64kerry

hi leaving in 4 weeks time first stop San Francisco from Australia. do you lock your luggage or use tamper proof seals? never travelled before don't know what to expect. does your checked luggage get opened? does your hand luggage get opened and checked or do they just go through xray machines? what happens from start to finish on depart one airport and leaving another. we are on a 7 week trip North America and Europe round the world ticket,depart and arrive quite a few airports.
all info appreciated just don't know what to expect. thanks Kerry

bob_brown

Hand luggage will be searched if anything suspicious shows up on the x-ray screen.

On US bound flights from Germany and the UK I know from experience that hand luggage is often searched.

Checked luggage in the US is usually x-rayed. If it is locked, and TSA wants to see what is inside, they have the legal authority to do so. If the lock is not TSA approved, which means TSA has a master key, someone will break the lock or simply cut it off.

If a thief wants to see what you have, the lock does little good. If a skeleton key does not open the lock, it is very easy to pop the hinges on a hardsided suit case, or simply cut softsided luggage open if the zipper fails to yield to normal prodding. Hence a lock is not even a minor deterrant to a skilled thief.

I have seen locksmiths open a locked desk with a long chisel in about 15 seconds. Poke the sharp end of the chisel (or a stout screwdriver) in the crack (assisting entry with a hammer if need be), give the handle one good heave, and the drawer flies open. The drawer might be a little bent, but the contents are readily available.

Professional car thieves need about 60 seconds to open the car, bypass the ignition switch, start the engine, and drive merrily away. Some of these electronic gadgets cause amateurs a little more of a headache, but the skilled pros often have the right equipment.

In fact, in eastern Europe I understand that car thieves drive up to an expensive car like a Ferrari or a Mercedes in lead shielded vans. They winch the car into the van, where the lead shield defeats the GPS system, and off they go with their prize. Later they can open the car at their leisure without scarring the paint.

64kerry

thanks bobbrown looks like we will buy TSA approved locks. Like to hear from others as to what else happens from departing Australia to US. what forms do we fill out etc and when? I think we have to give an address of our friends in California on a form etc. when we arrive in San Fran what do we do? do we go through customs first? then what happens do we just collect our bag on a turnstile and then we are free to leave? sorry for all my ignorance but I want to be prepared as to what to expect. I'm sure we will stick out at first time travellers.

flanneruk

Why on earth does it matter if you stick out like first time travellers?

What does matter is that you get into America and don't hold up fellow passengers. Assuming you're Australian, you need to provide your carrier at checkin (though many major carriers require you to do this before you leave for the airport, and you should search "Advance Passenger Information" on your carrier's website) with precise details of the first place you'll be staying. Street address, city, state, postcode.

On the plane you'll be given immigration and customs forms. The address you give here must be IDENTICAL to the one you provided at or before checkin. The airline staff will explain which are the right forms for you, and help you complete them. Don't worry about looking an ignoramus: fill them in wrongly and life can get very uncomfortable.

When the plane lands, you'll be told where to go next by people used to assuming all foreign arrivals are stupid. You may queue for a second, get greeted friendlily by an intelligent iummigration official and be out 30 secs later (as happened to me last time I flew to California), or have the endless, unpleasant edperience people always rabbit on about at US immigration that's always eluded me in 30 years of travelling to the US. Either way, you'll be photographed and fingerprinted. Whatever you may think about this, it takes a few seconds and doesn't involve ink on your fingers.

You then, after collecting your bags, hand your customs form to a customs official. Most foreign-resident foreigners travelling on passports that don't need visas (Australians for example) simply see the official scratching his head for a few seconds, scribbling on the form then sending them on their way.

That's it. Getting to Europe's likely to be a lot easier. Depending where you flying to, you might have to fill in a (much shorter) immigration card on the plane, have to find the appropriate immigration queue by yourself and (if landing in Britain, but not elsewhere) answer a few immigration questions (there are an AWFUL lot of overstaying Aussies in Britain). YOu then walk your bags through the green customs channel, notice the apparent absence of controls and emerge into the day.

Ah, but it it won't be anything like that easy when you go back to Oz. Just make sure you've scrubbed your shoes!

skylark

You will have to provide the details (name and address) of where you will be staying when you check in - used to be when you arrived, but now they need to know before you depart.

You will have your picture taken and also be fingerprinted when going through US Immigration, I think kids under 14 or so are exempt. We went through LAX in December, and the Immigration officer was most unfriendly, the only words he spoke were to tell us to place our fingers on the machine to be fingerprinted.
We don't usually lock our luggage, and so far have not had any problems except for it coming on a later flight a couple of times.
Hope you have a wonderful holiday.

