Travel <- StackExchange top 100

Question

I’m applying for a fresh Passport from India but I don’t know what “ECR” & “NON-ECR” mean:

“Is applicant eligible for Non-ECR category?”

[Yes] [No]

I’ve already Graduated from University. I don’t know whether to choose “YES” or “NO”?. I’m Indian by birth.

Answer accepted (score 11)

I am an Indian, with a Masters Degree and in my Passport its marked as ECNR (Emigration Clearance Not Required).

Being said that, as per Path2USA

Eligibility for ECNR:

The following applicants are eligible for ECNR status regardless of its requirement in certain countries -

1. Holders of Diplomatic / Official Passports
2. Gazetted Government servants, their spouses and dependent children
3. Income tax payers, their spouses and dependent children
4. Professional degree holders
5. Persons having educational qualification of matriculation and above.
6. Seamen who are in possession of Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC), or Sea Cadets and Deck Cadets
7. Persons holding permanent immigration Visas, such as the visas of UK, USA and Australia.
8. Persons possessing two or three years’ diploma from any institute recognized by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) or State Council of Vocational Training (SCVT).
9. Qualified Nurses, recognized under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947.
10. Persons above the age of 50 years.
11. All persons who have been staying abroad for more than three years (the period of three years could be either in one stretch or broken) and their spouses.
12. Children up to 18 years of age.

So, your answer will be YES

Answer 2 (score 7)

Google brought this up immediately and Wikipedia has a section on it here.

They call it “ECR (Emigration Check Required) or ECNR (Emigration Check Not Required).”

The category for an ECNR that appears to apply for you is “holder of a matriculation certificate.”

Question

In case, if I get a multiple-entry Schengen visa in one of the embassies in Ukraine, Kyiv - should my first trip be to the country which issued the visa?

Any there any requirements of this sort? Does this condition vary depending on embassy which issued the visa?

What are the possible consequences on not visiting that country first? Does it somehow depend on country where the embassy is (i.e. non-Schengen and not EU members)?

Answer accepted (score 50)

Your first port of entry does NOT need to be the country which issued you a Schengen visa. When deciding which country to apply for a visa, this is determined by which country you’re spending the most time according to your filed itinerary. Once the visa is issued, it does not matter what country is your point of entry. Technically, you should also stick to your itinerary as filed but I don’t think this is checked at any point.

Answer 2 (score 31)

Practically speaking, while most Schengen countries are quite lax about visas, some are extremely picky.

For example, there are lots of reports that the Finnish consulate in St. Petersburg systematically reprimands local applicants for ‘illegitimate’ usage of Finnish ME visas for traveling to Europe instead of Finland - sometimes by issuing a warning, sometimes by refusing new visa applications. A number of cases have been reported when holders of Finnish visas were turned back at the border and their visas cancelled when the guards found evidence of their plans to travel further than Finland.

What it all boils down to, is: attitudes vary.

Answer 3 (score 19)

As others have already explained, there is no general requirement to enter through the country that issued the visa.

In fact, if you are travelling to several Schengen countries at once, you are required to apply to the country that will be your main destination and might therefore very well be different from the one you will enter first. So if you go for a week to Italy, a month to France and then a week to Spain, you would be entering Italy and visiting Spain on a visa issued by the French consulate. It’s not merely something you can do in practice but is technically not allowed, that’s precisely how the system is supposed to work.

By contrast, the fact that you are required to apply to a specific country also tells you that you are not really supposed to use a visa issued by a Schengen country to go wherever you please (otherwise what would be the meaning of this requirement?)

Beyond that, you ought to make a distinction between several scenarios:

• You have a multiple-entry visa. Those are intended to cover multiple trips and multiple purposes, so going elsewhere is generally fine.

  • The best is to first use the visa to go to the country that issued it. After all, it’s supposed to be a country you have reasons to visit frequently. Having the stamps to document that also shows that your visa is legit and that you really do travel to this country regularly.

  • If you have never been to this country, it’s not forbidden to use your multiple-entry visa but it could raise some suspicion that you didn’t have a good reason to get one in the first place. See also Can I use my Schengen visa for a completely different purpose and entry point?

    In practice, you might not even be asked about it but it’s a possibility. Unfortunately, this system is frequently being abused, which is perhaps the reason for the backlash described by Andrey Chernyakhovskiy.

  • Also when comes the time to renew the visa, it makes sense that not having been to the country that issued it at all should raise questions. You are not supposed to get a visa from one country as a convenient way to visit other countries, you are supposed to apply to a country you really intend to visit at some point.

• You have a single entry visa. It has been issued for a specific trip, for which you had to submit an itinerary so going elsewhere than planned is not recommended.

  • If you are following your itinerary, then it’s obviously fine. It can mean that you are entering the Schengen area through a given country with a visa issued by another one (as in my Italy/France/Spain example) but that’s the way the Schengen system is supposed to work. No issues here.

  • If you added some last-minute changes to your itinerary (say add a short visit to another country at the beginning of your trip), you will usually be fine. To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing that would explicitly disallow that in the regulation. You might however get some questions when crossing the border and some countries appear to overreact to small changes so if you want to be careful, it’s always best to stick to your itinerary. See Can I change my route and hotel reservation after getting a Schengen visa?

  • If you are using your single-entry visa for a completely different purpose, you are in a bit of a grey area. Deliberately applying to a country you do not intend to visit because it’s easier/more convenient is definitely forbidden. If found out, it would be a valid ground to annul the visa, which means being forced to return where you came from immediately and more trouble getting another Schengen visa in the future. On the other hand, many people do get away with it and if you had a genuine change of circumstances, you might legitimately find yourself in this situation (see Use of unused Schengen visa to travel to Switzerland).

    At the end of the day, border guards have some discretion here. Using a single-entry visa for another trip is not unambiguously allowed nor is explicitly forbidden as such. Depending on whether you still meet the conditions or whether it seems you deliberately committed fraud, your visa could be annulled or revoked or you could simply be denied entry. It’s also possible to have luck and to be allowed to continue your trip but it’s clearly a risk.

If you consider doing some changes to your itinerary and are concerned about the consequences, one approach to preempt any objection is to contact the relevant consulate and ask what you should do. Most likely, they will tell you they can’t issue a new visa and you can use the current one but the upside for you is that you can print their answer and have it ready to demonstrate your good faith if some border guard asks about it during your trip (do not volunteer anything if it does not come up). See also Use of unused Schengen visa to travel to Switzerland for an example.

Question

Is it allowed to carry aerosol spray cans (deodorant, insect repellent, waterproofer, spray paint, i.e. any common thing you can think of that typically comes in spray bottles) in the checked luggage on airplanes?

Is it safe to do so?

My concern is that pressurized containers may not be allowed due to the potential pressure decrease on the plane.

Answers applicable only to US domestic flights are also welcome.

Answer accepted (score 14)

SafeTravel covers this somewhat, saying you’ll want to check the details on your deodorant / other can. If it says it’s a flammable product, it may not be permitted in your checked luggage.

If it’s not flammable, however, then it should be fine to travel with, provided the top is on.

So to be clear - it’s the flammability that’s more of a concern here, rather than any explosions from pressure - most large passenger plane cargo holds are pressurized. In fact in larger jets, pressurization of the cargo hold is also required to prevent damage to pressure-sensitive goods that might leak, expand, burst or be crushed on re-pressurization.

Answer 2 (score 6)

The US domestic answer is that aerosol toiletries are fine: the TSA says that aerosols are prohibited, “except for personal care or toiletries in limited quantities”. The regulations in other countries are, I believe, broadly similar. As a random other example, Britsh Airways’ dangerous goods list says (page 2) that “Non-radioactive medicinal or toilet articles (including aerosols) such as hair sprays, perfumes, colognes and medicines containing alcohol” may be carried in checked or carry-on luggage or on your person.

Why the explicit mention of radioactivity? mindcorrosive pointed out in a comment that radioactive substances are used medicinally to treat conditions including hyperthyroidism (see Wikipedia). Also, up to at least the 1960s, radioactive cosmetics were available.

Answer 3 (score 4)

It depends; it appears that some are and some are not.

If flying within the US, the FAA has a table of items that are allowed and forbidden on airplanes (either as checked or carry-on luggage). From that table, you can see that, for instance, aerosol sunscreen is allowed, pressurized whipped cream is allowed in checked luggage but not carry-on, and spray paint is completely forbidden.

If in any doubt, you should check with the airline agent (when checking luggage), or the security officers at the checkpoint (for carry-on).

Question

When flying, are you allowed to bring battery packs / power banks? I’d like to bring my ACC 10400mAh Power Bank on several flights.

Answer accepted (score 31)

There are limits that were introduced by the US Federal Aviation Administration. Those have been used as well by numerous other airlines, for example Cathay Pacific. They generally impose a limit on capacity per passenger and on top of this disallow checking them in, so you must take them into your hand luggage.

If a website lists grams of Lithium, use this formula (source):

Equivalent Lithium Content (ELC). ELC is a measure by which lithium ion batteries are classified.

8 grams of equivalent lithium content are equal to about 100 watt-hours.
25 grams of equivalent lithium content are equal to about 300 watt-hours.

You can arrive at the number of watt-hours your battery provides if you know how many milliamp hours and volts your battery provides: mAh/1000 x V = wh

There is additional information available from the TSA and the IATA.

Some more information here from Thailand, as of Jan 2015 (sorry, a bit shaky)L Essentially, anything above 32’000 mAh is forbidden, below that and above 20’000 mAh is limited to 2 per person, below that there are no limits, but all only in hand luggage.

Answer 2 (score 30)

I’ve had two battery packs / power banks, and travelled to several countries with several airlines, taking them as carry on, without any problem…until…

Last year, I flew from Tokyo Haneda, via Beijing, China to Vancouver, Canada. In Beijing, Chinese officials sent me to a security point, where several people including myself had our power banks taken off us, to our protest. More on the situation here.

In the end, I believe - from what they told me, it was because it didn’t indicate the amperage / capacity anywhere on the device. Which seems pretty dumb to me for a reason - it’s still a commercially made product (made in CHINA), but yeah, they confiscated it.

I also saw signs in Taiwan stating that they had to be in carry-on, NOT checked luggage for some flights, so yeah, you should be fine taking it in carry-on.

Answer 3 (score 7)

There have been rules re carrying batteries for many years.
They may be found in (at least) IATA documentation and also a number of courier companies and most battery manufacturers have advice documents.

Removable batteries must be carried in carry-on luggage with the exception mentioned below. Having batteries in carry=on makes sense - would you rather have a fire in a cargo hold or an overhead locker. (Answer: No! :-)).

There is an upper limit to the amount of Lithium metal that may be carried. Some manufacturers provide specific mass of Li per battery. Otherwise they have a linear conversion between Watt hour of battery (Vbat x mAh.) and Li metal.

On one occasion I travelled with a laptop with large battery, + spare battery + 2nd laptop + maybe 6 x camera batteries (7V2 x ~= 1500 mah). I was approaching but still under the Lithium metal limit.

China are a power unto themselves - they make up rules that others do not have. Export rules for batteries via eg Fedex do not apply to hina battery exports. Batches of batteries need a per batch test house certification that they meet certain standards. This apparently excessive zeal is because people are willing to ship dangerous junk and misdeclare it. Presumably the certified test houses have had it made very clear what will happen if they pass junk.

There are rules re battery carrying which vary somewhat. Some systems allow carrying loose batteries with ends taped otherwise rendered“safe” from accidental shorting. .

Sealed lead acid batteries that are spill proof(and not all are!) must be carried in checked luggage with a formal label stating that they are exempt under IATA regulation xxx. This actually works. I have seen signs that luggage has been opened and the battery checked but not removed.

Question

What’s the simplest and cheapest way to get from central Nice, France to Monaco by public transportation?

Answer accepted (score 35)

Bus 100 (Nice - Monaco - Menton) is a very good option and costs a mere 1.50 € (2015). It runs every 15 minutes mostly, and the trip takes 30-45 minutes. It takes an absolutely scenic route along the coast, passing through seaside towns such as Villefranche and Beaulieu.

(There’s also express bus 100X which takes the motorway and costs 4 € (2012); obviously not as good for sightseeing.)

In Nice, the 100 now leaves from Le Port; follow link for exact locations on map. (The departure stop has changed a couple of times in recent years, having previously been Ségurane, next to Place Garibaldi, and Promenades des Arts.)

Arriving in Monaco, there are 6 stops to choose from (do get off at one of these as the bus continues towards Menton):
Cimetière, Place d’Armes, Stade Nautique, Office de Tourisme, Place des Moulins, Les Carabiniers.

Heading from Monaco towards Nice, the route is slightly different; then the Monaco stops are:
Les Carabiniers, Place des Moulins, Casino (Allée Lumière), Sainte Dévote, Place d’Armes, Cimetière.

The buses don’t run very late: last one from Nice leaves at 20:00, and from Monaco at 20:22. First departures in the morning are about 6:00. You’ll find details and full list of stops in bus 100 timetable.

Alternatively, take the train (“Nice Ville” to “Monaco Monte Carlo”). It is faster (22 mins) and arguably easier, but costs a little more at 3.90 €. There are about 2 regional trains per hour (daytime), according to SNCF. A good thing is that the trains run much later; last one leaves from Nice 22:25 and from Monaco 23:12 (on weekdays).

The above applies to regional trains (TER) which would probably be your primary choice on this route, though you could also catch an intercity/TGV.

Answer 2 (score 11)

I have just returned from Nice/Monte. Great trip and good advice given here.

As of Nov 31 2013 the bus costs €1.50 each way and starts just off Garibaldi Square, pay cash.

Also, the Nice day pass has changed.

It is a 24 hour pass that costs €5 and can be used on all trams and buses in Nice except buses 98 and 99.

What does this mean? The only bus that the pass covers that goes to and from the airport is the number 23 (catch it outside the Rail Station), takes 30-40 minutes to Terminal 1.

From there use the free airport shuttle bus to get to T2.

You ask, what about the 98 and 99 buses? Well they now cost €6 each way - the benefit is it is an express bus.

Answer 3 (score 8)

We returned from the Cannes-Nice-Monaco Trip in May 2014, and the answers given above have helped us. Although the starting point of Bus 100 has changed as rightly pointed out in answer by Ger:

The 100 bus to Monaco now leaves from the Promenades des Arts stop outside the Musée d’Art Moderne/Contemporain near the corner of Av. St. Sebastian and Traverse Garabaldi.

Here are some of the Bus timetables that I got as of May 2014.

And here are some timetables if someone willing to do the trip to Cannes. In Nice, take Bus 200 from “Le Meridian” ,I guess near to McDonalds.Bus 200 To Cannes

And Return

And the Price List

Question

Is there any way I can track the status of my application?

I have applied for a visa on 20th Aug and I have opted for SMS notifications. First day I got an SMS from VFS Team stating application forwarded to Embassy. Today is the 10th working day and I have not received any further updated SMS from VFS Team about the application status.

Answer accepted (score 11)

Visa Processing Times

UKVI has released a site wizard called Visa processing times that provides the expected turn-around for each issuing post by visa type.

The user can enter the relevant issuing post and visa type and is then given historical data broken out by processing time. A sample for Paris looks like…

People wanting to how the status of their application can use this wizard to get an estimate based upon historical data.

The original answer is also accurate and does not need to be changed as a result of this update. Email/SMS updates for certain types of applications at certain issuing posts are still available to applicants.

Email and SMS Alerts

The most recent SMS you received is your status, and when it changes you will be notified via SMS. Many people find that the SMS facility is not granular enough to suit their needs, especially when they are awaiting important news, but there’s actually no other way to learn more. Their internal systems only have about 5 status’s anyway.

Your T2 sponsor, on the other hand has access to the UKVI Sponsor Management System and can query the database on your behalf. The only information that your sponsor is likely to get is what you already received via SMS. The same goes for your VFS, but they cannot access Sponsor Management.

Of these, your best option is to await the next SMS from them.

Starting in January 2015, they will initiate a programme to advise IN COUNTRY applicants of their status by email. So your renewal or subsequent applications can take advantage of that method.

Outliers and Exceptions

UKVI has agreed a service level with Parliament and as long as your application falls within their agreed time limit, they are not obliged to provide extraordinary status info. Once they have exceeded the time limit and they have not reached a decision, they will notify you. Also at that point you have the option of initiating a query on your own. This holds true for all visa applications across the board, but each visa type has a different target.

MP Interest

It is also possible to learn detailed status via an MP who expresses interest. This is arguably the very worst alternative because their response has to go through the Ministerial Correspondence Unit, which takes a long time and your processing clock reverts back to square one. And all the response will say is that your application is awaiting a decision and reference the appropriate service level.

Question

My US passport took too long to be shipped to me, and it will arrive after I need to leave. Will I be able to cross the border from the United States to Canada with a birth certificate (copy) and a passport locator number?

Answer accepted (score 25)

If you are a US citizen by birthright, you can indeed cross into Canada using your birth certificate and a photo ID. For safety reasons, you may want to bring the original birth certificate, or at least a certified copy. If you are not a US (or Canadian) citizen or permanent resident, you cannot enter Canada without passport:

If you are a citizen of the United States, you do not need a passport to enter Canada. However, you should carry proof of your citizenship, such as a birth certificate, certificate of citizenship or naturalization, as well as photo identification. If you are a permanent resident of Canada or the U.S, you should bring your Permanent Resident Card with you.

However, depending on how you’re travelling, you may have difficulties re-entering the US without a passport! These are the rules (summarized) for US citizens coming back:

U.S. citizens entering the United States by land or sea are required to present a valid WHTI-compliant document, which include:

U.S. Passports U.S. Passport Cards Enhanced Driver’s Licenses Trusted Traveler Cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST) Military Identification Cards (for members of the U.S. armed forces on official orders) U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (for U.S. citizens on official maritime business) The Global Entry (GE) card is only an ENTRY document and may not be used to enter Canada, Mexico or Adjacent Island.

Children: U.S. citizen children ages 15 and under arriving by land or sea from a contiguous territory may present an original or copy of his or her birth certificate (issued by the Vital Records Department in the state where he or she was born), a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Naturalization Certificate. If the child is a newborn and the actual birth certificate has not arrived from the Vital Records Department, we will accept a Hospital issued birth certificate.

So if your passport is delayed, make sure it arrives at your place in Canada on time.

Answer 2 (score 6)

While Jonas’ answer is indeed the legal situation but note: there is no penalty for breaking this particular law and more importantly, no US citizen can be denied entry to the USA if said person can prove citizenship. This is more generic than the USA, this is one of the fundamental meanings of citizenship. A birth certificate is a good start, the more IDs you have, the better. Expect a long, painful process border crossing if you do it without a passport.

It’s a whole another topic whether an airline would let you board on the grounds of “Oh, I will convince the border guards, no worries”. You might need to fly to Toronto or Vancouver and get across on land. If you don’t drive, then the easiest is probably the Windsor Tunnel Bus to Detroit. From Toronto, there’s a VIA Rail three times a day to Windsor. There are no similar services in Vancouver, you’d need to walk a lot. Note this bolded note on the Tunnel Bus page:

Proof of citizenship is required when crossing the international Windsor-Detroit border.

