Air Travel Guide

Air Travel can be very messy and stressful unless we know the procedures of each airport.
Here are some guide lines based on my personal experience.

1. Booking Air Tickets

You can always book air ticket through a travel agent or online by yourself. Normally booking through a travel agent is cheaper. After booking, you should print out the e-ticket (the itinerary) because you need the e-ticket number to check in at American airports. For example, if you are coming back to Penang, you can log in to http://www.aa.com (American Airline) and book the ticket. You can specify the city you depart and the destination city, and the departure date and the returning date. Normally American airline corporate with Cathy Pacific to complete the whole trip.

2. At the airport, you have to go to the airline counter and check in your luggage. At Penang airport, you have to get your luggage scanned before you proceed to check in your luggage. Normally the luggage will end up at the last destination unless you want to stop in other city for one two days.

3. At US first landing airport, you have to go thorough the imegresen check point where they check your passport and VISA as well as I-20 if you are a student. You have to go thorough the custom check too. If you are only transit at that city, you don't have to claim your luggage. Straight away go to a connectiong flight (we call transfer or tansit). Normally you have to go through security check if you are boarding another flight in US. At you need to take off your shoe and take out your laptop. They won't check the software you use.

4. Remember to retain the I94 form and return to airline counter at the airport you depart from US.
5. There is no custom check at US airport when you are leaving US.
6. The information at Los Angeles Airport is a bit haphazard. For example, when you arrive at Terminal 4 from an internal flight, you have to exit this terminal and walk to the International Terminal(Tom Bradley International Terminal , TBIT) and look for the airline counter.
7. Normally the American airline will inform the departure gate before arrival but Cathy Pacific won't inform you but you can refer to the digital board. Normally International Terminal for transfer is Gate E2 at Hongkong Airport.
8. Remember, we always aks the airport personnel if we don't have enough information.
9. Very important to look after you travel document carefully, that is your passport and e-ticket.

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