huh:

Sorry if these questions seem a bit stupid, but I'm totally clueless about these things, generally I fly non-stop everywhere.

Thanks

dzug1

Assuming it's a through booking, your luggage would be transferred for you.

Again assuming it's a through booking you'd get put on the next available flight.

sideswipe

dzug1 wrote: »

Assuming it's a through booking, your luggage would be transferred for you.

Again assuming it's a through booking you'd get put on the next available flight.

Does a through booking have to have the same airline flying both legs of the journey for this to apply or doesn't it matter?

M4RKM

"if it is a through booking" means that it is 1 ticket..

if you are booking 2 tickets, one from San Fran to Atlanta, and a second from Atlanta to Memphis, then yes, you would have to collect luggage, and recheck with your next airline..

However, if the airlines have an agreement, you may get your luggage checked in to your final destination.... depends on the ticket, the airlines, etc..

give us more details, and we might be able to help more

dmg24

Atlanta is a big airport. I don't know how efficient their baggage handlers are, but I would be aware of the possibility that your luggage may not make the second flight even if you do.

Marty_J

sideswipe wrote: »

1. If I take a flight from San Francisco to Memphis that has a 38 minute stop over in Atlanta, are you expected to collect your luggage in this time and board the next flight, or do they transfer your luggage to the next flight for you ? :huh:

If the transfer is with the same airline or the airlines are part of the same alliance (e.g. Star Alliance, SkyTeam, or Oneworld), then generally your luggage will be transferred to your connecting flight. Ask when you check-in just to be sure.

2. If my flight from San Francisco arrived late into Atlanta and I missed the connection to Memphis is there anything you can do, or is it a case of booking another flight ? :huh:

I missed my connecting flight at Newark last year (my luggage took 45 minutes for it to show up so I could take it through customs), and Continental just moved me onto the next flight.

dmg24 wrote: »

Atlanta is a big airport. I don't know how efficient their baggage handlers are, but I would be aware of the possibility that your luggage may not make the second flight even if you do.

I had a connection at Atlanta last year en route to Memphis, and my luggage made it in one piece just fine. I had even missed my previous flight (see above), and it still arrived where it was supposed to.

sturll

dmg24 wrote: »

Atlanta is a big airport. I don't know how efficient their baggage handlers are, but I would be aware of the possibility that your luggage may not make the second flight even if you do.

Atlanta is one of the best airports in the world imo to connect through (Almost as good as AMS). You can be from one terminal to the next in about 1 minute. If you were unlucky enough to have to get from one end of the airport to the other the longest it would take would be 5 minutes. (Using the train)

It is then just another 2 or 3 minutes to the gate.

However, like you quite rightly put, baggage is a different matter. Last year we had to leave my youngest son's pram because they were too busy running round Alanis Morrissette than bothering to sort out pax luggage.