Ok, this is a pretty naive question, but how early do we need to be to the airport for the first domestic leg of an international flight? The first leg is just Des Moines to Chicago and then on to London.

Do I assume that you need to be extra early to the airport in Des Moines? Is that where you need the extra time? Or will it be needed in Chicago when you board the actual overseas flight?

Since your only checkin is in DSM I would assume there, but I don't really know.

Since the first leg is domestic, you just need to be there as you would for any other domestic flight as far as I know. How long do you have between flights?

If you have bags to checked, you need to have them in the system 60 minutes before departing from DSM. Not 30 for regular domestic flights.

You don't need extra time at ORD.

Although your first segment is domestic, you are an international passenger. Allow enough time to stand in lines for bag check and for an airline employee to inspect your passport.

You probably will not be able to print your boarding pass at home, do curbside bag check, or use quick check-in kiosks in the airport as we routinely do for domestic-only trips.

Some of the kiosks are now allowing international check-ins. We used the AA kiosks to check in for our flight to Japan in October, and the airline employees were making everyone use them regardless of where we were flying. There was a place on the side of the kiosk to slide your passport, similar to sliding a credit card.

Tracy

At some domestic airports, you can do curbside check-in for luggage for international flights. I flew out of JFK last week to Heathrow, and I was able to use the skycaps to check my bags.

The scary part is that the skycap told me that it was $270 if I paid by credit card, or only $135 if I paid cash. Wrap your mind around that one.

Procedures and facilities vary so much among airports and airlines that I think the best advice for someone traveling the first time is to be prepared to stand in lines (and be pleasantly surprised if some of the shortcuts are available to you).

Thanks for the information... I think she will have about a two hour layover in Chicago. The nice thing is her originating flight from Des Moines is a 4:30 p.m. so we won't have to be there early in the morning!