<p>Some of you may have read my thread - we are leaving on Thursday from SE Asia going into SF to visit Santa Clara U, after which it is going to be a mad rush in and out of airports!!</p>
<p>Need some suggestions as to how much time do we need to keep for check-ins and perhaps car return.</p>
<p>We go from SF to St louis by a 3pm flight and then from St Louis to Atlanta by a 6am flight. Then on to Austin and LA and then back.</p>
<p>The 4 of us are only travelling with a roll on cabin bag and I am wondering if kids can also carry their backpacks in addition, no check ins to save on time and hassle. We have rented a car in SF but not in ATL as yet and staying at the airport there. Son did not get into GT but still wants to visit so will do a quick tour.</p>
<p>I usually allow two hours. It doesn’t usually take that long, but I hate the tension of cutting it close. And two hours allows time for things to go wrong - like when you get lost on the way to airport in a strange city, or you can’t find the car rental return place, or there is a horrendous line at security for some reason, and so on.</p>
<p>Thanks!! Ok so 2 hours should be enough, I was worrying about that.</p>
<p>So each one of us can carry a roll-on bag plus an add’l backpack or laptop bag?</p>
<p>Also wanted to know whats the best way to order AP guide books. I have a friend in Atlanta as well as in LA and can use their addresses for delivery.</p>
<p>H has 2 hotels in mind for LA - Holiday Inn at Burbank and one other a little bit south. Was wondering if those are good enough to visit USC and perhaps LMU for younger son.</p>
<p>If a 330pm flight at SFO, leave SCU at 1230p. 30 miles to SFO but leave time in case of traffic and the car rental facility is on the other side of the airport. Get gas by turning left at San Bruno Dr. instead of right for the car rental facility.</p>
<p>Arrive at car rental facility by 130p- airtrain takes a while to snake through terminals for American (Terminal 3). Worst case, you get to that concourse at 215pm if you get to car rental late.</p>
<p>Yeah, but you better get on early if you can. 4 people sitting near each other each with a roller suitcase is asking for trouble on the overhead storage.</p>
<p>Each airlines has its own rules for carry ons and each airport has its own suggested pre-flight arrival times. For example, Oakland airport suggests 2 hrs in advance of your flight, but Burbank only suggests 1.5 hours. You can find this out online for your particular airlines/airports.</p>
<p>Remember that you cannot have liquids in containers larger than 100 mL in your carryon bags, so plan on everyone having travel size toothpaste, contact lens solution, etc.:</p>
<p>Definitely get on board as soon as you’re permitted to, because as crescent pointed out, you’ll need overhead space.</p>
<p>Also, if ever you find yourself in a time bind, where you are in a long security line and need to catch your plane, alert one of the officials monitoring the line. They have the ability to move you up or by-pass the line entirely. I’ve never had to do this, thank goodness, but the employees are there to facilitate everyone’s flights, so speak up.</p>
<p>Good luck, and best wishes for a fun and constructive trip.</p>
<p>Re AP books - if you haven’t ordered yet you are cutting it close for delivery. You may need to just buy them at a store - try a big college books store at one of the schools you are visiting. It’s good to know which title you want for each subject - either from a teacher recommendation or by reading the Amazon.com comments - there’s often a consensus as to which book was best for each subject. Borders has a 30% off coupon right now and BN has a 10% coupon.</p>
<p>Check in online and print out your boarding passes the night before the flight. Last time we flew on Continental they were being strict on the size of the carry on bags. Many of the carry on bags have the extra expansion and it stuffed the bag can be quite large. They asked several people to make sure it fit in a sample space before allowing them to board the plane.
To get the Borders coupon you need to sign up for the Borders rewards program. It is free. They send coupons via email.</p>
<p>I’ve been on quite a few very full flights where they made each person put their carry-on bag into the sample size to see if it fit within the dimension limits. If it didn’t they took the bag and checked it plane-side. You pick it up when you get off the plane (sometimes having to wait quite a bit) but don’t pay the luggage fee.</p>
<p>Definitely print out your boarding passes within 24 hours of your departure for each flight! Every hotel I’ve stayed at has a “business center” with a computer and printer.</p>