Every other border crossing carrier I am aware of, BoltBus, Greyhound, Amtrak, Quickshuttle all wants a passport. Let’s see Crossing from to Canada to the USA w/o passport on public transit? what else is possible.

Question

In Europe usually you don’t need to go through immigration to change planes (unless you are entering/exiting Schengen). Is it the case in the US as well? May I catch a connecting flight on one of the US airports if I don’t have US visa?

Answer accepted (score 85)

Unlike many other countries, US airports do not have any form of physical immigration controls when you are departing the country on an international flight. In fact, in most airports there isn’t even a concept of an “International” terminal/gate, with the same gates frequently being used for international flights and domestic flights.

As a result of this they can’t enforce the concept of a ‘transit’ passenger - once you’re in the departure area, even if you got there on the pretext of catching another international flight out of the country a few hours later, there’s nothing to stop you boarding a different domestic flight, or even simply walking out of the airport!

This means that ALL passengers arriving on international flights in the US must have the legal right to enter the US; i.e, you must either be a US citizen/green card holder, be from a country that does not have any visa requirements (such as Canada or Bermuda), be from a country that is a part of the US Visa Waiver Program and have a valid ESTA, or have a US Visa.

If you require a Visa then there is a “Transit Visa” (C) available which is normally a little easier to obtain than a normal visa, but you’ll still need to go through the full visa application process, including showing proof that you intend to leave the US (almost) immediately.

Answer 2 (score 17)

First of all it depends what nationality you are. I assume you are from a country that is part of the US visa waiver program. In this case you don’t need a visa but you do need a travel authorization (ESTA) even if you are only changing planes in the US without leaving the airport.

Source: ESTA-FAQ of the Department of Homeland Security.

So there is no difference between visiting the US for 90 days or just transiting, in both cases you need an ESTA. It currently costs $14 and you can do it online before leaving for the US.

Question

I recently obtained a Global Entry card and on the back is the PASSID number that I understand is also my Known Traveler Number. When I recently tried to record my KTN with an airlines it asked for both a Redress Control Number and a KTN. My question is: does one need both to qualify for TSA PreCheck?

Answer accepted (score 27)

No you do not. A Known Traveler Number is for PreCheck. You can get into PreCheck via a number of programs, including Nexus. For Nexus people, put your PASSID (from the back of your card) into the Known Traveler Number field.

A redress number is like an override if your name is on the Do Not Fly. Most of us don’t have them. But people with the same name as someone on DNF can apply to have their problem (that they can’t fly) redressed, and at the end of that process they get a redress number, that they have to enter everywhere so that they can fly. TSA explains this. So does Air Canada. Should you have one, you will have to enter it here, just as you enter it all kinds of places like checking in online. If you don’t have one, leave the field blank and ignore it. See also What's a “Redress Control Number”?

Answer 2 (score 1)

Global entry gets you PreCheck. There are more details at TSA.gov

From the link:

How It Works

If you are a Global Entry member or eligible NEXUS or SENTRI member, enter your membership number (PASS ID) in the “Known Traveler Number” field when booking reservations, or enter it into your frequent flyer profile with the airline. The membership number enables Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Secure Flight System to verify that you are a legitimate CBP Trusted Traveler and eligible to participate in TSA Precheck Logo.

Question

In supported regions, Google Maps will tell me how long it will take to drive from A to B in current traffic conditions. It can also colour-code roads according to traffic conditions for a specific date and time of the week. However, is it possible to estimate driving time for a specific date and time of the week?

(For a (long) weekend trip, I’m estimating whether it’s worth to take the train from Toronto to Barrie and rent a car from there, as opposed to renting a car from Toronto)

Answer accepted (score 26)

Yes!

Google maps recently added the possibility of doing exactly this! I noticed it for the first time today. When you query the route for a specific destination a new option shows up above the possible routes which allows you to choose to depart at a particular time or arrive at a particular time. In the later case it suggests the time that you should leave. The length of the drive is given as a range of times which can, admittedly, be pretty broad. I have asked the communnity how this range of drive times is defined, but it has not received an answer as of yet.

Answer 2 (score 11)

No, not on Google Maps.

However, you CAN partially accomplish this using Waze. Waze was acquired by Google in 2013.

Use Waze’s “check routes for a different time” feature allows specifying a different time, but as far as I can tell it doesn’t allow specifying a specific date or even a specific day of the week.

Answer 3 (score 10)

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Google used to provide this service, but stopped apparently some time in 2011, saying it was inaccurate because it “provided users with the worst case traffic scenario based on historic traffic data.” They have since added current traffic condition reporting/routing, but it doesn’t predict into the future.

From this post:

The new time-in-traffic feature provides users with the ability to check current traffic conditions and estimates the length of travel time based on constantly refreshed data. (Emphasis mine)

Question

Is there a website or some other way to find out if I need a transit visa for a short stop in the UK on my way somewhere else? Ideally this should give me the answer for all nationalities, and take into account any other visas I may have.

Answer accepted (score 64)

Why yes there is.

This UK government site will tell you if you need a visa to transit through the UK. You enter your nationality, destination, and any visas you already hold, and it will tell you if you need a transit visa or not. It also includes instructions for applying for one.

As a summary (but check for exceptions):

• You must arrive and depart by air, and your outbound flight must be booked and confirmed.
• You don’t need a transit visa if you would not need a visa for a tourist visit to the UK.
• A transit visa comes in two forms: Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV) which is limited to 24 hours and you must remain ‘airside’ (i.e. cannot pass through immigration) and a Visitor in Transit Visa, which is valid for 48 hours and allows you to change airports (and terminals at airports where you can’t do that airside).
• You must have all the necessary documentation for your final destination, including any visas.
• You are exempt from needing a transit visa under certain conditions. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa. As of 26 September 2018, the conditions are:

For direct airside transit

Exemptions

You don’t need a visa if you have one of the following:

• a visa for Canada, New Zealand, Australia or the USA (this can be used for travel to any country)
• a residence permit issued by Australia or New Zealand
• a common format residence permit issued by an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
• a resident permit issued by Canada after 28 June 2002
• a uniform format category D visa for entry into a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland
• an Irish biometric visa (marked ‘BC’ or ‘BC BIVS’ in the ‘Remarks’ section)
• a Schengen Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) group tourism visa where the holder is travelling to the Schengen country that issued the visa
• a flight ticket from the Schengen area, if you can prove that you entered the Schengen area in the previous 30 days on the basis of a valid Schengen ADS visa
• a valid USA I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa issued by the USA (a wet-ink stamp version will not be accepted)
• a valid USA permanent residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998
• an expired USA I-551 Permanent Residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998, with a valid I-797 letter authorising extension
• a valid standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B issued by the USA (attached to a sealed brown envelope)

All visas and residence permits must be valid.

---

For transits that require going through passport control

You might be eligible for ‘transit without visa’ if:

Transiting without a visa

You might be eligible for ‘transit without visa’ if:

• you arrive and depart by air [and]
• have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before midnight on the day after you arrive [and]
• have the right documents for your destination (eg a visa for that country)

One of the following must also apply:

• you’re travelling to (or on part of a reasonable journey to) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country
• you’re travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country
• you’re travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and it’s less than 6 months since you last entered that country with a valid entry visa
• you have a residence permit issued by Australia or New Zealand
• you have a common format residence permit issued by an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
• you have a residence permit issued by Canada issued after 28 June 2002
• you have a uniform format category D visa for entry to a country in the EEA or Switzerland
• you have an Irish biometric visa (marked ‘BC’ or ‘BC BIVS’ in the ‘Remarks’ section) and an onward flight ticket to the Republic of Ireland
• you’re travelling from the Republic of Ireland and it’s less than 3 months since you were last given permission, on the basis of holding a valid Irish biometric visa, to land or be in Ireland
• you have a valid USA permanent residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998
• you have a valid USA I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa issued by the USA (a wet-ink stamp version will not be accepted)
• you have an expired USA I-551 Permanent Residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998, with a valid I-797 letter authorising extension
• you have a valid standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B issued by the USA (attached to a sealed brown envelope)

You won’t be able to transit without a visa if a Border Force officer decides you don’t qualify under the immigration rules. You can apply for a transit visa before you travel if you’re unsure whether you qualify for transiting without a visa.

E-visas or e-residence permits are not acceptable for transiting through immigration control without a visa.

All visas and residence permits must be valid.

Australian paper confirmation slips are not accepted.

If you need more information than is provided by this website you will need to check with your airline or contact the UKVI. The Home Office’s Charging Procedures - A Guide for Carriers also provides some guidance on the subtler points of the rules (it’s intended for professionals, not passengers, but does explain in great details when a visa is or is not required).

Transiting airside

In London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester, if you fly from outside the UK or Ireland and leave to another country (neither UK nor Ireland), it is possible to transit without entering the UK and going through UK Border Control, you can stay airside. There is no hotel airside, and the transit areas close overnight, so if you have an overnight stopover, you have to go through UK Border Control. There is a detailed guide available on Heathrow airport website.

Visa Seniority

People on any kind of valid UK visa that is senior to a transit visa do not need an additional visa. It means the person can transit on a category “C” (visitor), category “D” (PBS), and so on.

The policy is not available on the net. I wrote to the policy unit using my lawyer hat and got this reply…

They are thinking about including this in the written guidance. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.

Answer 2 (score 5)

Please visit UK gov website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/527411/UK_Visa_requirements_3_June_2016.pdf

Transit visa requirements are dependent on

• your nationality
• how long your stay is
• are you transferring the airport

Please refer to above link for some information.

Question

I am planning to travel to India (COK airport, Kerala) from United States. I want to take my laptop as well as my tablet (iPad). Am I allowed to take both in my backpack with my documents related my work. I think I am allowed to take only one computer as per the rule. Will the customs consider my iPad as a computer? What all I can take?

One of my friends took 2 laptops (1 work and 1 personal) and had trouble at the airport.

Also I am planning to take some wristwatches (7 of them, each avg price is 45 $). I read in a website that I can take stuff up to max 35000 INR. Is that true? In that case, how will I manage my stuff?

Answer accepted (score 37)

Here’s what customs rules in India state (the ‘free allowance’ referred to is for personal items, and the duty-free allowance of alcohol cigarettes):

One laptop computer (notebook computer) over and above the said free allowances mentioned above is also allowed duty free if imported by any passenger of the age of 18 years and above.

So obviously, your friend who was carrying two laptops (one work, one personal) was stopped. Technically, the customs officials were correct in trying to charge him duty on the second. Note that specifically for Indian citizens returning from work abroad are allowed to bring back ‘items of professional use’ but computers do not count as ‘professional use’ items as they can be repurposed by anyone.

Apart from that, passengers above 10 years old flying in from most countries are given a duty-free allowance of items worth INR 45,000¹ as long as they don’t fall into one of the restricted items list such as alcohol / cigarettes.

The ambiguity lies in whether a tablet would be considered a ‘laptop computer’ or not because it’s not defined within Indian customs law. You do have the INR 45,000 limit (which your iPad may or may not fall within) which you could claim this under, but that won’t leave headroom for your watches.

It all boils down to what customs official inspects your baggage. I have been waved through most times without my baggage getting inspected (at any airport - India or outside, so I should count myself lucky!). Chances are if you look like a working professional, you will be stopped for inspection. They might be less likely to stop someone like me, because I usually wear my university logo clothes when travelling.

Also, if you’re carrying seven watches, chances are customs officials will think you’re carrying them for the purpose of reselling, and thus more likelier to make you pay duty on those items. Again, this is anecdotal evidence from what I’ve seen on how customs officials behave in Indian airports.

¹As of Aug 18 2015, reference

Answer 2 (score 14)

It seems the rules were revised amended and corrected to come into effect from 1st April 2016 and the following combines these changes (but may have been changed since):

Baggage Rules, 2016 [Notification No. 30/2016 - Customs (N.T.) dated 1.3.2016 as amended by Notification No. 43/2016 - Customs (N.T) dated 31.3.2016 read with corrigendum dated 1.4.2016]

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 79 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), and in supersession of the Baggage Rules, 1998, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:

1. Short title and commencement.

   • 1. These rules may be called the Baggage Rules, 2016.
     2. 2. They shall come into force on the 1st day of April, 2016.

2. Definitions.
   – (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,

• 1. “Annexure” means Annexure appended to these rules;
  2. 2. “family” includes all persons who are residing in the same house and form part of the same domestic establishment;
     3. 3. “infant” means a child not more than two years of age;
        4. 4. “resident” means a person holding a valid passport issued under the Passports Act, 1967 (15 of 1967) and normally residing in India;
           5. 22. “tourist” means a person not normally resident in India, who enters India for a stay of not more than six months in the course of any twelve months period for legitimate non-immigrant purposes;
              23. 6. “personal effects” means things required for satisfying daily necessities but does not include jewellery.

– (2) Words and expression used and not defined in these rules but defined in the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) shall have the same meaning respectively assigned to them in the said Act.

Passenger arriving from countries other than Nepal, Bhutan or Myanmar.

• An Indian resident or a foreigner residing in India or a tourist of Indian origin, not being an infant arriving from any country other than Nepal, Bhutan or Myanmar, shall be allowed clearance free of duty articles in his bona fide baggage, that is to say,
• 1. used personal effects and travel souvenirs; and (b) articles other than those mentioned in Annexure - I, upto the value of fifty thousand rupees if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger: Provided that a tourist of foreign origin, not being an infant, shall be allowed clearance free of duty articles in his bona fide baggage, that is to say, (a) used personal effects and travel souvenirs; and (b) articles other than those mentioned in Annexure - I, upto the value of fifteen thousand rupees if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger: Provided further that where the passenger is an infant, only used personal effects shall be allowed duty free.

Explanation. - The free allowance of a passenger under this rule shall not be allowed to pool with the free allowance of any other passenger.

4. Passenger arriving from Nepal, Bhutan or Myanmar.

   • An Indian resident or a foreigner residing in India or a tourist, not being an infant arriving from Nepal, Bhutan or Myanmar, shall be allowed clearance free of duty articles in his bona fide baggage, that is to say, (a) used personal effects and travel souvenirs; and (b) articles other than those mentioned in Annexure - I up to the value of fifteen thousand rupees if these are carried on the person or in the accompanied baggage of the passenger: Provided that where the passenger is an infant, only used personal effects shall be allowed duty free: Provided further that where the passenger is arriving by land, only used personal effects shall be allowed duty free.

Explanation. - The free allowance of a passenger under this rule shall not be allowed to pool with the free allowance of any other passenger.

5. Jewellery.

   • A passenger residing abroad for more than one year, on return to India, shall be allowed clearance free of duty in his bona fide baggage of jewellery upto a weight, of twenty grams with a value cap of fifty thousand rupees if brought by a gentleman passenger, or forty grams with a value cap of one lakh rupees if brought by a lady passenger.

6. Transfer of residence.

   • 1. A person, who is engaged in a profession abroad, or is transferring his residence to India, shall, on return, be allowed clearance free of duty in addition to what he is allowed under rule 3 or, as the case may be, under rule 4, articles in his bona fide baggage to the extent mentioned in column (2) of the Appendix below, subject to the conditions, if any, mentioned in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Appendix.

2. The conditions mentioned in column (3) of the said Appendix may be relaxed to the extent mentioned in column (4) of the said Appendix.

APPENDIX

Duration of stay abroad Articles allowed free of duty Conditions Relaxation (1) (2) (3) (4) From three months upto six months Personal and household articles, other than those mentioned in Annexure I or Annexure II but including articles mentioned in Annexure III upto an aggregate value of sixty thousand rupees. Indian passenger - From six months upto one year Personal and household articles, other than those mentioned in Annexure I or Annexure II but including articles mentioned in Annexure III, upto an aggregate value of one lakh rupees.

Indian passenger - Minimum stay of one year during the preceding two y ears. Personal and household articles, other than those mentioned in Annexure I or Annexure II but including articles mentioned in Annexure III upto an aggregate value of two lakh rupees. The Indian passenger should not have availed this concession in the preceding three years.

• Minimum stay of two years or more. Personal and house household articles, other than those listed at Annexure I or Annexure II but including articles mentioned in Annexure III upto an aggregate value of five lakh rupees.
  (i) Minimum stay of two years abroad, immediately preceding the date of his arrival on transfer of residence;
  (ii) Total stay in India on short visit during the two preceding years should not exceed six months;
  and (iii) Passenger has not availed this concession in the preceding three years. (a) For condition (i), shortfall of upto two months in stay abroad can be condoned by Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs if the early return is on account of:

• 1. terminal leave or vacation being availed of by the passenger; or (ii) any other special circumstances for reasons to be recorded in writing. (b) For condition (ii), the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs may condone short visits in excess of six months in special circumstances for reasons to be recorded in writing. No relaxation.

  7. Currency.

• The import and export of currency under these rules shall be governed in accordance with the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015, and the notifications issued thereunder.

  8. Provisions regarding unaccompanied baggage.

• 1. These rules shall apply to unaccompanied baggage except where they have been specifically excluded: Provided that the said unaccompanied baggage had been in the possession, abroad, of the passenger and is dispatched within one month of his arrival in India or within such further period as the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs may allow: Provided further that the said unaccompanied baggage may land in India upto two months before the arrival of the passenger or within such period, not exceeding one year, as the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs may allow, for reasons to be recorded, if he is satisfied that the passenger was prevented from arriving in India within the period of two months due to circumstances beyond his control, such as sudden illness of the passenger or a member of his family, or natural calamities or disturbed conditions or disruption of the transport or travel arrangements in the country or countries concerned or any other reasons, which necessitated a change in the travel schedule of the passenger.

  9. Application of these rules to members of the crew.
• (1)These rules shall also apply to the members of the crew engaged in a foreign going conveyance for importation of their baggage at the time of final pay off on termination of their engagement. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), a member of crew of a vessel or an aircraft other than those referred to in sub-rule (1), shall be allowed to bring articles like chocolates, cheese, cosmetics and other petty gift items for their personal or family use which shall not exceed the value of one thousand and five hundred rupees.

ANNEXURE – I (See rule 3, 4 and 6)
1. Fire arms.
2. Cartridges of fire arms exceeding 50.
3. Cigarettes exceeding 100 sticks or cigars exceeding 25 or tobacco exceeding 125 gms.
4. Alcoholic liquor or wines in excess of two litres.
5. Gold or silver in any form other than ornaments.
6. Flat Panel (Liquid Crystal Display/Light-Emitting Diode/ Plasma) television.

ANNEXURE II (See rule 6)
1. Colour Television.
2. Video Home Theatre System.
3. Dish Washer.
4. Domestic Refrigerators of capacity above 300 litres or its equivalent.
5. Deep Freezer.
6. Video camera or the combination of any such Video camera with one or more of the following goods, namely:
- (a) television receiver;
- (b) sound recording or reproducing apparatus;
- (c) video reproducing apparatus.
7. Cinematographic films of 35mm and above.
8. Gold or Silver, in any form, other than ornaments.