64kerry

thank you I have provided our friends US address to our travel agent quite some time ago. appreciate letting me know what to expect when arriving. when we leave San Fran we are travelling to Alberta Canada have been told to arrive 3 hours before flight. is this right?

GBC

Hi......Welcome to the USA. We travel a lot, both in the US and in Europe. More recently in New Zealand. We never lock our luggage. In part, because we keep all our valuables on our person or in our carryon. Never had a problem. Be sure some sort of ID is in your luggage in case it goes astray. Using a business card works well. Better than your personal info.

Arriving to check in two hours before your flight should be time enough. For many flights in the US you can now print out your boarding pass before going to the airport. Hotels will do this for you as a free service. Up to 24 hours before the flight. It is a time and hassle saver.

64kerry

GBC when you say put your personal details in your case (we don't have business cards) if your suitcase got lost would they send it home again if locating you failed! shouldnt it have your next destination and mobile phone no? I know if it did get lost and wasn't on the turnstile you would report it to someone whom would ask for your hotel or next flight details. so why do we put our home address?
just a little confused Im sure after we have actually travelled we will understand everything a bit better!! thanks,

Dukey

Usually luggage is searched, if necessary, at the check-in point, not at the arrival airport as far as I know.

I am wondering if you would have to worry about locking it at your starting point in Australia.

It would definitely be an issue from ANY US airport starting point.

Neil_Oz

After you check in at the Qantas or United desk at Sydney (for your sake I hope it's Qantas) you'll go through Immigration and hand in your completed departure card. You can then spend some time in the duty free stores before your flight is called if you like. Don't worry too much about beer, spirits and tobacco, which are pretty cheap in US supermarkets (wine prices in US$ are roughly similar to Australian prices in AU$).

Before you board you'll be patted down and your carry-on baggage checked at the behest of the TSA - this eats up time at Sydney (frankly, it was a bit of a shambles when we went through) but smooths entry at SFO. Remember that you can't take liquids on board.

Pay attention when you fill in your US immigration card on the aircraft - it's clumsily designed and it's easy to make a mistake.

When we landed at SFO a few months ago, having heard all the horror stories, we were surprised at how straightforward entry was. We were asked a few questions by a formal but polite immigration officer and had our faces and fingerprints photographed. We then picked up our baggage from the carousel and were waved through Customs.

But it's the luck of the draw. Around the world you can be selected for a baggage search either randomly or because you belong to the wrong demographic. I don't know which one you fall into, but for the record, if there's just a few molecules of cannabis or whatever clinging to an old backpack the sniffer dogs will pick it up. The dogs are rewarded with a treat, and the possibility of food concentrates the mind (if that's the word) of a beagle or labrador wonderfully.

If you're not being picked up at SFO, keep in mind that there's a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station in the terminal. Turn right after exiting Customs and follow the signs - you'll pass ATM on the way. BART services are fast, reasonably priced and, once you've figured out the ticket vending machines, convenient. If you go to the BART website you'll find route maps, schedules and fares.

The cabs we caught in the US, and their drivers, varied widely in quality, and considering the condition of many weren't as cheap as they should have been, we thought. The first one we ever caught drove with all the precision of a giant, groaning marshmallow on wheels and left me feeling distinctly queasy. On our second visit we made a point of using public transport where possible and didn't regret it.

ira

Hi 64,

TSA approved locks are not going to keep a professional thief out of your luggage.

Don't go to the trouble and expense.

We use cable ties. They are just as effective. You can use a fingernail clipper (permitted in carryon) to open them.

Enjoy your visit.

64kerry

Neil_Oz
thanks for info we are leaving Adelaide via New Zealand then SFO. we are flying with ANZ. I can assure you those dogs won't find anything (never touched the stuff). so everytime we land somewhere including Europe we are handed an immigration form to fill out on the plane? we are catching the airport bus immediately outside the airport and travelling to Santa Rosa where our friends will pick us up at the airport there. 4 days with them and back to San Fran for 2 nights and then fly out to Canada to stay with other friends for a week and then onto Paris for 6 days. we can take some liquids on board can't we? I can take some toiletries as long as each bottle doesn't exceed 100ml and total 1 litre? I have been given the plastic bag by our travel agent. Ira have definately decided to go with the cable ties. thanks everyone

Patricia

Hi there,
We always use cable ties when flying from New Zealand into or via the US, they are cheap and readily available, we've never had one cut yet.
We flew ANZ's new service into San Francisco last year, much more user friendly airport than LA.
Your trip sounds great, Canada is just wonderful.

prue

Yes, you should have a copy of your itinerary in your case where it is easy to see - and on it obviously have the various addresses and your mobile phone number.