Lifestyle

Last Minute Packing and Travel Tips to USA – Packing, Baggage, Food Items

Here’s two last minute Air Travel experience shared by  readers:

I traveled from New Delhi, India to Marquette, MI (USA). Here are some last-minute flight travel tips to the USA for you.

  • Baggage Weight
  • Liquids in Carry On Bag
  • Food Items in the Bag
  • Electronic Items

Baggage Weight

Make sure to weigh the suitcases at your home. Sometimes, your weigh scale might not be accurate. So, verify the sale accuracy with known weight.  I recommend having exact weight or maybe 1 lbs extra.

For cabin bag, airports and airlines have a free cabin bag size check-up tool where you can measure whether your cabin bag is of the right size.

Carry some warm clothes with you in cabin bag to avoid cold A/C within the cabin during the flight.

Liquids in Carry On Bag

Any liquid (Oil, Shampoo, cream, deodorant, etc.) more than 100 ml is not allowed in cabin/laptop bag.

If you are carrying liquids, make sure they do not carry it the cabin bag. Otherwise, you have to lose it in Delhi/Mumbai airport.

Rather carry it in your checked in bags.

Even if your oil or shampoo bottle size is more than 100 ml but it contains only 50 ml content in it, they still won’t allow it in cabin bag.

Matchbox is also not allowed.

Food Items in the Bag

If you have a connecting flight from Chicago (ORD Intl Airport) then in Chicago airport security officials (Customs) won’t allow Ric. They will open your checked in bags and throw (trash) Rice from it, as Rice are not allowed from a foreign country, I don’t know about other states airports.

  • Refer to Travel Guide  for Complete First Time Travel Tips

Bring plenty of Indian spices with you (I’d suggest you to get all type of spices with you in more quantity because they are not available here and in some places they are available but very costly as compared to India).

Electric Gadgets from India

Do not get any electronic gadget from India like Iron, DVD Player, etc. because you are not able to connect then in sockets here in the USA. The USA has a different type of sockets and plugs our Indian plugs won’t fit into their sockets if you can you get a converter with you from the electric shop from India with you.


 

Following seven last minute flight travel tips is written by Munna (long time HSB follower).

1. Connection Time

While changing flight at any airport, it’s better to have a good gap like 3 hours. Do not book a flight with just 1-hour gap.

While coming from India, if you are changing plane at any European or Middle Eastern airport, you have to go again through security screening, and your passport/visa is checked. It takes some time and sometimes because of bad weather flight gets delayed a little bit. So 2 hours gap will make you comfortable.

2. Reach airport early

If you are coming from India, atleast 3 hours. There are so many queues.

Keep a print out of your ticket receipt. If you are catching a flight in USA to India, atleast 2 hours.

I have seen many Indian students coming late and missing the flight.

3. Baggage Weight

Look at weight limit and pack properly. It is very common for students to come overweight and then waste everybody’s time in adjusting the baggage to weight limit. A small TSA approved lock was a good investment.

4. Air Fares

Don’t blindly follow your friends that if he went through some travel agent or some particular airline.

Sometimes it is cheaper to break the journey into two parts like Delhi to Chicago and then to go to your city from Chicago in a separate ticket if the direct ticket to your destination is expensive. But then you may have to pay for luggage. So do all the calculations.

4. Travel Cash

Keep some dollars in your pocket. You never know-you may get stuck in some airport for 5-6 hours, and you need to buy a water bottle or McDonalds or a pint of German Beer.

5. Cheap Travel Dates

Try to go on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday as tickets are slightly cheaper and more vacant seats on planes on these days.

At the same time, if someone is going to come to Airport to pick you, then weekend or evening arrival time will be convenient for them.

6. In-flight Food

If you are fussy about food, go to the airline website and opt for Special Meal. Do it well in advance and also get it confirmed either on ticket receipt or while printing boarding pass.

You can request new meal up to three days in advance. If you are Vegetarian, then you can ask for Hindu Vegetarian.

7. Carry On Bag Weight Limit

Utilize your carry-on limit of baggage. Read the rules carefully. The size of baggage, laptop bag. They allow shawl, jacket, book over the limit.

Next –  Steps: From Port of Entry to Connecting Flight in the USA

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5 Comments

  1. This is really an amazing and wonderful article on last minute flight travel tips to the USA. Details about baggage weight, on what kind of liquids to keep in carryon bag, food items to carry in the bag and electronic devices. The information on above details gives a clear idea on what to carry and what not to carry while travelling to USA.

  2. nowadays airlines have become strict with weight /baggage limits. Always read from the website of respective airlines about limits. every airline and every location has different limits. Try to utilise the cabin baggage allowance. also look at extra things like shawl,blanket, camera, laptop, jacket, books, ipad, umbrella, sleepers which are allowed above your allowance. and you can carry them in a second bag in cabin and utilise more space. I see more and more Indians especially ladies coming to the airport with overweight baggages and wasting everybody’s time there.

  3. “If you cannot weigh your bags properly at home, do not worry IGI Delhi airport has free weight check machines in the airport.
    When you just enter the airport, you can you can weight the bags. This would help you avoid extra payment at the counter for over weight bag.”

    I agree but will add that its way more convenient to weigh em at home. If you have to re-balance the weight of the bags at the airport, its a PITA

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