ANNEXURE III (See rule 6)
1. Video Cassette Recorder or Video Cassette Player or Video Television Receiver or Video Cassette Disk Player.
2. Digital Video Disc player.
3. Music System.
4. Air-Conditioner.
5. Microwave Oven.
6. Word Processing Machine.
7. Fax Machine.
8. Portable Photocopying Machine.
9. Washing Machine.
10. Electrical or Liquefied Petroleum Gas Cooking Range
11. Personal Computer (Desktop Computer)
12. Laptop Computer (Note book Computer)
13. Domestic Refrigerators of capacity up to 300 litres or its equivalent.

[F. No.334/8/2016 - TRU]

Answer 3 (score 5)

Recently, (Pursuant to Indian Union Budget 2014) the limit which (as I last saw when I travelled into India) was Rs. 45,000 for countries other than a few neighbouring countries and all the information relating to this change are contained in the link below.

http://www.cbec.gov.in/resources//htdocs-cbec/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2014/cs-nt2014/csnt50-2014.pdf

Read the above document together with the document shown in the previous answer to get a full picture

Question

If I want to bring a packet of wet wipes with me on a plane, do I need to put them into the one-quart ziploc bag with all my other 3 ounce liquid containers? The TSA 3-1-1 Liquids Rule page doesn’t mention wet wipes.

Answer accepted (score 42)

The other answers are correct, but they rely on the assumption that wet wipes are not liquid, gel, aerosol, cream, or paste, without any evidence that the TSA would accept that. As you correctly pointed out in a comment, wet wipes contain liquid.

How can we check whether the liquid contained in wet wipes causes them to fall under the 3-1-1 rule? Try the Prohibited Items page of the TSA web site:

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/prohibited-items

Here, there is a box with the text “When I Fly, Can I Bring My…?” If you type “wet wipes” into the box, and click the “Go” button, you will get a pop-up window informing you that

You may transport this item in carry-on baggage or in checked baggage. For items you wish to carry-on, you should check with the airline to ensure that the item will fit in the overhead bin or underneath the seat of the airplane.

Answer 2 (score 8)

Thankfully wet wipes are not yet subject to the 3-1-1 rule. The rule applies to:

Liquids, gels, aerosols, creams and pastes

Wet wipes don’t fit in any of these categories.

I always travel with wet wipes in my carry-on and I have always been allowed on the plane with them.

Nevertheless, what happened twice in the last week (May 2016), as I was flying domestically within Schengen, was that my packet of wet wipes was mistaken for a water bottle by the officer behind the X-ray scanner. My bag was therefore hand checked by another officer who let me go without problems and with the wipes. This is to say that recently security checks might have been tightened and, if travelling with wet wipes in your carry-on, your luggage could be subject to a manual check by airport security. This happened at Luxembourg airport and Rome Fiumicino.

Answer 3 (score 2)

I routinely travel with pre-moistened wipes of various kinds in my carry-on bags. Not only does the TSA not consider them a liquid, but neither do U.K. security (e.g., at LHR), which is far stricter than the TSA. While wipes contain liquid, they are not themselves liquid. Put more simply, there’s no visible liquid when examining a moistened wipe.

Question

In one of the questions on this site, it was suggested the use of Dropbox to save a backup copy of your passport, in case you need to proof who you are if your original document is lost.

I like the idea, but what if someone gets access to your Dropbox folders and is able to acquire the copy of your passport. The same goes for when you leave a copy of your passport at a hotel receptions desk. Once someone has the info printed on that copy, would that make it easier to steal your identity?

Answer accepted (score 45)

Yes - it does increase the risk of identity theft, however for most successful identity thefts, the attacker would need various other bits of information as well.

The best way to think of it is that every piece of information about you an attacker has, the less effort he has to expend to impersonate you.

Once an attacker can impersonate you they could steal your money (this happens a lot with online banking), your house, your credit rating, your reputation, and generally cause you major problems.

General recommendation is to not place anything in Dropbox unencrypted, if it is at all sensitive.

We have a range of questions on this topic over on Security SE and more than happy to discuss in the DMZ - the Sec.SE chat room.

Answer 2 (score 23)

A passport copy can often contain sensitive information such as date of birth which can be used to access other sensitive information such as bank accounts. However, most transactions where you need to get in touch with customer care to get access will also require additional details such as secret passphrases, PINs, address information, or account numbers - none of which are available on your passport, hence the passport alone will usually not help anyone steal your identity. Additionally, if trying to steal your identity in person as opposed to online or the phone, they’d need to look similar to you and/or back it up with some form of secondary ID such as a national ID or a driver’s license, and obtaining BOTH your passport copy and your secondary ID can be hard for a casual counterfeiter.

Dropbox isn’t the only way to store copies of your passport; some people do this by saving a scanned copy in their email account. Whatever way you choose, if you are concerned protecting data then you should look into enabling two-factor authentication on such accounts where in addition to your password you also need to enter a one-time password generated either by an app or sent to you by text message to access the account. Since receiving text messages is free in most countries even when roaming (or is reasonably cheap), this can be a good way of boosting security on your account while travelling.

Answer 3 (score 8)

Another thing an attacker can do is to take over your social network account (Facebook, for example) or Gmail, by calling the support, pretending to be you who “lost a phone” and “got locked out of email”, and sending them the scan of your passport to “prove” he is you. This has happened in past (see for example “Aaron Thompson lost control of his Facebook account after an attacker used social engineering and a fake passport”).

Question

I am moving from Malaysia to the US, and planning to bring my desktop computer with me. I plan to pack it in my checked-in luggage. Will the computer risk being damaged? Any precaution should I take to reduce this risk? Will there be any trouble with the airline or immigration about bringing computer?

Answer accepted (score 17)

There’s no problem with doing this. However, a couple of things I’d consider doing to protect it:

• you’ve not specified if it’s a laptop or a desktop. If it’s a desktop, I’d remove the hard-drive and take that carry-on. It’s 5 minutes to do, and it’s arguably the most valuable part of your computer.
• if it’s a laptop, I’d remove the battery - still pack both, just keep them separate. Means the laptop won’t be on, and not that I can imagine anything happening - but at least it means nothing is even on standby power in your luggage.
• wrap it in clothes. This will help protect it from the luggage guys tossing your bag around or whatever might happen behind the scenes.
• some people suggest adding a fragile sticker to your bag, but I’ve also heard varying reports over whether that is taken notice of at all.
• my friend who took a desktop from London to Australia bought a hardened shell-case luggage to carry it in, just to be sure. He also removed the hard drive first.

The airline should have no problem at all. I’ve done this myself with many airlines, and I’m sure many people do it every day. It’s only if you take it as carry-on that they’ll want you to take it out of your bag for extra screening. If however you want to be certain, check with the check-in agent at the desk, but they’ll be fine with it, I’m sure.

Answer 2 (score 9)

In general, you can bring a desktop computer as checkin baggage, even on international flights, but there is a risk of damage you should consider. They tend to be so commonplace of a device that are well-recognized and tend not to arouse suspicion.

Anecdotally, I was part of a group trip to Costa Rica (from the US) where we brought approximately 30-40 used desktop computers, complete with old fashioned glass CRT monitors as checked luggage to donate to worthwhile organizations in Costa Rica. Of those, approximately 5-6 computers were damaged and a slightly higher percent of the monitors. The computers were wrapped in a couple layers of bubble wrap (the kind for with the larger 1"/2cm bubbles), inside a soft shell duffel bag, probably not as ideally wrapped as I would wrap my own personally computer. So, if my experience is in any way typical, odds are good, but far from perfect, that your PC will arrive undamaged. Most of the time, luggage will arrive in good condition, however, luggage could get dropped or fall off a baggage cart, for example, and even well packed, there’s a risk of damage.

Providing adequate packaging, such as the original computer’s box with styrofoam inserts, is one of the best ways to minimize damage. New PCs are shipped to their destination in such packaging all the time without incident. Keep in mind, depending on the baggage policies of your airline, there may or may not be restrictions on using cardboard boxes as checked luggage. If there are prohibitions, placing the entire box in an inexpensive large soft-sided duffel bag with handles will usually suffice. Alternately, a hard-shelled suitcase, filled with foam or other absorbent material (preferably ESD foam) around the PC would be the next-best alternative. Keep in mind your packaging may need to be opened if your bag or box is randomly selected for additional screening, so don’t make the packaging so intricate or complex or not-resealable that a luggage inspector would not be able to put the protective packaging back how you intend if it is subjected to additional screening. If they do have to cut packing tape, typically that is replaced with new packing tape by the screeners. Zip ties on the other hand, for example, are not replaced if cut by screeners.

The most likely component to suffer damage from rough handling is your hard drive, especially if you have a typical desktop computer hard drive in your computer. Desktop computer hard drives are significantly more fragile than laptop hard drives, and can be damaged by jostling and impact, making the entire drive unreadable. So possible improvements could vary from replacing your 3 1/2" hard drive with a 2 1/2" laptop hard drive (and using conversion rails or a mounting kit to attach the hard drive in your case), to replacing a standard hard drive with a solid state hard drive (bonus points: they’re super fast), or backing up any/all critical files to a recovery medium such as DVD or USB flash drive or internet location, such that you could restore your data should your hard drive become damaged from the journey. Carrying the hard drive as a carry-on item (as suggested by Mark Mayo) is not a bad idea and reduces the risk of someone other than yourself handling the item roughly, but keep in mind that a typical non-solid state desktop hard drive is still rather delicate and there is a risk you’ll go to plug it back in and it just…won’t work. So absolutely bring back ups of your data, or back up important data online somewhere before your trip.

It is possible some other component of the computer (motherboard, video card, etc). could get damaged from the entire case being dropped, so if that were to happen you might have to replace something (or several parts), but that is slightly less common than hard drive damage.

Make sure everything in the PC is seated securely, screwed in, and there are no loose wires hanging precariously or loosely. Excess lengths of cables should be replaced, bundled or tied to mounts in the case or otherwise secured so that they will not be bumping into other components inside the case. Your whole PC could be carried upside down or sideways leading to things bumping where they wouldn’t normally on your desk.

Additionally, to minimize the risk of damage from electro-static discharge (ESD), wrapping the entire PC in a large ESD bag or ESD foam would be another precaution you could take. Consider that brand new hard drives and motherboards are almost always wrapped in such a protective container before being shipped to stores.

Answer 3 (score 6)

You can pack your computer as a checked bag, Mark Mayo’s answer covers how to do so pretty well.

But I would highly recommend against packing a desktop computer. With all the wires and whatnot it will look “suspicious” to security personnel, and they’ll almost certainly go through your bag (likely not repacking it with any care).

I would recommend shipping the computer to the destination, even a service as simple as the postal system. It will undoubtedly take longer to arrive, but if properly packed will arrive in tact.

I’ve worked with computers for half of my life. Shipping has never failed me yet. Overzealous security personnel, well I’ve got a few stories about them already…

Question

I just use web checkin for my flight tomorrow. After that I should have printed my boarding pass. However, I realised that this is not possible. So what can I do now? I have already checked in, but no boarding pass. Is there any way to print that again at the airport? Or is it enough if I have my confirmation number? Or the boarding pass as a PDF?

Answer accepted (score 37)

Many of the major airlines do have self-service checkin machines at the airport. I know KLM, allows printing forgotten or failed prints.

If your airlines does not have these self service machines, and you are not yet at the airport, try going to a print or copyshop. Most airports these days have these shops, but sometimes they can have quite some waiting queues, which will be adding stress to your journey.

Depending on the airline you are traveling, you could choose to use a mobile device as an alternative boarding card. This only works if your boarding pass has a bar code they use to scan prior to boarding. What you need to do is make a pdf of your boarding pass and store it on your device. I always do this these days and this already saved me once.

A final option is to just approach the check in desk and ask a reprint. This is the least favorable solution, since the whole idea behind online check in is to minimize contact time at a manned checkin desk. Some airlines are then reluctant to help you in these request, some airlines (Ryanair comes to mind) have a hefty fee if you ask for a reprint. In the case of Ryanair this is 40 euros or even higher.

Answer 2 (score 18)

I fly Air Canada as my primary airline. It is worth checking in online even if you don’t have a printer available. There are no negative consequences compared to not checking in at all. You can line up to see someone and hand off your baggage, and they’ll “reprint” your boarding pass, or you can use the kiosks (I have never seen a lineup for AC kiosks, unlike United for example) and go through the checkin process again. You will retain your original checkin time should that become relevant for things like processing upgrades or deciding who loses their seat on an equipment change. (See my answer to “Benefits of checking in online when checking bags”.)

Answer 3 (score 7)

You can reprint it at the airport, no problem. If no self-service station is available, the regular check-in desk personnel will reprint it for you.

Some airlines in some locations allow using “mobile” boarding pass through their smartphone app, if this is the case for your airline and airport - then you don’t even need to reprint anything at all.

Question

This is somewhat of a problem for me. Sometimes, when I’m packed up and getting ready to move, I find that I have no reliable way to weigh my own luggage.

Of course, most of us know that airlines nowadays usually have heavy restrictions on luggage, including size, type, but mostly, weight.

How should I accurately estimate the weight of my lugagge then? It seems that the norm for most airlines is 50lbs per luggage, but how can I tell whether or not something is below, equal, or above that imposed limit?

Answer accepted (score 20)

Invest in handheld digital weighing scales.

Answer 2 (score 20)

Invest in handheld digital weighing scales.

Answer 3 (score 16)

As Simon suggested, you do not have to estimate and can buy a handheld scale which you place in your luggage after measuring if you intend to acquire things during you travel.

Prior to having one of those I estimated and was rarely off by more than a few pounds. The idea is very simple: learn what 50 lbs feels like. You have to do this at home by lifting your suitcase with various content and comparing to something known to weight 50 lbs. The easiest to measure against a 50 lbs dumbbell or my 5 year old who weighed 49 lbs :)

Question

I am travelling from Delhi to Indore, a domestic flight. I forgot to take ID proof. Can I still fly?

Answer accepted (score 12)

As per the guidelines, it is mandatory to carry a Government issued photo identification (ID) proof along with the E-Ticket for domestic flights in India. The same is verified by the airport security as well as the airline at the check in counter. The valid photo identification documents allowed are: Valid Passport / Driving License / Election Voter Card / Ration Card/ Aadhar Card/ PAN Card/ Photo Identity cards issued by Government On presenting your photo ID proof and E-Ticket copy, your boarding pass will be issued. You need to present the original copy of the ID proof.

Also, as per Air India Support photocopy of the same will not work. Because at airport they accept only original identity proof they will not accept any photo copy of your Identity proof so avoid any inconvenience at airport please ask your friend to carry an affidavit which will be accepted. In addition to it, you can carry an Affidavit from Notary Public (preferably with your photo over the Affidavit) stating your name and address etc. which will work as your Identity document.

This Affidavit you can easily get from Notary officials sitting near the court area, or any office which you know and you can ask them that you need it for which purpose. You may need to shown your Passport copy and Adhaar card copy to them (preferably color printed) for assuring them that you are not wrong person. They may charge you some fee for this document.

On the top of all, if you have 1-2 days for your travel then you must get your documents courier to you by 1-day shipping facility like FedEx, DTDC or FirstFlight etc. This will solve all your issues and you don’t have to waste your time at Airport for such things.

Note: Photo Credit Card are also not accepted as Identity proof (this was mentioned on one of the sites that you can use that, but as per Air India support it is not accepted as ID proof).

Answer 2 (score 9)

An e-Aadhaar copy is valid, legal proof of identity throughout India, just as good as the “original”. In fact this is one of the primary benefits of the Aadhaar system.

I quote the UIDAI website in this regard:

This [Aadhaar] number will serve as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in India. Aadhaar letter received via India Post and e-Aadhaar downloaded from UIDAI website are equally valid.

Here’s the relevant page from the official Aadhaar website: https://uidai.gov.in/aapka-aadhaar.html

The e-Aadhaar website also lets citizens download the e-Aadhaar easily from the website with relevant details: https://eaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/

UPDATE 30-05 - I confirmed with IndiGo customer support that e-Aadhaar copy can be used for entering the airport as well as boarding flights.

Answer 3 (score 1)

Let me start by saying that I strongly recommend that you carry an original government issued ID proof with you while travelling by air. There is a wide list of documents you can carry including:

1-Passport

2-PAN card

3-Adhar card

4-Drivers Licence

5-Voters Identity Card

6-Photo ID card issued by any of the following organizations/Institutions

Central Government or any of its Ministries.

Statutory / Regulatory authorities

State Govt. or any of its Ministries

Public Sector Undertaking (established under GOI or State Govt)

State Govt. of J&K

Bar council

Senior Citizen card issued by State/Central Govt.

Govt. of India to Persons of Indian Origin [PIO card]

Defence Dept / Ministry of defence for Defence personnel & their dependents

Public Financial institutions / Public sector banks

But if you really want to take a chance then I can also tell you that I’ve successfully entered airports on Credit and Debit Cards with a picture

Question

I received from my Dad 150 American Dollars about 12 years ago. I never have thought to change this money but a few days I tried change it in a currency exchange in Sydney and the guy didn’t change it because the series are old.

What do I have to do to change this money?

Answer accepted (score 23)

What you are talking about is this 100/50 USD bill:

I have had this problem many times. If you end up with old USD bills older that series 2003-6 then it won’t be accepted by most countries and money changers outside the United States. More frequently the problem I have noticed is with the bills with the front face photo to be smaller than the current bills. Bills with the enlarged pictures i.e the new ones are widely accepted.

Note: This does not apply to the smaller denomination such as 1, 5, 10 as these denominations still use the smaller pictures.

I would suggest two solutions. The first is to try a large bank within the city you are traveling to. These have sophisticated machines and UV scanners which would allow them to check your money without concern and exchange it. Unfortunately this method is not fool proof and you may get rejected in one or two places before you come forth one which will accept it.

They are still legal tender and will be valid in the United States. They are not used outside due to lack of security within these old bills. So obviously the other solution is to either spend them in the United States or deposit them in an ATM in the United States where they are easily accepted. You can then withdraw from the ATM smaller bills which will be fresh and would most likely not have this issue.

Answer 2 (score 2)

I don’t know how you’re going to get people to take those. The bills were swapped out after discovering Iran or North Korea had managed to get plates so good they could forge bills so well you needed a microscope to tell the difference. Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdollar

The Readers Digest published shortly after the finding claimed it was unambiguously Iran and give really high contamination rates including the unsubstantiated claim that half of Moscow’s bills were fake; however modern citations aren’t so unambiguous to the source or spread.

Question

I am a citizen of two different countries, and have two passports. How should I use my passports when traveling?

Answer accepted (score 87)

This is a common situation, and it’s generally no problem. I’ll use A for the country you’re in, and B for the country you’re going to, but all the “flows” described here work equally well if you want to use your B passport to go to a third country.

