If your flights were booked under one ticket, your bags will be checked through to your final destination. If your flights were booked under separate tickets, you will need to collect your bags and recheck them before your connecting flight.
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It depends on how your ticket was booked. If your flights were booked under one ticket, your bags will be checked through to your final destination. If your flights were booked under separate tickets, you will need to collect your bags and recheck them before your connecting flight.
In most cases, you'll receive your boarding pass for your connecting flight already when you check in for your first flight. This means you don't have to check in again for your next flight. If you haven't received it, you can go to the transfer desk or kiosk of the airline you're flying with to collect it.
The agent at check-in will usually ask if you want your luggage checked through to your last stop. You'll also receive boarding passes for both flights when you first check-in, so all you will need to do is find your gate at your connecting airport and your bags will automatically follow.
Avoid tight layoversIdeally, you want direct, non-stop flights if you want to avoid your luggage getting lost at the connections. The longer the time between flights, the less chance your luggage will get left off the next plane during the changeover.
If the time between flights is 1–2 hours, your checked baggage will probably make the connection. If there's more than three hours between flights, there's no excuse for your baggage not making it.
The general rules are: 1-4 hours: short-checking luggage usually isn't permitted during quick layovers in this duration. 4-10 hours: airlines are hesitant to short-check luggage during moderately long layovers unless an acceptable reason is provided. You may or may not able to get your luggage.
If you checked a bag, you'll have to collect it from baggage claim from the international flight. You'll need to clear customs and immigration. Next, you'll recheck your luggage for the domestic flight. Finally, you'll need to go through Transportation Security Administration screening.
What is a good connection time? Travel advisers say there's a lot to take into account when booking connecting flights, but a general rule of thumb is 60-90 minutes between domestic flights and at least two to three hours for international itineraries.
If a delay in your first flight is the reason you're missing your connection, don't worry too much. Usually, most airlines will rebook you on the next flight, and that too for free. Although, you might have to fly on standby depending on seat availability.
When you get your bag tags, make sure that before you board your flight, stop at the gate and ask the agent if he or she can make sure your bags were scanned. It takes seconds but you'll then know right away if your bags have been loaded onto your flight. And do that again at your connecting airport.
However, the only time you have to get your checked bag and re-check it is when you have to go through customs and you have a connecting flight. You go through customs in the first country you land in.
You will go through customs when exiting your destination airport, not when transiting. Usually, in Schengen airports, going through customs doesn't involve much. You may not even notice it. Just pass through a door under a green sign that says something to the tune of “nothing to declare.”
Travel advisers say there's a lot to take into account when booking connecting flights, but a general rule of thumb is 60-90 minutes between domestic flights and at least two to three hours for international itineraries.
When it came to airlines that lost the most baggage, that same study found that Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines came in ninth out of 17 major airlines. “Of all national airlines, American Airlines lost the most bags in 2022, losing 850 bags per 100,000.
If you must check your suitcase, try to book a non-stop flight whenever possible — especially if you're flying international. According to SITA, the mishandling rate on international routes is 8.7 bags per thousand passengers; on domestic routes, it's 1.85 bags per thousand. Go carry-on only.
There is never any guarantee that bags will make a connection, but a longer layover does increase the chances. A 53-minute connection will work under normal circumstances, but your chances would be far better will an additional hour or so, especially if your first flight is slightly delayed.
Generally speaking, most airlines will make some kind of efforts to wait for delayed passengers on a connecting flight, though this is not necessarily guaranteed. In some cases, airlines may be able to hold a connecting flight for a period of time, but it is not something that is typically guaranteed by any airline.
For domestic layovers, your checked luggage will be tagged to your final destination, so there's nothing for you to do while on your layover. Your bags will get taken off the first flight and loaded onto the second flight.
It can take as little as 5 minutes or as long as 90 minutes depending on a multitude of factors as well as the motivation of the baggage runner. Airlines are aware of tight connections way before the plane hits the ground. Whenever possible, an expedite runner is sent to connect Shocons (short connections).