Case 1: Same name, dual citizenship OK

If you have the same name in both passports (that is, same first name and last name, minor variations are OK), and both countries accept dual citizenship (if you’re not sure, find out here), the basic formula is:

• Show the airline the passport of the country you’re going to
• Show immigration the passport for the country you’re in

In step-by-step detail, when flying from A to B and back:

1. At check-in, show your B passport. This way the airline knows you will be allowed to enter your destination.
2. At exit immigration, show your A passport. (In countries without exit immigration, like the US, you may need to show A as well at check-in.)
3. At the gate, show either passport, doesn’t matter.
4. Fly.
5. On arrival immigration, show your B passport.

And on the way back from B to A, just reverse the process:

1. At check-in, show your A passport. This way the airline knows you will be allowed to enter your destination.
2. At exit immigration, show your B passport.
3. At the gate, show either passport, doesn’t matter.
4. Fly.
5. On arrival immigration, show your A passport.

Pictorial representation for a UK/US dual citizen visiting the US, courtesy @GayotFow:

Case 2: Different names, dual citizenship OK

If your names are different, but your countries are OK with each other:

1. Book your flight with the name on your A passport.
2. At airline check-in, show your A passport that matches the name on your ticket, and your B passport, that proves you’re allowed to enter.
3. At exit immigration, show your A passport.
4. At the gate, show your A passport, so that your name matches your ticket.
5. Fly.
6. On arrival immigration, show your B passport.
7. On the way back, at check-in, show your A passport only.
8. At exit immigration, show your B passport.
9. At the gate, show your A passport, so that your name matches your ticket.

10. Fly back.

    10. On arrival immigration, show your A passport.

Case 3: Same name, dual citizenship not OK

Things get harder if one or both your countries does not accept dual citizenship, especially if they care enough to look for visas or arrival stamps. The key thing to understand here is that the airline is not a part of immigration. They do not care if you have multiple passports and they are not going to tell immigration if you do, all they want to know if whether you will be allowed in at your destination.

So here’s one way to avoid letting A know you are also a citizen of B (but B will know you’ve come from A):

1. Book a flight from A to B via a neutral third country C, where you do not need a visa. (For example, Malaysia does not accept dual citizenship, so dual-citizen Malaysians often travel via Singapore.)
2. On check-in, show your A passport.
3. At exit immigration, show your A passport.
4. Fly to C.
5. Connect to your flight to B.
6. At arrival immigration, show your B passport.

On the way back, though, you will need a short detour:

1. At check in, show your B passport.
2. At exit immigration, show your B passport.
3. Fly to C.
4. On arrival at C, do not go to transfer, but instead go to immigration, show your A passport and get it stamped. (Leave enough time for this!)
5. If you need to check-in again, show your A passport.
6. At C’s exit immigration, show your A passport again and get it stamped again.
7. Fly to A.
8. At arrival immigration, show your A passport. This will have a departure stamp from C, neatly hiding that you were actually in B.

Beware that this is not totally foolproof, as a very careful inspection of your stamps will reveal that you were not in C for the whole time, but unless you’re North Korean, it’s unlikely you will be subjected to this level of scrutiny. Some people choose to go through immigration in C on the way out as well, so they get more decoy stamps. Doing that is necessary if you also want country B not to know that you’ve come from A (making the scenario symmetric).

Case 4: Different names, dual citizenship not OK

If you have different names and your countries don’t like each other, you can still use the same method as above, but you’ll likely need to book your A-C-A flight in your “A” name and your C-B-C flight in your “B” name.

Answer 2 (score 13)

I have the same situation and have traveled extensively. There where a few reasons why to use two passports on one trip:

1. Exiting one country which I have a passport to and entering the other country to which I am a citizen (must use the right passport for each country).
2. Was running out of space for stamps on the passport (just lazy to get a new one)
3. Going out of one country where I had a visa and into another where I didn’t need a visa on my other passport.

Usually I would try to use only one passport during a trip, if you must use two it’s usually not a problem, you can just show both at check in (if needed) and at immigration (if asked).

I was pulled aside one time in Hong Kong, mostly since my first name is spelled differently in both passports, after a short explanation I was sent on my way.

It’s only problematic if you hold a passport to a country that is refused entry (e.g. going to Malaysia with an Israeli passport) and try to enter with your other passport. I would highly advice against this.

Safe travels!

Answer 3 (score 4)

A wrinkle I just encountered is that some electronic passport readers appear to be linked to departure records. I was travelling from New Zealand to the UK, and have ePassports for both (case 1 of the accepted answer). I showed my UK passport to the airline agent checking me in, and then attempted to use my NZ passport in the passport reader at the immigration control point. It did not work, and I had to use my UK passport instead.

Question

If someone else is booking international ticket for me using his credit or debit card, does he need to be present physically at the time of check-in?

Suppose I am coming back from Singapore to my home country and my ticket is booked by my friend for me, who lives in my home country. Do airlines in Singapore ask for the person to be present physically to check in?

Answer accepted (score 45)

First of all, it doesn’t matter where you’re flying from. What really matter is what airline you are flying with, so the short answer is: it depends.

Some airlines, in an attempt to fight frauds, may ask you to show the card and if you fail to do so they CAN refuse to embark you.

I once flew Royal Jordanian from Milano Malpensa to Amman and I was asked to show the credit card. Since I paid that flight with my father credit card, I didn’t have it with me. They refused to embark me and I had to call home and make my father fax a self-certfication signed by him along with a copy of the credit card used to book the flight.

Another time I was leaving from Amsterdam to Atlanta flying Delta and I was asked the same. That time I had my credit card with me and I pass the control flawlessly.

Always read the conditions very carefully. It’s always stated somewhere if they may ask you to show the card or not. If unsure, write an email or call them.

Here some examples:

Singapore airlines [click on “What happens if I don’t comply with the credit card verification requirements?”]

If the booker does not bring his or her card used for the booking at check-in for verification, then passengers on the booking will not be allowed to check in and will be asked to purchase a new ticket using a new credit/debit card. However, the ticket price will remain the same. A refund will then be manually processed for the earlier purchased ticket.

Emirates

On the Enter billing information page where the credit card details are entered, if the “Cardholder name” can be typed in, you would be able to pay for the booking even if you are not travelling. If the “Cardholder name” appears in a drop-down menu and cannot be changed, you would unfortunately not be able to pay for the booking unless you are travelling.

In some countries, for security reasons, the holder of the credit card used to book a ticket or group of tickets must be one of the travellers on that itinerary, and will be required to show the actual credit card at the airport check-in counter prior to receiving boarding passes.

Skywards members may make a redemption booking for friends and family, and pay for the applicable taxes online with their own credit cards, if the country of departure offers credit card payment.

Business Rewards administrators may also pay for their organizations members bookings by credit card, if the country of departure offers credit card payment.

Delta [click on the credit card link]

To safeguard against credit/debit card fraud, the purchaser may have to show us the credit/debit card along with a valid photo ID. The time varies based on the billing address of the credit/debit card or the country of travel. If the purchaser is not traveling, they can show us their credit/debit card and ID at an airport ticket counter or another ticket office location, whichever is most convenient.

Air France

Due to increased credit card fraud problems, Air France does not accept third party payments (the credit card holder not being the passenger or part of the group traveling together). Exception: We allow payments for family members with the same surname. Please make sure the family member you book for brings the personal identifier you specified during booking to check in at the airport or to Customs and Immigration if required (this applies to e-tickets only).

British Airways

If you have booked directly with British Airways, either through ba.com or a British Airways Telephone Sales office, and you paid with your debit/ credit card you must present that debit/ credit card at check-in. This is to assist the check-in process and to provide debit/ credit card verification.

Thai Airways

Yes, the check-in counter staff need to check the card number and name on the credit card for reference only. If you are purchasing tickets for family members or other persons with your credit card or Visa/MasterCard debit card, and not travelling yourself, please follow the specified Regulation (http://www.thaiairways.com/en_PK/Terms_condition/consent_form_regulations.page)

Answer 2 (score 11)

Some airlines do some silly restrictions, Check this FAQ: Can someone else purchase and pay for my ticket on line?. They do this to fight unauthorized usage of credit cards.

It is silly because you can buy the same airline ticket from other airline tickets website without this credit-card restriction.

Answer 3 (score 8)

I have had this issue a number of times, especially with BA. I send my children to their grandparents in the UK and booking online with a credit-card. On the website it says that the card must be shown when checking-in. This would be ok outbound when I bring them to the airport but problematic on the way back. I rang and asked if the card must be shown which they confirmed. So a number of times I gave the kids the card to take with them.

However, I have NEVER had to show the card when I have traveled and the kids never had to show it either.

Question

For tourists visiting the states, what kind of ID do you need to carry with you to visit bars or drinking age events? I understand the passport is the main piece of ID but do they accept any other forms of ID from other countries such as a driver’s license with a photo?

Answer accepted (score 29)

There is no nationally, or even locally mandated standard. I’ve certainly seen friends have no issues using both Passports and Drivers Licenses from their home country. I’ve also seen people have issues - especially when their ID is written in a non-latin script, or when they have a DOB which can be misread by using a non-American date ordering scheme, (i.e. someone born on August the 10th, 1992, would have their BOD listed as 8/10/92 here in the states, and would be of legal drinking age. If their ID instead reads 10/8/92 a not particularly sharp waiter may give you a hard time - admittedly, an extreme edge case.)

Realistically, there’s no single answer that can be provided here however, because there is no standard for what’s accepted. At the end of the day, the acceptability of your proof of age is up to the merchant with whom you do business to evaluate. You’ll have an easier time in more cosmopolitan cities like New York, but realistically, you can’t do much better than your Passport, and I’ve almost never seen an issue with one.

Answer 2 (score 18)

Generally bars have always asked me for my passport in the US. It’s frustrating as you’d rather not take your passport out to town, but when I’ve tried to take my driver’s license as ID, I’ve either been turned away, or had to really ask nicely and still get told to bring my passport next time.

In New Zealand, they’re as strict - you either show a NZ driver’s license, or a foreign passport. Everywhere. No exceptions (well they’re not meant to). And similarly in the US, although with all the various states and their differences in IDs, sometimes you can talk your way out of it.

However, getting turned down WITH my passport? Never happened, and I’ve never seen it happen. If in doubt, take your passport.

Answer 3 (score 12)

I am a “bouncer” in Boston. As far as the state of Massachusetts goes, it is very clear:

Boston bars must ID all people who appear to be under the age of 30.

Acceptable identification includes: U.S drivers license, U.S liquor identification, U.S military card, and all U.S. and international passports recognized by the U.S.

What is NOT accepted: International I.D’s, or U.S employment cards.

I cannot stress this enough to foreigners visiting Boston: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS carry your passport on you if you plan on drinking alcohol at a bar or restaurant. We are encouraged to ID everyone, so if you look 29 and only have a foreign drivers license, you will not be allowed to drink. It’s a state law.

Question

I am currently visiting the USA from the UK (I am a UK citizen) and am intending on staying here for the full 90 days under the Visa Waiver Program.

How long would I have to stay out of the US at the end of this period before returning again?

Would I have to return to the UK, or could I stay with friends in another country (such as Canada) for a while?

Answer accepted (score 19)

It all comes down to a ‘reasonable length of time’ between stays.

Now that’s about as ambiguous as they come - what’s reasonable? It’s like this on purpose - it’s up to the official at the border, as the purpose of this is to try and work out if you’re trying to live in the states and just border hopping every 90 days, instead of visiting.

From the CBP website:

When traveling to the U.S. with the approved ESTA, you may only stay for up to 90 days at a time - and there should be a reasonable amount of time between visits so that the CBP Officer does not think you are trying to live here. There is no set requirement for how long you must wait between visits.

If you’re worried they may think you’re trying to live there, then you could bring extra documents as evidence - eg, your flight out of America back to the UK, or proof of your current employment and residence in the UK. Basically anything to convince them that you’re not actually surreptitiously residing in the US :)

Note that going to islands or Canada doesn’t reset it, as found on most US embassy websites:

“The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of certain countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K., to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa, if certain requirements are met. Under the VWP, time spent in Canada, Mexico, and adjacent islands counts towards the maximum of 90 days stay allowed under the program.”

Short version - it doesn’t matter, what matters is convincing the border officer that you’re visiting, not living in the US.

Answer 2 (score 10)

If you go to Canada and Mexico or the Caribbean, and while you are there, your initial 90-day period of entry expires, but you need to come back in to the U.S. to fly home, you may encounter a problem. The terms of the VWP are very clear - it is only to be used for occasional, short visits to the U.S. If the CBP Officer thinks you are trying to “reset” the clock by making a short trip out of the U.S. and re-entering for another 90-day period, you can be denied entry. (If that happens, you will have to obtain a visa for any future travel to the U.S.) In order to be re-admitted to the U.S. shortly after a previous admission expired, you will have to convince a CBP Officer that you are not trying to “game” the system.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/194/kw/90%20days

(as of 25 Mar 2015)

Answer 3 (score 6)

https://travel.stackexchange.com/a/61835/4188 has the answer.

the important paragraph reads:

The Visa Waiver Program doesn’t work that way. If he decides to use the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA); maximum stay is 90 days and he needs to allow adequate time between visits. The rule of thumb is if he is in the US for 90 days; should be out of the U.S. for 91 days before returning.

It’s not an official regulation but a “rule of thumb”.

Question

Is there a legal limit to the amount of physical cash a US citizen can possess when flying from one US state to another? I’ve heard that the United States government can and is seizing any amount of cash over a certain dollar amount at airports. However, I have not been able to get a definitive answer as to if these reported seizures are due to other illegal activity or if carrying cash over a certain dollar amount is in itself illegal.

Before anyone marks this as a duplicate, I am not talking about customs reporting, foreign currency limits or bringing money into or out of the United States. I’m only asking specifically about carrying good o’ll US dollars from one state in the United States to another (NY to TX) on a domestic flight.

Answer accepted (score 5)

I have not been able to get a definitive answer as to if these reported seizures are due to other illegal activity or if carrying cash over a certain dollar amount is in itself illegal.

It’s not illegal but various law enforcement has a very strong motivation for invoking civil asset forfeiture – they get to keep the money or part of it. You do not need to be even charged much less convicted of a crime.

Answer 2 (score 5)

I have not been able to get a definitive answer as to if these reported seizures are due to other illegal activity or if carrying cash over a certain dollar amount is in itself illegal.

It’s not illegal but various law enforcement has a very strong motivation for invoking civil asset forfeiture – they get to keep the money or part of it. You do not need to be even charged much less convicted of a crime.

Answer 3 (score 3)

If you are on a domestic flight in the US, there is no limit to the amount of cash or monetary instruments that you can carry. However, the Transportation Security Administration may ask a passenger who is carrying a large sum of cash to account for the money. If the Transportation Security Administration suspects that the money is related to some kind of criminal activity such as drug trafficking or money laundering, they may turn the issue over to a law enforcement agency (the Transportation Security Administration has no law enforcement powers).

Question

Today Mitt Romney called Benghazi the capital of Libya (it’s Tripoli) and apparently mixed up consulates and embassies. I thought it’d be a handy question to have on here, for those sorting out visas and the like when wondering about consulates and embassies.

So, the question - from a traveller’s point of view, what’s the difference between an embassy and a consulate, and what would you use each one for?

Answer accepted (score 44)

From the perspective of a traveler, there is almost zero difference.

Both embassies and consulates are representative departments of a foreign country/government within another country.

Technically, an Embassy is where an “Ambassador” is based. As there can only be one Ambassador for a specific country, there can only be (at most) one Embassy. As the Ambassador is the highest ranking representative of that foreign government, the Embassy is thus also deemed to be the highest level of representative location.

A consulate is similar, but generally deemed to be a lower ranking due to the lack of an Ambassador. Consulates will generally be smaller - often being more like an office where the embassy often doubles as the actual residence for the Ambassador and/or some of his staff.

Some countries may not have an embassy in a specific country, but may only have a consulate there. This will occur in the situation where there is no ambassador assigned to the country.

From a travel perspective, both will generally provide the same services, and normally location will be far more relevant than the name. In some cases consulates may be slower to process requests as they may simply pass them onto the Embassy rather than doing them themselves. eg, the Australia consulate in San Francisco does not issue new passports - they are forwarded to the embassy in Washington DC, however all passport requests from people in the San Francisco area must be done via the local consulate and can not be sent directly to the embassy!

Answer 2 (score 44)

From the perspective of a traveler, there is almost zero difference.

Both embassies and consulates are representative departments of a foreign country/government within another country.

Technically, an Embassy is where an “Ambassador” is based. As there can only be one Ambassador for a specific country, there can only be (at most) one Embassy. As the Ambassador is the highest ranking representative of that foreign government, the Embassy is thus also deemed to be the highest level of representative location.

A consulate is similar, but generally deemed to be a lower ranking due to the lack of an Ambassador. Consulates will generally be smaller - often being more like an office where the embassy often doubles as the actual residence for the Ambassador and/or some of his staff.

Some countries may not have an embassy in a specific country, but may only have a consulate there. This will occur in the situation where there is no ambassador assigned to the country.

From a travel perspective, both will generally provide the same services, and normally location will be far more relevant than the name. In some cases consulates may be slower to process requests as they may simply pass them onto the Embassy rather than doing them themselves. eg, the Australia consulate in San Francisco does not issue new passports - they are forwarded to the embassy in Washington DC, however all passport requests from people in the San Francisco area must be done via the local consulate and can not be sent directly to the embassy!

Answer 3 (score 19)

I disagree with Doc. There is a difference even from a travelers perspective.

The main difference can be described as follows: The embassy is a representative of its government in a foreign country. Whereas a consulate is a representative of its public administration. So as a traveler you should only be concerned with a consulate. The embassy typically acts as a communication channel between governments.

Both bodies could reside in the same building, but are usually distinct authorities with their respective responsibilities and hierarchies.

Embassies are typically only situated in the same city as the hosting government. A consulate could be located anywhere preferably at a location where many of its citizens are located.

There is also this notion of a honerary consul, where the consul is not a citizen of the country it represents.

Question

Before entering a commercial plane, I had to go through the usual security check at Prague airport (PRG). When I passed the metal detector, it went off. I assume it was because I forgot to take off my wedding ring.

I was approached by the security guy and instead of a full check (which I was expecting), the security guy marked both sides of my hands with some piece of wet paper, told me “wait there”, left with that paper (maybe checking something with the paper, I do not know exactly) and after some time he told me I was free to proceed to the Duty Free zone behind the security check.

While relieved, I am wondering: Does anyone have a clue what kind of security check was that?

Answer accepted (score 45)

Often at security they swab my backpack and some of my possessions with a small piece of damp paper. It is supposed to pick up traces of the materials I’ve been handling. Then they put it in a machine that analyzes those traces. At customs and immigration it’s set to detect various illicit drugs (I’ve seen this on Border Security) but at security I believe it’s set to detect explosives.

Certain people are chosen randomly for a swab. Since you had no residue on your hands that would require them to inspect you further, they sent you on your way. This wasn’t caused by you leaving a ring on. Leaving a wedding ring on is fine.

Answer 2 (score 18)

The swabs are used to check for explosives and/or drugs. Indeed, if you manipulated any such substances in the near past, it’s likely that traces can still be found on your hands, and on the things your hands usually touch: bag handles, zippers, pockets, etc. If you pay close attention during the checks, these parts of your personal belongings are the ones that are usually swabbed. The TSA blog calls these swabs state of the art Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) tests:

While going through checkpoints, you might have seen officers using little white swabs at TSA checkpoints at one point or another. In case you had no idea what our officers were doing, they were conducting state of the art Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) tests. And all along you thought they were giving your items a complimentary cleaning…

ETD tests are used in checkpoint, checked baggage, and cargo environments. We swab things such as laptops, shoes, film, cell phones, bags, wheelchairs, hands, casts - you name it. Certain procedures call for an ETD test.

Basically, our officers run the white swab over the area in question to collect a trace sample. They then place the swab in the ETD machinery which analyzes the sample for extremely small traces of explosives. The test takes a matter of seconds.

[…]

So as you travel, you might be asked for a swab of your hands at the checkpoint or gate. It’s painless and quick. The swabs are disposed of after each use and will not be used on more than one person.

Answer 3 (score 7)

This is a way to check if you have manipulated explosives recently. The paper will absorb the particles and then react during their test afterwards.

Question

What is the difference between i-ticket and e-ticket in India’s online ticket booking?

When we book online train tickets in India through the Government website of www.irctc.co.in, we have a option called: Type: i-ticket or e-ticket, out of which we have to select one.

What is the difference between the two?

Answer accepted (score 15)

The nomenclature is confusing but here’s the difference:

1. iTicket - Fancy name for a paper ticket bought through their website. You specify the journey details, passenger information, and pay online. The ticket is sent through courier to the delivery address specified. This is the same as the ticket you get when you buy from a railway booking counter.
   Downside:

   • You cannot cancel this ticket online. You have to queue up at a railway booking counter and produce the ticket and the booking clerk cancels it for you.
   • You have to buy an iTicket at least 3 days before the journey date. This time is required because the ticket is physically delivered to the customer’s address.
2. eTicket - Stands for ‘electronic ticket’. It’s a paperless, online-only ticket. No need to take a printout of the page before travelling. Just show id proof to TTR The main theme is to save trees so go paperless and You can cancel the ticket online.

Answer 2 (score 10)

With a quick look I didn’t find a good definition in the IRCTC website FAQ, but a web search found this explanation:

• I-Ticket - Delivered to the customer at his desired address through courier.
• E-ticket - The user can take a printout of the Electronic Registration Slip (ERS)

Question

On multiple occasions I have seen forms where it needs to be stated what the Country of Issue and what the Country of Citizenship is. What is the difference between the two, if your passport is issued by a consulate in a foreign country. Technically the soil of a consulate belongs to its own country. So both the country of issue and citizenship should be the same. At least that is what I would say. But if this is the case, why do some forms require to fill in both?

Answer accepted (score 30)

Although not common, some countries issue passports to non-citizens as well. As you may have noticed, the data page of a passport often states the nationality or citizenship of the holder in a separate field and the citizenship may actually differ from the issuing country.

One example is laissez-passer documents or emergency passports, which may be issued by foreign governments. For example, if you travel to a country without a diplomatic representation from your home country and lose your passport, your home country may have an agreement with a third country to help you with a temporary emergency passport.

Another example is the British Passport, which can be issued to all British nationals, even if they are not British citizens (British nationality law makes a clear difference between “nationals” and “citizens”).

Answer 2 (score 17)

From the ESTA website (which I was reading just as you posted the question!):

Your “Country of Issue” is the same as your “Country of Citizenship”. For instance, if you are a citizen of the United Kingdom, but are getting your passport from the UK Consulate in Hong Kong, the UK is your country of issue. The UK Consulate may be located in Hong Kong, but Hong Kong is not the country issuing you the passport.

However, it’s worth noting that some forms word this differently, and ask for place of issue or authority who issued it. Then it could be different.

For example, my current New Zealand passport.

Country of citizenship: New Zealand, clearly.

But where it was issued? I was in London, UK, and the field in the passport says “DIA LON”. (Department of Internal Affairs, London). This is the Identity Services Office in London - often referred to as the London Passport Office - and is responsible for the issuing and renewals of New Zealand Passports in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

So when it says place of issue, that’s usually what gets put down for me, or when it asks for ‘Authority’ as that’s the specified field in the passport as well.

Country of Issue, however, would still be New Zealand.

Answer 3 (score 10)

It’s difficult to know precisely without context but there are few cases where this could be relevant, in particular:

• Travel documents other than passports (e.g. refugee travel documents) are issued by the country where the person resides and indicate that the holder can be readmitted to the country of issue even though they are still citizens of another country. Formally, these documents are typically not called “passports” but they look like one and are often informally called “refugee passports”.
• Some countries like the UK and the US have a distinction between “citizens” and “nationals”. For the US, some people from the American Samoa can for example get a passport issued by the US Department of State but cannot claim the US as their “country of citizenship”.
• People living in countries that are not recognized as such by many other countries in the world (e.g. Palestine, Northern Cyprus) sometimes travel with a passport from another country (e.g. Jordan, Turkey) where they might or might not be considered a citizen. However, it would be difficult to accept “Palestine” as “country of citizenship” if it’s not officially recognized wherever you are so that’s probably not the intent of the form.

On the other hand, if you have a regular passport, issued by your country’s authorities, then I would tend to think that “country of issue” and “country of citizenship” are the same even if you got your passport through a consulate abroad (that’s certainly the terminology used by the US authorities, as shown in the link provided by Mark).

Question

I’m travelling around a few cities in India, from Delhi to Bangalore. What type of plug adapter should I pack?

Answer accepted (score 21)

Don’t pack anything. You’ll find much cheaper, and probably better, plug adapters all over India. Expect to pay Rs 15-30 for simple ones that just accommodate US-style plugs, and Rs 40-50 for full universal ones. You can find them at any general store/convenience store in major cities and tourist locations, but might get a better selection at electrician’s shops.

Answer 2 (score 13)

I agree with @R.. I spent over four months in Delhi in 2009, and while I did bring over a couple of plug adapters with me, it’s much easier and cheaper to just buy them there. Any market will have them. (Just remember that the price of almost anything in India is negotiable!)

In addition to buying a couple of plug adapters, you can also purchase a universal power strip with surge protector once you’re there. It looks like this and I think I paid the equivalent of $5 USD for one in a market in Delhi. These are a good idea if you’re bringing multiple electronics like laptop, tablet, phone, ipod.

The universal power strip is great for a couple reasons: 1) You can plug in all of your electronics at once. My experience is that many Indian hotels/hostels/guest houses do not have many outlets so if you have multiple things to charge, a power strip is your best friend.

2. Surge protection is really important (especially if you’re traveling during summer in India, though you didn’t specify when your trip was). Brownouts, blackouts, and power surges are common, and you don’t want your laptop to get fried.

3. If you have one of these, you don’t need to buy a lot of individual adapter plugs that are small and easy to lose.

As I mentioned before, though, this is something you’ll want to buy in India to make sure the powerstrip itself has the right plug. (It’ll probably be a grounded plug that looks like this.)

The last thing is to make sure you check voltage requirements for anything you bring with you to plug in. A lot of electronic devices can automatically convert, but things like hair dryers typically need a voltage converter to do it for them.

Answer 3 (score 9)

I went to India (from the US) last year and brought one of these. It’s only an adapter, not a voltage converter. It will work with your laptop, phone charger, etc. if they support 110V and 220V. If you have devices (electric shaver, hair dryer, etc.) that only operate on 110V this won’t work. Some “international” hotels will have a 110V outlet in the bathroom for shavers.

Question

What kind of power plug is used in Ireland?

Is it the typical plug used in most of Europe? Or is it the British one?

(Could you attach or link to a photo so I can make sure?)

Answer accepted (score 40)

It’s the same as the British one (Type G). (Type D) was once common and may be occasionally found. The voltage in Ireland is the same as the rest of Europe (220 volts).

To be more specific, From Wikipedia:

The British Standards 1363 plug[17] is used in the United Kingdom and other countries. Compatible plugs standards are IS 401 and IS 411 (Ireland), MS 589 (Malaysia) and SS 145 (Singapore), and SASO 2203 (Saudi Arabia).

This is how it looks:

Bath and shower rooms

From Wikipedia:

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, there is a two-pin socket for use with electric shavers in bath or shower rooms.[18] It derives from the unearthed version of 5–6 A British plug and it has 0.2 in (5.08 mm) diameter pins 5⁄8 in (15.88 mm) apart. The sockets for this plug are often designed to accept unearthed CEE 7/16, US or Australian plugs as well. Sockets are often able to supply either 230 V or 115 V. In wet zones, they must contain an isolation transformer compliant with BS 3535.

For more details, check the electrical outlet website for a list of the electrical plug types for the whole world.

Answer 2 (score 6)

As others have mentioned, it’s the same as the UK.

Ireland & the UK are quite culturally close (and were the same country until 1922), so anything bought in the UK would have to work in Ireland. There are numerous ‘high street’ UK chains operating in Ireland selling the same merchandise.

Question

As I said in another question, I’m bringing my parents to visit me here in Sweden next year.

My mother is around 280-300 pounds and 5’6" (130-135kg, 1.67m). I am concerned that she might be asked at the airport to buy a second seat. If it’s likely I would rather just buy the second seat in advance, because I don’t want her to be embarassed/humiliated by some random employee. As well, I won’t be there, they will be travelling alone and aren’t used to dealing with airports and they won’t know what their rights are.

In terms of how it will affect other passengers, it’s not important, she will get a window seat and my dad will sit in the middle seat, so I don’t see it affecting anybody.

She insists it’s fine, “the last time I flew I fit easily!” but that was 20 years ago when she was half the size.

They will be flying BA or SAS, definitely not Ryanair.

So - where is the cutoff? Is a 300 pound 5’6" woman going to be too big to fit in a single airline seat? Or am I worrying about nothing?

Answer accepted (score 52)

The reason why airlines implement a policy of asking overweight people to get two seats is an air safety issue of whether they can be strapped in properly. The guideline used for this is whether a passenger can fit between the armrests. If a passenger requires two seats, then the policy differs from airline-to-airline if/what the passenger should be charged for it.

On London to Sweden flights, British Airways flies Airbus A319/A320-100/200 aircraft with a seat width of 17" (43 cm) in Economy and 18.5" (47 cm) in Premium Economy (“World Traveller Plus”). Premium economy is not as expensive as business class and if you have frequent flyer points, you may be able to get the upgrade cheap. SAS flies either McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (18" (46 cm) seat width) or Boeing 737 (with 17" (43 cm) seat width) depending on which flight you take with no difference in business class.

Ryanair has the same 17" (43 cm) seat width as BA, and easyJet has 18" (46 cm) seat width - the difference is that seat pitch (distance) is a good 4-5" (10–13 cm) less than ‘full-cost’ airlines. If that’s not a concern, buying two seats on a budget airline will be cheaper.

EDIT: BA does not offer premium economy class for short-haul flights.

Answer 2 (score 38)

Firstly, good on you for being concerned about her and asking about it on a public forum where others who may not be able to can hopefully benefit from this as well. I hope you come back with your findings from the airlines/trips they take!

Basically, it comes down to the airline. You can see what their policy is by looking up their Conditions of Carriage. Very few do specify exactly something about weight/height/size, but will merely talk about ‘a passenger’s physical state causing discomfort to other passengers or crew’, which is more likely to be used against those intoxicated, or if you tried to board while say, covered in manure??

A friend just came back on a flight from Honololu to Auckland with Air New Zealand (see related query on Travel.SE), and the person next to them was physically unable to fit into a chair with the armrest down. As a result, all three in the row were forced to endure an awkward and uncomfortable 12 hour flight. Air New Zealand’s conditions of carriage only mention ‘physical state’, but at the time we looked around and found airlines like Southwest in the US are starting to actually mention size/weight in their conditions of carriage.

Your best bet is probably to look up the conditions of carriage, and if it’s a little ambiguous, tweet or email the airline and ask them directly. If you have a statement from them in writing saying that there’s no problem, that’s a very easy document to have your folks print out and take along, just in case there’s a problem. If there’s not, no embarrassment, it just stays in their bag and they get to tell you there was never anything to worry about ;)

EDIT

An update, I had a flight a few months back with Qantas, where I was wedged between two very large women. The one on my left was big enough that the food tray couldn’t be lowered, and she couldn’t locate her own headphone jack in her seat. I found at the end of the flight her similar-sized husband was a row back, because the two of them physically couldn’t sit next to each other on the same flight.

It was, as you might imagine, uncomfortable. I spoke with Qantas afterwards about their policies, which they were a bit evasive about, but tried the line “we can’t tell how big passengers are until they arrive at checkin”. I pointed out that the same applies to my baggage, but they have a size limit on that :/

Their current policy seems to be that if they can, they’ll move the inconvenienced passengers, but if it’s a full flight, tough luck, and IF you complain enough, you’ll get a token appreciation in frequent flyer miles, which is a shame.

Answer 3 (score 31)

I am 6’3" and pushing 400 pounds and I have never had a problem on BA flights. Yes I need a seatbelt extension but only so I will be comfortable. I admittedly do fit between the armrests.

I do feel bad for people next to me because my shoulders are quite broad but I try to get an aisle seat so I can at least lean out.

Since your mother is travelling with your father it should be fine. They will even be able to put he armrest up if she needs more space.

Question

My wife and I will be arriving in London via Heathrow Airport (LHR) and are staying at a hotel near King’s Cross station. So, we were wondering what the best (which means fastest but also easiest when carrying two large pieces of luggage and two carry-ons) way to get from LHR to King’s Cross?

I gather that, with only one changeover, we can take the Tube. However, in the interest of other passengers, we thought it would be best to take a taxi, or maybe a bus?

Thoughts?

Answer accepted (score 29)

As a Londoner who does that route a lot:

• The easiest option is to take a taxi, which have plenty of room for luggage. However, it will be quite expensive, probably around £80.
• The cheapest option (excluding buses, which would be ridiculously tedious) would be the tube, which will cost £5.50 per person each way - assuming you are paying cash (you can save money if you get an Oyster card (or use a contactless payment card), which drops the price to £3 or £5 depending on the time of day). Fortunately in your case you can take the Piccadilly line the whole way there. The tube is more cumbersome with luggage, but it’s doable if you are on a budget. (check for engineering work changes)

A reasonable compromise for one person might be the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then a taxi to Kings’ Cross, which is only a short journey. However, it’s £34 return each, so you won’t save much money over a taxi with two of you.

Answer 2 (score 29)

As a Londoner who does that route a lot:

• The easiest option is to take a taxi, which have plenty of room for luggage. However, it will be quite expensive, probably around £80.
• The cheapest option (excluding buses, which would be ridiculously tedious) would be the tube, which will cost £5.50 per person each way - assuming you are paying cash (you can save money if you get an Oyster card (or use a contactless payment card), which drops the price to £3 or £5 depending on the time of day). Fortunately in your case you can take the Piccadilly line the whole way there. The tube is more cumbersome with luggage, but it’s doable if you are on a budget. (check for engineering work changes)

A reasonable compromise for one person might be the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then a taxi to Kings’ Cross, which is only a short journey. However, it’s £34 return each, so you won’t save much money over a taxi with two of you.

Answer 3 (score 4)

My son and I arrived at Heathrow in the morning hours for our very first time and everything was easy from the start. We had 2 large items of luggage plus 2 medium ones and 2 carry-ons, my son going to college.

We took the underground Piccadilly line to alight just one stop before King’s Cross, which is Russell Square station. Less then an hour trip, we entered the empty train at Terminal 4 and smoothly alighted at the right station. We bought two single tickets. That’s costly (£12 pounds) next time I would buy an Oyster card as advised here.

Question

On my e-ticket for my flight with Swiss booked through Travelup.com, I see this:

Baggage: 1PC

Does this mean I’m only allowed hang-luggage? Or can I take hand-luggage, and check in one piece of luggage?

Answer accepted (score 13)

Airlines tickets usually report the amount of allowed checked baggages. Hand luggages are usually taken for granted.

However, in this particular case, the Swissair website says:

When you travel with SWISS, we will transport a certain amount of your baggage free of charge for you. The quantity and weight of this free baggage is clearly defined, and vary according to your booking class.

So I guess (if you travel in economy class) you are allowed one 23 kg checked baggage plus a 8 kg hand luggage.

Additional info on checked baggage and hand baggage can be found on the same website.

Answer 2 (score 4)

It means that you are allowed to check in one piece of luggage free of charge (as long as it isn’t over the maximum allowed weight and size).

Carry-on luggage is separate. For most airlines you are allowed two pieces of carry on. One that will fit in the overhead compartment and another that will fit under the seat in front of you.

Answer 3 (score -3)

the first number is for check inn baggage , airlines operating with numbers because it can be more than one . The letter P is for personal and letter C for carry on . Personal can be everything what is going under the sit and will fit there . Carry on is going about your head to locked shelf. Everyone think that 1PC mean one piece of something , but in real I did explained what’s going on . for example if your ticket shows 0PC it’s mean you can take only personal and carry on , because number 0 is showing zero check inn baggage , and that’s apply for all airlines on the world ! Thank you

Question

What is the difference between a tatkal and premium tatkal ticket in Indian Railways?

I wanted a book a ticket in tatkal but it shows already the tickets are in waiting list. How is that possible?

Also how to know in advance whether a tatkal or a premium tatkal ticket is available for a particular train or not?

Answer accepted (score 8)

The main difference between Tatkal and Premium Tatkal is that Premium Tatkal is an Online Only service.

According to Times of India

Passengers can book premium Tatkal tickets online only on the pattern of airline fares - more the demand, higher the fare.

According to a Railway Board official, premium Tatkal tickets are dynamically priced like air fares. The minimum premium fare is the basic train fare plus Tatkal charges, which vary from 10% to 30% depending on the class of travel, he said, adding the maximum limit for booking premium Tatkal ticket is 30% of the base fare or Rs400, whichever is higher.

Answer 2 (score 4)

The Premium Tatkal (PT) Quota introduced by Railway differs from Tatkal (PT) Quota in the following ways :

• Opening days booking to be allowed on/after 10:00 hrs.
• Advance Reservation Period (ARP) of Premium Tatkal ticket booking is same as Tatkal ticket booking.
• Agents will not be allowed to book tickets in this quota.
• Dynamic fare shall be charged for confirm passengers.
• Dynamic fare stands for the fare component which may be increased with the subsequent bookings.
• RAC/ Waitlist Ticket Booking is not allowed.
• Only E-tickets will be permitted for booking.
• I-ticket Booking is not allowed with this Quota.
• Child passenger will be charged with full fare.
• Identity card number of the prescribed proof of identity is required at the time of booking. At least one passenger should travel with his/her ID card in original which was used at the time of booking.
• No refund is given to passengers in case of cancellation of confirm PT quota ticket.
• All rules for tatkal quota booking over internet is applicable to Premium Tatkal quota also.

Reference :

1. Indian Railways.
2. The Hindu.

Question

Just today, I booked a hotel in Hong Kong through Booking.com using a prepaid debit card which has zero balance. My reservation was confirmed; however, I changed my mind as I found a cheaper place to stay.

I chose to cancel the first booking within the same day, and when I received the confirmation email for the cancellation, I was shocked that they were charging 600 HKD for such kind of transaction.

What should I do now? Should I consider the booking cancelled already, just like the email they sent me, and not think about the charge anymore? Or do I have to put money in the card to cover the fee which, honestly, I find outrageous?

Answer accepted (score 23)

I don’t quite understand why you’re “shocked” at the cancellation fee or why you find it “outrageous”? When you reserve a hotel, you make a promise to show up, and the hotel promises to give you a rate that’s cheaper than usual. If you cancel, the hotel gets no money from you and is left scrambling to fill that room, which is why cancellation fees are used to mitigate the damage. If anything, it’s not unusual to have fully prepaid rates, meaning that once you’ve booked, you’re charged the entire fee, even if you cancel within 5 minutes.

But in any case, as Burhan says in his answer, since you have no balance on the card, what happens next is mostly up to your bank and you may well get away without paying a cent. But if the bank does decide to charge you, I don’t see what grounds you would have to contest the charge, you were almost certainly notified about it (albeit in small print) when you made the original booking: Booking.com promises “no cancellation fee” on “most”, but not all, rooms.

Answer 2 (score 10)

Assuming they charge the fee, since you have zero balance the charge won’t be successful.

I believe booking.com does not control this, but the individual hotels do. You might want to check with the hotel (and the room/rate combination) you selected.

Some rooms which are discounted are either pre-paid or have a minimum night charge, or a hefty cancellation fee. I think you may have selected such a room+rate combination.

Either way, what happens depends on what kind of card it is and what kind of agreement you have with your bank. You can contact the hotel to contest the charge (although, I am not sure how far that would go to be honest - I have not had much success in this department).

Regarding your booking:

1. They may charge you a minimum night charge if the booking is not cancelled (that is, they have not received the cancellation fee/penalty).

2. They may try to charge the cancellation fee again.

You can also choose to call your bank and refuse the charge.

Answer 3 (score 5)

Always read the fine print. People rush into making a room reservation based solely on the rate or the pictures. When you reserve that room, you are entering into a legally binding contract. You are agreeing to the terms and conditions on that site and for the hotel.

Try contesting the charges in court or with the bank and good luck to you. Whether you think it’s fair or not, or whether you like the terms and conditions is irrelevant after the fact. Once you’ve “confirmed” that you agree by hitting the reserve button And sending the merchant your order you are required to uphold your end of the contract.

Saying you didn’t see the information on the website or vendors advertising pages is not a good argument either. The burden of proof is on the accuser. Be prepared to provide proof that the information was not provided BEFORE the purchase was made. Usually the information on reservation pages is right next to the reserve button. Sometimes it is before the checkout page.

My advice is to just stay away from the prepaid reservations since the savings are not nearly all that much lower. 3 party websites like Expedia, booking.com etc, are travel agencies. They will get a fee for sending your reservation to the hotel. If you have an issue at the hotel, you will need to go back to the 3rd party to resolve the billing issue.

Call hotels in the morning hours and ask for a manager (GM) to get answers to your booking questions. Also ask for discounts from the manager rather than the desk staff. Ask about the policy for refunds and anything else you think you should know. Last, take names of the person you spoke to, their positions and get confirmation or cancellation numbers. I can’t count how many people don’t do this and find out that they’ve been charged as a no show for a reservation they cancelled, but can’t provide a cancellation number or name of the person they spoke to. Other show up with no reservation at a sold out hotel and having no confirmation number means you have no grounds for recovery.

Question

I recently renewed my passport, and have a shiny new one. When renewing, I sent in the old one as proof of citizenship/identity, but was surprised that, along with my new passport, the old one was sent back - with a few holes punched in it to verify its ‘uselessness’.

Most advice I can find re: holding on to expired passports mainly advises doing so in order to use them for the exact purpose that I used mine; but beyond that (since I have a new passport, which will someday be expired), is there any reason to hold on to the old one? If not, are there any particular precautions I should take in disposing of it beyond ensuring that the page with my identity is torn out and shredded/cut into tiny pieces to avoid identity theft?

(If it’s relevant, mine is a US passport)

Answer accepted (score 35)

Officially the only reason you’ll need your old passport is if it contains any visas that are still current - despite being in the old passport these visas are generally still valid. If this is the case, then obviously you’ll just want to carry your passport with you.

If you have no visas, then the best advise I can give you is to put your old passport in one of your bags (preferably one of the bags you check-in). In the event that you lose your current passport - especially if in a foreign country - having your old passport will make the process of obtaining a replacement much easier.

Personally I have my previous passport in an envelope containing some spare cash, a spare ATM card, and an old Drivers License. To date I’ve never needed any of these, but it’s good to know they are there if I ever need them!

Answer 2 (score 17)

Sometimes you have valid visas in the old passport that you might find use for later. Also you might need to use that passport to prove travel entry/exit dates at some immigration counter in the future.

Answer 3 (score 11)

If I can contribute as someone who used to have to verify identities on a regular basis, a passport is the most secure (and expensive) form of ID issued to the general public. An expired passport continues to be an excellent form of ID even if it’s not longer usable for travel, and as quoted elsewhere here from the US State Department, it also continues to provide proof of citizenship should that be an issue. I keep all of my expired passports in various secure places, ready for use if my current one isn’t available for some reason (loss, theft, in safety deposit box, etc) .

Question

If I have TSA PreCheck (i.e. I have a KTN from TSA and the “pre-check” logo gets printed on my boarding pass) and a travel companion does not, can they go with me through the PreCheck security lines? This is assuming that the travel companion is booked in the same reservation on the same flights and is also a U.S. citizen and not on any no-fly or otherwise increased scrutiny lists.

I’m guessing the answer is no, but I haven’t seen anything from TSA specifically addressing this.

Answer accepted (score 38)

According to TSA.gov, the FAQ says no:

I’m traveling with my family; can they also use the TSA Pre✓_® lane?

• Family members ages 12 and under traveling with an eligible parent or guardian with a TSA Pre✓_® indicator on their boarding pass can participate in expedited screening.
• Family members 13 and older must go through standard security lanes or should apply for a DHS trusted traveler program.

I know your question isn’t about family, but ‘travel companions’, but seeing as they don’t even allow family members over 13 to join you on your KTN, it can safely be assumed by a reasonable person (and yes, I know we’re talking TSA here, irony noted) that a non-family member would also not be eligible to travel under your KTN.

Answer 2 (score 6)

My sister and I both have KTNs and recently traveled with a friend, booked together in one record. She doesn’t have a KTN but received TSA pre-check on both legs of the journey. Two friends who booked independently did not. So it seems that there is a higher likelihood of the TSA pre going to some traveling on the same record as another KTN holder.

Answer 3 (score 4)

I have a KTN #. My wife does not and is not even a U.S. Citizen but always gets TSA Pre Check when traveling with me on Delta, American and United. Southwest is the exception whereas I get Pre Check but she has to go through regular line. So far, 100 % of the time this is the case. Even when she didn’t have her permanent resident card, she still had TSA Pre Check. It makes no sense to me. I am not complaining, just confused why she gets cleared for TSA Pre.

Question

After I buy a ticket online for an airline, should I go to the airport and register it or is it enough to go to the airport at the date of flight and not to do anything? How can I pass the gates to get myself to the waiting room for the flight? Do I have to print the ticket for this purpose? I have not bought an airline ticket online, so how it works is not known to me. The flight is an international flight.

Answer accepted (score 41)

It would depend on the airline and the airport/country but no matter how you buy the ticket, the next big step is what’s called “checking in”. This is when the airline assigns you a seat and confirms that you will indeed be flying.

In most cases, you can now check in online a few days to a few hours before departure and print the boarding pass at home (or wherever you can find a printer). You can then show up at the airport and present this self-printed boarding pass together with your passport to drop your luggage off and go through the security and police check (where applicable). Some airlines/airports also allow you to use a smartphone app as your boarding pass.

Alternatively, it’s also possible to check in at the airport itself, possibly for a fee. I have not done that in quite some time (preferring online check-in), but, back when I did it regularly, giving my name and presenting an ID was typically enough for the staff to find my booking. If using some automatic check-in machine, scanning the passport or presenting the credit card used for the booking was sometimes necessary.

In any case, you do need to be at the airport in advance (depending on the circumstances up to 2 or 3 hours before departure are recommended) but not to go there in the days before.

Finally, note that your ticket should include some confirmation number that you could write down to help the airline find your booking should any problem arise.

Answer 2 (score 29)

Just to repeat Relaxed’s excellent answer. Yash, the process is:

1. PURCHASE a ticket. These days, that is almost always online at say Expedia, or over the phone. You’ll get some sort of purchase code, like XFD123HHC

Note that these days, it’s usually confusing since there is both an EXPEDIA code AND a code from the AIRLINE! (Possibly even more than one airline.) So, write all those down, or if you prefer print it out from your computer.

2. CHECK-IN. At the airport, you “check-in”. This means you give them your code numbers, and you show them your passport, and you give them your luggage. In return they give you your boarding pass.

Note, as it says you give them your luggage. But any small “carry-on” items, you just keep in your hand.

So, “check-in” is all about getting your boarding pass.

Boarding passes almost always look like this:

3. Next, AFTER checking in, you go through security. You have to show them your boarding pass and also your passport again. They scan you and your small “carry on” items. You then enter the departure area of the airport. Only people who are actually flying, can go there - you have to say goodbye to your family as you enter the security check point.

Now - you go shopping! :) There are always shops in the departure area. In any large airport, it is like a shopping mall. Once again, the only people in the departure area are people who are actually flying - they have a boarding pass in their hand. (And of course people like police, shop-keepers etc who have special passes to be in the “passengers only” area.)

4. Finally you board the airplane. This happens at the gate. You have to give them your boarding pass and show them your passport. At the gate they remove and keep the large part of the boarding pass (on the left in the image above) and you keep the small part (on the right). The only reason you keep the small part is to remember your seat number. (if you happen to drop it or lose it it is no big deal.

So after shopping, you all stand around at the gate. Eventually they will say “Now boarding, your flight 247”. You all line up and go through the gate - as I explain, they take your boarding pass, you show your passport, and they give you the small tear-off piece. At that instant you do and must walk straight on to the plane (down the walkway) and that’s you on the plane. (You cannot go back to the shops, or anywhere else, after that.)

To recap:

1. purchase online. Give: credit card number, Get: reservation number(s).

2. at the airport: check-in. Give: reservation number(s) + luggage. Show: passport. Get: boarding pass.

3. at security. Show: boarding pass + passport. Get scanned (you and your carry-on bags).

You’re now in the “departure area” which is often like a mall. Passengers only.

Wait until you hear “Flight 247 now boarding at gate 44B…”

4. at the gate. Show: boarding pass + passport. Walk on to the plane and sit down, you cannot return to the departure shopping now.

Notes:

1. traditionally, you only got your seat assignment at the moment of checkin. ie on the actual day, at the airport. However these days…on the web, after you buy the ticket, typically you can click and actually choose your seat, so that’s good. (In fact, nowadays, most airlines now have a con where you can then pay a little more for a “better” seat.)

2. at most big airports, in fact, you can “check-in” - so, leave your luggage with them - right on the road where you get out of the taxi. Sometimes you do that and you ALSO have to then check-in at the main check-in counters inside; sometimes all the check-in is handled at the roadside.

(B2) To add more confusion, these days you can often check in using a machine that looks like an ATM. Instead of having to line up to talk to a human at the check-in counters, you line up to use a little sort of machine; they might have a row of ten or so of these machines. You just type in your numbers and it prints out the boarding pass for you (see image above). Note that in this case you have to put your bags “somewhere”, sometimes a person comes and gets it, sometimes you use the roadside system, sometimes you then go to another counter etc. Personally if it was my first time I’d just go to a human at a check-in counter! I would not use the “automatic machine” nor the “roadside check-in”.

(B3 !!) And note that these days, you sometimes do not need to check-in at all! If you have only hand baggage, in some cases you can “check in online.” You do that at home even before going to the airport. I would avoid this if you are new!

3. note that check-in is the part where you “have to wait” - those are the long lines you see at airports. it can often happen you have to wait for an hour in the line. some people like to arrive very early, to be the first to check in, so you don’t have to wait. note that by doing that you can get a better seat (BUT that does not apply so much these days, as explained above: you can usually choose your seat in advance, online.)

the wait to go through security CAN BE very long, particularly say in the US. the wait to actually board is no big deal, you all just line up and go on the plane.

I hope it helps you, or some other readers! more and more people are flying for the first time, so, enjoy.

Answer 3 (score 8)

It definitely needs to be noted that some airlines these days require the flyer to present the original credit card used to book the ticket upon check-in too. This is an attempt to reduce internet fraud. Check with your airline if this is the case, as the airlines are generally super strict if they follow this policy (no credit card, no flight, no exceptions!)

Question

I have read that, at the time of writing (2013), UAE visas are:

1. 96-Hour : Valid for passengers in transit
2. Tourist : Maximum 30 days
3. Visit : Maximum 90 days

But I am only connecting flights, so I am staying in the airport. And can’t find any information regarding that case.

I only could find in the FAQ something implicitly saying that you do not need a visa if staying in the airport:

Can I leave the airport when transiting through Dubai?

This depends on the nationality stated in your passport and on the length of your stop in Dubai. Travellers of most nationalities require visas to enter Dubai, and regulations frequently change, so if you wish to leave the airport while in transit through Dubai, please check your visa requirements with your local UAE embassy before you start your journey. Travellers of certain nationalities may obtain visas at the airport on arrival.

see also: http://www.emirates.com/english/plan_book/essential_information/visa_passport_information/prearranged_uae_visas.aspx

http://www.emirates.com/english/plan_book/essential_information/visa_passport_information/uae_visas.aspx

Answer accepted (score 8)

According to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

Citizens of the following countries ( holders of Regular Passports ) are exempted from UAE visa:

[France is in this list]

It should be noted that this list may change vary slightly from time to time and it is therefore best to check with your local UAE embassy or the airline that you are using to fly to the UAE. If you do NOT fall into one of the above categories, you will require a visa and a sponsor for your visit. The sponsor normally applies for the visa on your behalf.

In short, you can leave the airport if you have sufficient time or you can stay at the airport. Either way, as a French citizen, you don’t need to prepare any documentation before travelling.

Answer 2 (score 8)

According to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

Citizens of the following countries ( holders of Regular Passports ) are exempted from UAE visa:

[France is in this list]

It should be noted that this list may change vary slightly from time to time and it is therefore best to check with your local UAE embassy or the airline that you are using to fly to the UAE. If you do NOT fall into one of the above categories, you will require a visa and a sponsor for your visit. The sponsor normally applies for the visa on your behalf.

In short, you can leave the airport if you have sufficient time or you can stay at the airport. Either way, as a French citizen, you don’t need to prepare any documentation before travelling.

Answer 3 (score 0)

If you don’t have a UAE visa, the scheduled departure of the second flight needs to be within 24 hours of your arrival in Dubai.

source: http://www.flydubai.com/en/plan/connections/

Question

I’m an Indian citizen and I want to travel to Nepal by air. Is a passport required?

Answer accepted (score 9)

It seems it is not required; as stated at the airport’s website:

Visas are required for all foreigners wishing to enter into Nepal except for Indian nationalities, who need to fish out their identity at the counter to identify themselves.

Further from the Nepal Tourism Board’s welcomenepal.com website:

Indian nationals do not require visa to enter Nepal. As per the Nepalese Immigration, Indian Nationals Traveling to Nepal must posses any One of the following documents:

1. Passport
2. Driving License with photo
3. Photo Identity card issued by a Government Agency
4. Ration Card with Photo
5. Election Commission Card with Photo
6. Identity Card issued by Embassy of India in Kathmandu
7. Identity Card with Photo issued by Sub- Divisional Magistrate or any other officials above his rank

Also, please check with your nearest travel agents for documents required by the Indian Immigration for Indians traveling to Nepal.

Question

I found many related questions on this site but I am still not sure about the rules. How can I decide if I need a visa to transit?

Schengen members as of November 2017 are as follows:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Denmark (excluding Greenland and the Faroe Islands - but an open border with the Schengen Area is maintained)
• Estonia
• Finland
• France (excluding overseas departments and collectivities)
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands (excluding Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands)
• Norway (excluding Svalbard)
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain (except Ceuta and Melilla)
• Sweden
• Switzerland

Answer accepted (score 66)

It’s sometimes difficult to find the right information but everything is somewhere on the EU website. Wikipedia has a good summary as well. Some embassies or government websites from the various Schengen countries also provide useful summaries. Legally, the main source for all this is the Schengen visa code.

Here is a step-by-step guide through the rules to decide if you need a visa:

1. Are you flying within the Schengen area?

If your next destination is in the Schengen area, you must pass through passport control to get to that flight, so you need a regular Schengen visa unless you qualify for visa-free entry.

If you’re going to somewhere within the Schengen area and already have a visa issued by that country, this visa also allows you to enter the Schengen area at a layover point in a different member country.

2. Can you enter the Schengen area?

If you can enter the Schengen area, you can also transit there. You can enter the Schengen area if you are an EU/EFTA citizen, hold a Schengen visa, a long-stay visa or residence permit from one of the Schengen countries, or are a citizen of a country whose citizens don’t need a visa to visit the Schengen area. If any of these apply, you can stop here, you don’t need a visa. If none of these apply, read further.

The list of countries whose citizens don’t need a visa to enter the Schengen area can be found on Wikipedia. They are also colored green on this map from the EU Commission.

3. Can you transfer without leaving the international area of the airport?

Many airports in Europe have an international area with transfer/check-in counters, waiting area, sometimes lounges, restaurants, shops or even a museum before the border checkpoint where the police check the passports of passengers entering the Schengen area. Gates for non-Schengen destinations can be accessed from this area, whereas domestic and Schengen-bound flights depart from other parts of the airport.

Whether you can transit without leaving this area will depend on your specific connection (airport/terminal, airline, time). For example, some German airports close at night, so that it’s not possible to remain in the international area for an overnight transfer. Luggage belts are typically after the passport check so if your luggage cannot be checked through to a destination outside of the Schengen area, you will also have a problem.

Finally, as passengers’ passports don’t have to be checked on flights within the Schengen area, if you have two stopovers in the Schengen area (for example Mumbai-Vienna-Frankfurt-Chicago or Nairobi-Zurich-Frankfurt-Chișinău), you will have to leave the international area and go through the border checkpoint to catch your intra-Schengen flight. Same thing if you need to change airports.

If you have to leave the international area to make your transfer, you cannot transit without a visa and you need a full Schengen visa (and not merely an “airport transit visa”). If you can stay in the international area (“transit airside”), read further.

4. Do citizens of your country require a visa to transit airside?

If you have come so far, it means you come from a country whose citizens require a visa to enter the Schengen area. But there is still a distinction between two categories of countries among them. While most people can transit airside without a visa, citizens of a smaller list of countries need an “airport transit visa” even if they don’t want to go through the border checkpoint and enter the Schengen area.

Where things get complicated is that the list of countries whose citizens need an airport transit visa is slightly different from one Schengen country to the other. There is a list for the whole Schengen area (list in Wikipedia, dark red/burgundy on the map from the EU) but individual Schengen member states can also add countries to the list. They have to inform the Commission, which keeps a list of all these requirements (current list as PDF, see also the same Wikipedia article).

If your country is not on either of these lists, stop here, you don’t need a visa. On the other hand, if your country is on one of the lists (the general Europe-wide list or the one from the country where you are going to transit), you might need an “airport transit visa” but read further as there are some exceptions.

5. Are there other rules that could allow you to transit without a visa?

If your transfer requires an airport transit visa, there might still be a way to transit without a visa as the Schengen Visa code provides for a number of exceptions for people who hold some other visas or residence permits. Note that those exceptions only apply to the airport transit visa requirement. If you need to enter the Schengen area (see question 2), these exceptions do not apply.

Specifically, you are exempted from the airport transit visa requirement if you hold a valid visa from an EU country (that’s the whole EU, not only the Schengen area so also Ireland, the UK, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia), Canada, Japan or the United States of America. Germany also recognizes this exemption for travelers returning from the any of the above countries even if their visa is expired, but you should check with the country you’re actually transiting through, because this exemption is not mentioned explicitly in the Schengen codes.

You are also exempted if you have a residence permit from one of these countries or from Andorra or San Marino. If that’s your case, you are exempted even if you are not traveling to this country.

If you hold such a visa or residence permit, you can transit without a visa, no matter your citizenship or your destination. If you don’t, you will need a visa.

Furthermore, if you just used the visa (so that it’s not valid anymore but expired recently), you can still transit without a visa in the Schengen area for the return trip. This rule does not fit US visas very well because it’s possible to stay legally in the US long after your visa expired.

Schengen regulations stipulate that holders of expired US visas can transit in the Schengen Area without a visa if returning from the US after having used the visa; however check-in clerks may exercise an overly cautious interpretation regarding US visas expired by a large amount of time, and consequently deny you boarding.

As such, in this case it is highly recommended to get a written confirmation from the ground handling personnel at the airport of departure well in advance, or apply for an airside transit visa for the Schengen Area.

6. Can I get this visa on arrival?

No, you cannot. There are provisions for 15-day single-entry visas on arrival in limited cases (mostly seamen, EU citizens’ family and emergencies) but it’s not regular practice in Europe. If you need a visa, the airline/ground handling personnel at your departure airport will want to see it (they can be fined if they transport you without checking) and they will deny boarding if you don’t have the right to transit in the relevant airport(s).

Answer 2 (score 7)

Transit visa question in Schengen is a very common and frequently asked question here. The answer lies here.

I am referring to the official European union Schengen, Borders & Visas/Visa policy FAQ publication, which is precise and clear.

I have connecting flights, with a stop at a Schengen state airport. Do I have to apply for an airport transit visa or a short stay visa?

It is important to distinguish between two situations:

1. transit through the international transit area of an airport (onward journey where you do not leave the international transit area of the airport)
2. transit via the territory of a Member State albeit limited to an airport (onward journey where you leave the international transit area of the airport).

An airport transit visa (ATV) authorises you to pass through the international transit zone at an airport located on the territory of the Schengen State and to await a connecting flight to a non-Schengen country. The ATV does not allow you to enter the Schengen territory (to stay at a hotel or to take an onwards flight to another Schengen State, for example). To find out whether you need an airport transit visa, you can consult the overview on our website, click here.

Traveling to a Schengen State via another Schengen State airport is not considered an airport transit neither is travelling to a non-Schengen country via two Schengen state airports. All flights between two or more Schengen States are considered to be «domestic» flights. Depending on your nationality, you might need a short stay visa as you enter the Schengen area – even if the stay only lasts a few hours and you remain in the airport (outside the international transit zone).

List of third countries whose nationals are required to be in possession of an airport transit visa when passing through the international transit area of airports situated on the territory of one/some Member States (14 November 2016) (scroll down the pdf to see)

Can I enter the Schengen area in country X, while the visa was issued by Schengen country Y?

As a general rule you may cross any Schengen border with visa issued by any Schengen country. However, the short-stay visa does not automatically entitle you to enter the Schengen area. See FAQ no 16 on checks at the external borders.

Question

I am driving a car with a Diesel engine. I always thought that “Gazole” and “Diesel” were synonymous to each other, only to drive in a gas station which mentioned both terms, as in “Gazole” and “Diesel extra”.

This made me wonder if there is a difference between both terms. My car seems to function normally on both. So I guess if there is a difference it must be on the additives added to the fuel. It could also be that one is for agricultural purposes and the other isn’t (similar to Red Diesel in the Benelux).

So my question: What is the difference between Gazole and Diesel in French. Am I allowed to use both with a general purpose vehicle?

Answer accepted (score 21)

Gazole and Diesel are synonyms. They both mean diesel fuel, as opposed to essence or super (short for supercarburant, nobody uses the long form) which means usual car gasoline.

You must use the type of fuel that’s appropriate for your car, either gazole or super. I think that diesel engines are more common in cars in France than in most other countries.

The extra word extra means a type of fuel that has advantages compared with non-extra, either to mileage or to engine longevity. As far as I know, the term diesel extra is not regulated, it is only a commercial name chosen by this or that brand.

Answer 2 (score 2)

Gazole and Diesel are synonyms - end of story.

Regarding the confusion over brand names such as “Gazole Supra!” “Diesel Ultra!” “Diesel Mega!” etc…

…for example Totale has “Total Excellium” !

http://www.total.fr/mes-deplacements/tout-savoir-sur-les-carburants-total.html

That is nothing more than a registered product name.

(Exactly like “Big Mac” or “Toyota Corolla”.)

BP has “ultimate” (for both Gazole-aka-Diesel, and, essence).

(Note that in that example it happens to be officially named “bp ultimate diesel” (apparently in lower case) and they add the word gasoil after that in the blue and green logo .. presumably because gasoil is more of a French word than diesel; you know about the requirements for French language in advertising in France.)

I believe the confusion over the addendum “extra” is that you are simply seeing product names, that have exciting words (such as “extra” or “ultimate”) added on the end.

There is no special meaning to “extra” or these other brand-names. And, certainly, gazole / diesel are precisely the same thing: there is absolutely no difference between the two - they are literally synonyms.

Answer 3 (score 0)

While driving through France Sept. 2019 we frequently encountered pumps vending two grades of “gasoil” (what the French call diesel fuel). One was labeled simply “gasoil” and the other something like “super” or “ultra” gasoil, both of the same brand. My diesel driving brother-in-law wasn’t sure of the difference and always used the cheaper of the two. We speculated that the potential differences could include cetane number, purity, detergent or lubricating additives, bio content, etc. I wasn’t confident enough of my French to ask an attendant.

Question

I was wondering if someone knows the legal limit of cash money allowed per adult tourist when entering the US, especially from the UK.

The reason is that I would like to get the best conversion rate and buy some dollars (selling my GBP) at the UK cambios/exchange offices so that my bank fees and other charges can be avoided. Therefore, taking the legal limit of cash will help me to make the most out from the currency conversion mishapps.

Any idea on those numbers?

Answer accepted (score 14)

There is no limit, if it’s more than 10’000 USD however, you need to declare it:

There is no limit on the amount of money that can be taken out of or brought into the United States. However, if a person or persons traveling together and filing a joint declaration (CBP Form 6059-B) have $10,000 or more in currency or negotiable monetary instruments, they must fill out a “Report of International Transportation of Currency and Monetary Instruments” FinCEN 105 (former CF 4790).

Answer 2 (score 22)

There is no limit to the amount of cash you can carry, however if you are carrying more than $10,000 USD (or equivalent in foreign currency) then you must declare it (full details on how to do that at the URL above).

However bringing cash is very rarely the best strategy for foreign exchange. Although your credit or ATM cards might charge you a fee when you use them in the US, they generally offer an exchange rate that is far better than you’ll get when converting GBP cash to USD cash. The difference in exchange rate will normally at least cancel out the credit/debit card fees.

If you convert too much cash and have to convert it back to GBP when your trip is over then you lose out again as once again you’ll get a poor exchange rate for the conversion.

Cash also leaves you at risk of losing it and/or having is stolen. Even if you have travel insurance it normally does not cover the loss of cash.

There are multiple questions on here regarding the best way to manage money when traveling - I suggest you do some searching and you’ll find the better options than taking physical cash with you!

Answer 3 (score 14)

There is no limit to the amount of cash you can carry, however if you are carrying more than $10,000 USD (or equivalent in foreign currency) then you must declare it (full details on how to do that at the URL above).

However bringing cash is very rarely the best strategy for foreign exchange. Although your credit or ATM cards might charge you a fee when you use them in the US, they generally offer an exchange rate that is far better than you’ll get when converting GBP cash to USD cash. The difference in exchange rate will normally at least cancel out the credit/debit card fees.

If you convert too much cash and have to convert it back to GBP when your trip is over then you lose out again as once again you’ll get a poor exchange rate for the conversion.

Cash also leaves you at risk of losing it and/or having is stolen. Even if you have travel insurance it normally does not cover the loss of cash.

There are multiple questions on here regarding the best way to manage money when traveling - I suggest you do some searching and you’ll find the better options than taking physical cash with you!

Question

The UK Visas and Immigration Directorate publishes guidance that provides helpful tips that can result in successful visa applications. Section 2 of this guidance opens is entitled “other documents you may want to provide” (emphasis mine).

Section 2: other documents you may want to provide – all visitors

This section provides guidance on the types of documents that you may want to provide to help us consider your application against the Immigration Rules.

Previous travel documents/passports, which show previous travel.

Financial documents showing that you have sufficient funds available. These must clearly show that you have access to the funds, such as:

• bank statements
• building society book
• proof of earnings such as a letter from employer confirming employment details (start date of employment, salary, role, company contact details)
• where a third party (who is either in the UK or will be legally in the UK at the time of your visit) is providing financial support to you e.g. a business, a friend or a relative, documents to show that they have sufficient resources to support you in addition to themselves and any dependant family should be provided

The first item is “bank statements” and this ties in with the text on the main page, which says…

evidence that you can support yourself during your trip, eg bank statements or payslips from the last 6 months

(Note ‘eg’ is a Latin abbreviation meaning “for example”; this appears to be optional rather than a fixed requirement.)

Question: How should someone interpret this such that the chances of success are maximized? How many statements should I submit? What are they looking for and what do my bank statements tell about me?

Answer accepted (score 204)

What Is the Purpose of Bank Statements?

At first principles bank statements show that the applicant has the financial capacity to visit the UK. However there is a lot more to it and it’s not just about the current balance. Bank statements help the decision-maker understand the applicant’s personal circumstances…

• Stability and lifestyle, most importantly regular cash flows in to the account from employment.

• The relationship between the applicant’s cash flows and their stated employment.

• Sources of income that will be paid in to the account while the applicant is visiting the UK.

• The consistency of the applicant’s lifestyle to their proposed maintenance and accommodation in the UK during their visit.

• Sources of income from the applicant’s family and any financial commitments between family members that demonstrate closeness to family.

• If the applicant is using a sponsor, a history of support, i.e., regular deposits that can improve the sponsor’s credibility and willingness to support the applicant.

• Ongoing financial commitments the applicant has such as rent or mortgage payments.

• Ongoing expenditures for food, utilities, transportation and so on.

• That all income has been lawfully generated and are actually available to the applicant during their visit.

• Ongoing support and maintenance for the applicant’s dependants, especially those who are not travelling with the applicant.

• Irregular cash flows and sudden changes in the account balance that may indicate the applicant is using a funds parking strategy.

• And most importantly, the applicant’s connections to the local economy and society along with connections to the applicant’s family.

Bank statements that exhibit two or more of these characteristics will be more successful than those that do not. While there is no strict rule about how many statements are needed, it’s plain to see that with more statements the decision-maker will be able to see the patterns. The rule of thumb is six statements over a period of six months and the six month period should end with the most recent statement prior to submitting the application.

Some people can establish most of the above with three to six months of account history, but first-time applicants and those with borderline cases should submit more.

Note: successful applicants will have two or more of these considerations clearly shown. Nobody will be able to get all of them.

What all of this amalgamates to is that it works to the applicant’s favour to submit as many bank statements as possible so that the decision-maker will be able to detect clear cash flow patterns.

What Do My Bank Statements Say About Me?

The Ideal Case

This applicant is gainfully employed and has ongoing expenditures that indicate close ties to the local economy. The applicant has been saving money for their visit. This is an ideal case and the applicant has great chances for success.

Funds Parking

These statements show an irregular cash flow which has shifted the existing balances upward. It is impossible to detect any ongoing commitments that show a strong connection to the local economy. These applicants can expect problems despite having impressive balances on the most recent statement(s). The refusal notice will say something like:

…I am not satisfied that these funds are actually available to you…

or more worryingly:

…I am not satisfied that you have accurately presented your circumstances and therefore your intentions in applying to enter the United Kingdom…

To repeat: it’s not just about the ending balance. They are also looking for the history of flows in and out of the account.

Opacity

“…of course I included a bank statement! But they ignored it and refused me…”

People who fear that their history make reveal a weakness will sometimes resort to an ‘opacity strategy’, where they submit a single statement or several statements from a broken series, or simply too few statements. This strategy is both naive and disastrous because the decision-maker cannot get a clear understanding of the the applicant’s circumstances and will suspect the applicant is hiding something. The inevitable refusal notice will closely track those for ‘Funds Parking’ but with an increased element of suspicion added. As a general rule of thumb, it is better to provide a complete picture than to leave the decision-maker with the impression that you are trying to hide something. Bona fide visitors to the UK will be transparent about their circumstances when there is a need to be so.

Insufficient Capacity

This series shows that the applicant is gainfully employed and has ongoing commitments, but the balance is dipping into the negative every month. The applicant is having difficulty meeting their day-to-day cash requirements and wanting to visit the UK with these circumstances is out-of-whack with their lifestyle; this is to say that the applicant’s intentions are suspect. The applicant is not in stable circumstances and they can expect significant obstacles even with a sponsor.

The refusal notice will say something like:

…I am not satisfied that you meet the immigration rules on this occasion…

If a cosponsor is offering to provide support, the refusal notice might make a comment like:

…I acknowledge your sponsor proposes to pay for your visit, however, it is the circumstances of the applicant that remain paramount when assessing your application…

or worse:

…however whilst I take that into account in assessing your proposed maintenance and accommodation in the UK, that is only one aspect of the visitor rules and this sponsorship does not satisfy me of your own intention to leave the UK on completion of your visit…

Erratic/unstable Lifestyle

“They totally ignored the £4,000 in my bank account and refused me!”

Both of these exhibits show that the applicant’s most recent balance is positive, but regardless of the final balance, they are likely to face serious problems. Both exhibits show wild and unpredictable swings in the balance and little to indicate a stable connection to the local economy.

Using these patterns it is reasonable to expect a refusal notice that says something like:

…It is your responsibility to demonstrate that if granted entry clearance, you will comply with the terms of your visa and have the intention to leave. I consider you have failed to demonstrate economic ties to (country name goes here)…

or:

…I am not satisfied that you will maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependant adequately out of the resources available to you without recourse to public funds or taking employment…

Other FAQs

Some specific cases are below…

Proportionality

A frequent source of refusals comes under “proportionality”. This is a strategy where the applicant intends to deplete his life savings on a visit. “Proportionality” also covers the case where an applicant intends to spent more than about two or three months earnings on a visit, sometimes up to six months. This strategy is doomed from the outset because ECO’s believe that genuine visitors do not deplete their financial reserves on a visit and moreover, ECO’s believe that genuine visitors do not spend a multiple of their monthly cash intake. There is no hard rule covering proportionality and UKVI does not provide guidance on what is acceptable, so as a general rule of thumb if you plan on spending more than a month or two of your cash intake, you can expect problems and the solution is don’t apply. Wait until your personal circumstances are more prosperous.

Dependent Spouses and Children Under 18

UKVI recognizes that spouses and dependent children will not be able to present bank statements. In these cases the primary applicant’s bank statements will be used to assess the family’s circumstances as a whole. The UK approves thousands of family applications each year.

Children over 18 who cannot show a reason for maintaining a dependant’s lifestyle will face increased difficulty. This is especially true if they are not travelling as a family unit. The same can generally be said for students, although students can usually provide other evidence that demonstrates local ties.

How much do I need in order to apply?

The rules do not specify an amount, they are intentionally vague so as to give the decision-maker latitude in assessing individual circumstances. A rule of thumb, however, uses the applicant’s stated purpose and intended activities as a rough guideline, and the applicant should be able to clear this amount without undue hard hardship.

If you are concerned about isolating and providing a specific figure, there’s a good chance you have not understood this article in its entirety and you may want to read it again. It’s not just about the final balance.

Can I use a co-sponsor?

Yes, of course. But lots of applications fail because the decision-maker cannot understand why the sponsor is undertaking that burden. This is especially true for internet relationships where the couple has not previously met in person. It is also true for family members where the relationship is too remote or too distant to be plausible.

The sponsor needs to provide a series of their own bank statements to demonstrate their own capacity and credibility.

“…My father/brother/uncle/aunt was my co-sponsor and can comfortably afford my maintenance and accommodation, but I was still refused…”.

Sponsored applications are weak to begin with and they do not relieve the applicant of demonstrating ties to the local economy and social landscape. While the money may be there, it is much more difficult for the applicant to make a strong case that they will not overstay or abuse their visa in some other way. Generally, sponsorship should be used only as a last resort and only if the applicant can provide a compellingly strong case.

Can I use prepaid credit cards?

This may work with Schengen applications, but not for UK applications. Credit cards add a layer of obscurity to the funding source and tend to shroud all of the lifestyle and transparency listed above.

I don’t have enough bank statements

An applicant needs to demonstrate that they will maintain themselves adequately without recourse to public funds. Genuine visitors are usually able to accomplish this. If you are unable to do this in a convincing way, consider putting off your visit until a more prosperous time.

Can I purchase a set of bank statements?

There are services in some countries (Nigeria, India, Pakistan, to name a few) who will do this for you. If you know about them, the decision-maker knows about them also. Remember that consular staff have built up relationships with the reputable banks over a long period of time (we’re talking decades here) and are able to make discreet enquiries about the validity of a given set of statements.

I live with my parents and do not have a bank account

See above. You can expect problems demonstrating that you are a genuine applicant. Consider waiting until your parents submit a family application.

I am self-employed and do not maintain a bank account

You can expect problems. Genuine visitors to the UK fit a profile that is not entirely cash based. Moreover, you will find it almost impossible to establish that your cash has been lawfully obtained. Consider opening and using a proper bank account for 12 - 18 months prior to submitting your application.

What else can be provided to show strong ties?

There is no other form of evidence taken as an absolute substitution. Property deeds are rarely helpful because property ownership normally persists when the owner is living elsewhere. Personal attestations from family and friends are not helpful because there is a bulk of performance history indicating otherwise. But there are a few exceptions, for example, you can get an attestation from your country’s equivalent of the UK’s Foreign Office that puts forward your circumstances. As another example, holding public office may work depending upon other circumstances. Otherwise, please see the section “Other questions about bank statements”, below.

I am desperate…

…to visit the UK, I really need to go and I promise I will not overstay. The problem is that I have no real bank accounts or anything else that shows a connection to my country. You see, my situation is different. It’s like blah blah blah, and then yada yada yada… Please help!

There is no magic bullet, they like to approve applicants who clearly and unambiguously fall into a low-risk profile. For more information, see below.

I cannot provide a compelling case

Don’t apply. Getting a refusal can complicate future applications even when you are in more prosperous circumstances and could easily qualify.

Other Questions about Bank Statements

If none of the above cases work for you, your circumstances may be too complex for an internet query answered by random strangers. Consider arranging a consultation with a member of the UK Law Society or a licensed practitioner. There’s a great list on the ILPA site.

Notes

From the guidance: “All documents must be originals and not photocopies.”

Related article: UK Visa Refusal: Provenance of funds/parking

See also: How much money do I need to show as proof of support when applying for a UK Standard Visitor visa?

Question

If I am visiting the US with a tourist visa, can I look for a job in the US?

Answer accepted (score 20)

Contrary to the allegations of some other answers here, CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) does not make up rules on the spot. Here is, quite literally, the letter of the law on who’s allowed into the US and who’s not:

INA: ACT 212 - GENERAL CLASSES OF ALIENS INELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE VISAS AND INELIGIBLE FOR ADMISSION; WAIVERS OF INADMISSIBILLITY

The vast majority of that is about criminal records and whatnot, but Section 5a is key for us:

Any alien who seeks to enter the United States for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor is inadmissible

Boldface mine. In other words, if you give CBP reason to suspect that you’re coming to the United States to work on this visit (say, a plumber rocking up with a box full of tools), you will be denied entry. But you are perfectly within your rights as a tourist or business visitor to enquire about future employment, go to interviews, etc, as long as a) you’re not paid money for it, and b) you leave the United States and get a proper work visa before you come back.

Also, as long as your primary purpose for visiting the US is tourism, it’s not a lie to state your reason for entry as “tourism” and then do a little job-hunting on the side.

Answer 2 (score 10)

Searching for a job

No you can most definitely not legally look for work while on a tourist visa.

If any evidence is found that you are looking for a job you will be denied entry on arrival or could risk deportation at any time.

Things that I’ve heard of US customs using to deny entry or deport travellers:

• art folios
• diary entries mentioning job offers or looking for work
• letters of introduction, curricula vitae, resumes
• samples of your work
• tools of your trade

If you are randomly selected or if you fit some profile they may suspect you of looking for work and specifically look for these things.

For deportation I hear the single biggest reason is being reported by somebody. So if you do entertain the notion of looking for work even vaguely during a tourist trip, don’t go around telling too many random people you meet, or don’t go around giving people reasons to dislike you.

(The very same tactics apply in at least Australia and the United Kingdom by the way.)

Other sources that say you may not search for a job on a tourist visa

• tree.com Legal services article Can I Look For Work In The United States On A Tourist Visa?

  If USCIS feels you’ve violated your tourist visa requirements by looking for a job, it may deny your work visa and could even prohibit you from remaining in the United States on a tourist visa.

Attending a job interview

This seems to be treated as a separate case. I have no experience with this or anecdotes from friends or acquaintances. Please refer to Pablo’s answer.

Answer 3 (score 6)

On the official US government site “Travel.State.Gov” is relevant information

Visitor Visas - Business and Pleasure / Overview

Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons who want to enter the United States temporarily for business (visa category B-1), tourism, pleasure or visiting (visa category B-2), or a combination of both purposes (B-1/B-2).

Here are some examples of activities permitted with a visitor visa:

Business (B-1):

• consult with business associates
• attend a scientific, educational, professional, or business convention or conference
• settle an estate
• negotiate a contract

Tourism and Visit (B-2):

• tourism
• vacation (holiday)
• visit with friends or relatives
• medical treatment
• participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations
• participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating
• enrollment in a short recreational course of study, not for credit toward a degree (for example, a two-day cooking class while on vacation).

These are some examples of activities that require different categories of visas and cannot be done on while on a visitor visa:

• study
• employment
• paid performances, or any professional performance before a paying audience
• arrival as a crewmember on a ship or aircraft
• work as foreign press, radio, film, journalists, and other information media
• permanent residence in the U.S.

^{(Second part added from the same source by hippietrail, was not present in original answer.)}

Question

I’ve booked a hotel (in Hong Kong) for a third person using my credit card (but booking confirmation for the third person).

Will there will be any problems while checking in? It seems to check in you need to show YOUR credit card. I’m not going to this hotel, so there is no way I can show my credit card on check in.

Will the hotel accept another credit card (not the card I used to book with) on check in?

Answer accepted (score 9)

There are generally 2 types of hotel bookings you can make :

• Pre-paid
• Guaranteed by credit card

“Pre-paid” is where you have fully paid for the hotel in advance. Your credit card has been charged, and there is nothing more to pay other than incidents (minibar, room service, etc). They will still ask for a credit card at check-in, but this is only for the incidentals.

“Guaranteed by credit card” is where you’ve actually paid nothing, but you have given your credit card to guarantee the room. In the event that you don’t show up, they will charge a fee to your credit card to make up for the no-show. In this case the credit card you give at check-in (and/or check-out) will be used to for the room charge - regardless of what card was used to make the booking.

Where this can get confusing is that some hotels will advertise a “pre-paid” or “advance purchase” rate, but not actually charge it to your card in advance - so whilst this will appear to be a pre-paid booking, it’s actually not.

As a general rule, if you book through the hotel themselves (their website, call center, etc) then they will use the card supplied at check-in. If you book through a third party website (eg, Expedia, Orbitz, etc) then you will be charged at the time you make your booking unless they explicitly say otherwise (ie, they state that you will pay at the hotel). However whilst this is a good rule of thumb, there’s no guarantee that it’ll actually work this way!

If you want to be sure, call the hotel and discuss it with them.

Answer 2 (score 3)

There are two different steps:

1. the payment of the vacation where you can mostly use any kind of payment eg. credit card, bank transfer, voucher etc

2. during the stay it is probably that the hotel ask to the customer its credit card, not for the payment but for an insurance

Only in the second step is necessary that the customer has its own credit card.

Answer 3 (score 2)

Almost certainly. The hotel doesn’t care who’s paying as long as somebody is paying, and that somebody has enough credit to cover the hold they’ll put on the card at checkin.

If you’re really worried, just give them a call and check.

Question

I will be transferring between two international flights at Tokyo Narita airport. I’m scheduled to depart the same day I arrive. I am planning to stay within the airport during the layover. Does anyone know if I will require a transit visa at Narita?

Answer accepted (score 17)

No visa is required for transiting in Japanese airports if you have immediate flight connections regardless of nationality.

Anyway, there is a Japanese transit visa which is intended for people who have longer layovers before transiting and want to go sightseeing or resting in Japan for few days (up to 15 days).

Answer 2 (score 16)

I am an Indian passport holder working in the US on H1B. I was supposed to fly LAX-Narita-KL-Bangalore on 23rd December 2012 with a 14 hour overnight layover in Narita.

I received a call from the airline 2 days before my scheduled departure, stating that new rules at Narita dictate that travelers absolutely need a transit visa for overnight layovers in Narita, even if the arriving and departing flights are from the same terminal.

Because of the short notice, there was no time to apply for a Japanese transit visa (the Japanese consulate takes 3 working days to issue one). I had to cancel my ticket and book a flight with Cathay, transiting thru’ Hong Kong which has no transit visa requirements.

Answer 3 (score 8)

A stopover is typically a stay in one city of 24 hours or more. In your case, you actually have just a connection in Tokyo. Connections can even go across airports in the same metropolitan area, such as between London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Very rarely are visas required for connections in the same airport, since you do not need to clear immigration and customs. One exception is in the USA, where all passengers must clear immigration and customs, so check with your travel agent or local Embassy/Consulate for more information.

From my experience, you will not need a visa for this connection, since you are probably flying Japan Airlines and American Airlines, which are located in the same terminal (T2) at Narita. (Even if you’re on Air India, they fly into T2 as well.) You will be required to show your boarding pass for NRT-DFW and clear security upon arrival in Tokyo, but you will not clear immigration and customs.

As MeNoTalk mentioned, if you do have a stopover in Japan, you can get a Japanese Transit Visa.

Question

We are going to an event and because of this event all hotels are fully booked. Now a friend wants to join us, but can’t find accommodation. We are okay with him crashing in our hotel room, either on the couch or on a self-inflatable mattress. We have done this in the past where we secretly sneaked the “guest” in.

It is not that we don’t want to pay the tourist tax, it is that when ask and the hotel says no, we can’t sneak him in, because we drew attention to ourself. In many hotels you can just order another bed, but there are also a lot that don’t have that service.

I don’t have any ethical problems with my behavior of secretly hosting a guest. I did pay for the room. I don’t like being sneaky about it, since again I do pay for the hotel room. Also if I have to choose between sneaking someone in the room to crash on the couch or let him/her sleep on bench in the park. I opt for the first.

Am I just worrying to much and will being honest about it in the end be acceptable to most if not all hotels?

Answer accepted (score 37)

The answer will vary from country to country and from hotel to hotel, but in general you’re not allowed to do this and if the hotel finds it out, they can kick you out or charge you a fine.

In some countries they can even throw you in prison (worst case). For example in the USA there is the Defrauding an innkeeper law:

A person who, with intent to defraud, procures food, drink or accommodations at a public establishment without paying in accordance with his agreement with the public establishment is guilty of:

• A felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years, a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), or both, if the value of the food, drink or accommodations is one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or more; or

• Repealed by Laws 1984, ch. 44, 3.

• A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both, if the value of the food, drink or accommodations is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

I think in the most cases you will have to pay an extra fee.

Answer 2 (score 6)

As far as my experience is concerned, it is the registered guest’s prerogative as to whether to entertain guests in their room. If this were not the case then romantic rendezvous in hotels would not be permissible. I’ve never had a hotel decline this privilege and in many cases I have requested additional room keys for my guests. Of course, the maximum occupancy of the room must be observed.

Question

This showed up as the background on my Windows 10 desktop:

Does anyone know where the photo was taken?

Answer accepted (score 6)

You can find the description of the photo by going to “C:\username_for_your_computer” and then selecting the picture and going to its properties. It should contain information on where the photo was taken.

http://techdows.com/2016/01/where-windows-10-themes-photos-were-taken.html

Question

Recently I traveled with American Airlines. I had a bad experience as I felt they were terribly outdated, so I complained with their customer service, who, ironically, gave me a paper voucher that I can redeem on my next flight.

Now… seems like this paper voucher that looks like a plane ticket can’t be used while booking online, is that true? How I can redeem it? I read somewhere that I have to do a phone reservation and then mail the voucher. Really? That’s so outdated

Answer accepted (score 12)

I contacted them and I got this response:

When booking, select “place booking on hold” (screenshot:) Then, call them and give the paper voucher code and the booking number that you will see in the next page. They will adjust the price for you to pay.

After that, mail the voucher to their address, (like e-mail was never invented… VERY ironic compensation to give to someone that complained saying that their systems are outdated).

Answer 2 (score 2)

I just called as well. Here is what AA said:

• Transportation Vouchers can only be used on flights booked at least 12 days in advance.

• The website won’t give you the option to place a booking on hold if you are making a reservation less than 12 days.

• They can book it over the phone without charging the 25$ reservation fee.

• Good for one year.

• Staff on the phone don’t really know the conditions: one told me it was only good for domestic travel US only; another said it was good for any AA flight.

Answer 3 (score 2)

I just called as well. Here is what AA said:

• Transportation Vouchers can only be used on flights booked at least 12 days in advance.

• The website won’t give you the option to place a booking on hold if you are making a reservation less than 12 days.

• They can book it over the phone without charging the 25$ reservation fee.

• Good for one year.

• Staff on the phone don’t really know the conditions: one told me it was only good for domestic travel US only; another said it was good for any AA flight.

Question

Most public toilets in the US are very low in privacy, the bottom gap in the door is so big (around 15-20% of the door), the side gaps are too big as well. This will make the toilet experience so unpleasant with no privacy at all. You can literally count the people outside and people outside are like “ok, now he is wiping, etc.”.

I can’t think of a reason behind this. Can someone tell me why?

Answer accepted (score 54)

I can’t find a definitive link but there are a few reasons, a lot of which were already covered in the comments.

One, the style in your picture makes the whole place easier to clean. You can hose down the floors in one go and there are not so many joins between the walls and the floors for gunk to build up. (EDIT: in your picture you can see that the toilets don’t even join the floor – so for that setup I’m pretty sure it’s for ease of cleaning).

Two, it’s so that people can see what you’re doing in there. It discourages drug taking or people having sex in the cubicles because it’s obvious what’s going on. Also if someone passes out on the toilet (for whatever reason) it’s easier for people to notice – in a fully obscured stall someone could lie in there for a long time. It may also just discourage people for sitting in there for longer than necessary.

Lastly, it’s cheaper and easier. Divisions like that can be deployed in any room regardless of the flatness of the floor, or the height of the room, etc. Building divisions that actually fit floor to ceiling might require custom cutting and fitting, that might happen in a big building with dozens of identical toilets but for the odd public toilet cheap and easy is the way people will go.

To add to choster’s comment, it does tend to vary widely across the US. I’ve seen toilets with even less privacy than that picture – like a door that’s you can see over when you stand up. The concerns about misusing the toilets tend to trump the privacy, particularly in public places. But you’re right, in many private places they will be more sealed. And there’re many places in the world where you’ll be lucky to find a door at all – or many people that care that there’s no door there.

Answer 2 (score 11)

The bottom “gaps” are for ADA. Minimum 12" so feet and foot rests clear…I believe. The cracks between doors are just poor construction tolerances that nobody in the States seems to care about.

Answer 3 (score 10)

As an European I was always uncomfortable to use any public facility in USA, for the same reason and I asked myself, over and over, the same question “Why????” .

The official answer is here where you’ll find this stunning ABSURD reason:

STALL DOORS

To prevent unnecessary queuing, anyone entering the restroom should be able to easily determine the state of occupancy of stalls. This can be done with doors that do not fully close when not in use or by other devices that signal occupancy. The doors of stalls often loose alignment over time. Doors should have sufficient clearance and locks latch length to function as the stall frame becomes misaligned. "

Of course, I do not believe this is the real reason. I think is more behind that official nonsense explanation, and I incline to believe that it about another way to invade our privacy. Plain and Simple!

Question

I am going to travel from India to Poland.

I have a travel card, but what’s the limit of cash that I can carry?

Answer accepted (score 13)

There is really no limit set on the amount of cash you can carry into the country.

The only difference is whether or not you need to declare it when you cross the border which according to EU Regulation 1809/2005 is 10000 Euro.

The only thing is that when you carry amounts of that size or larger Customs and various other agencies start to get curious on where this money came from.

Additional Info as per @Annoyed’s comment

From the site of the Customs office at Mumbai Airport

Export of foreign exchange/currency notes:

• Indian residents going abroad are allowed to take with them foreign currency upto any amount so long as the same has been purchased from an authorized foreign exchange dealer as per norms.

• Any person resident out of India is allowed to take out of India unspent foreign currency not exceeding the amount brought by him on his arrival in India provided that in the case of foreign currency notes exceeding US$ 5,000/- or its equivalent or foreign exchange in the form of currency notes, bank notes or traveller’s cheques exceeding US$ 10,000/- or its equivalent, the same was declared to the Customs authorities in Currency Declaration Form (CDF) at the time of his arrival in India.

So long story short. Still no limitation as long as the source can be proven legitimate.

Answer 2 (score 3)

There is a limit, though I am surprised by Mumbai Custom website wordings. In the same website if you scroll down you will see limits on hard currency you can carry.

Reserve Bank of India

Travellers are allowed to purchase foreign currency notes/coins only up to US$ 2000. Balance amount can be taken in the form of traveller’s cheque or banker’s draft. Exceptions to this are (a) travellers proceeding to Iraq and Libya can draw foreign exchange in the form of foreign currency notes and coins not exceeding US$ 5000 or its equivalent; (b) travellers proceeding to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Russian Federation and other Republics of Commonwealth of Independent States can draw entire foreign exchange released in form of foreign currency notes or coins.

As a Tourist, this is a total limit

In connection with private visits abroad, viz., for tourism purposes, etc., foreign exchange up to US$10,000, in any one calendar year may be obtained from an authorised dealer. The ceiling of US$10,000 is applicable in aggregate and foreign exchange may be obtained for one or more than one visits provided the aggregate foreign exchange availed of in one calendar year does not exceed the prescribed ceiling of US$10,000 {The facility was earlier called B.T.Q or F.T.S.}. This US$10,000 (BTQ) can be availed of by a person alongwith foreign exchange for travel abroad for any purpose, including for employment or immigration or studies. However, no foreign exchange is available for visit to Nepal and/or Bhutan for any purpose.

For Business Travel

Authorised dealers can release foreign exchange up to US$25,000 for a business trip to any country other than Nepal and Bhutan. Release of foreign exchange exceeding US$25,000 for a travel abroad (other than Nepal and Bhutan) for business purposes, irrespective of period of stay, requires prior permission from Reserve Bank. Visits in connection with attending of an international conference, seminar, specialised training, study tour, apprentice training, etc., are treated as business visits. Visit abroad for medical treatment and/or check up also falls within this category.

Answer 3 (score 2)

In fact both, the Custom Department and RBI are correct. Passengers visits for different purposes. So they are entitled to different amount of foreign exchange. Foreign exchange can only be purchased from authorised persons. So there may be any amount. However specifically for tourism only US$ 10000 can be taken in a calendar year.

Question

Do any airlines still allow smoking on-board international flights, or is this something that has been banned across the board everywhere? If this is because of fire hazard regulations, what about e-cigarettes?

Answer accepted (score 27)

I believe this chart will be of use to you.

I used to wonder why they even bothered to have “No smoking” signs, but now I realise - Air Algeria, Cubana, Garuda, Iran Air and more still allow smoking in certain sections.

The chart is quite old, but my friend flew Cubana at the end of 2010 and confirmed that there was smoking onboard his flight then.

According to Answers.com:

1979: Cigars and Pipes banned on aircraft 1988: Smoking banned on US Domestic flights under 2 hours 1990: Smoking banned on US Domestic flights under 6 hours 1998: Smoking banned on all US Domestic flights 2000: Federal law introduced banning smoking on all flights by US airlines.

I can’t seem to find any information about when it was banned in the UK, other than the mid 1990s.

There is no overall law or treaty that bans smoking on all international flights. See related links for information about which countries (most of them) have banned smoking on aircraft departing from their airports.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the world’s first public health treaty. The FCTC entered into force on 27 February 2005. The FCTC contains different measures designed to reduce the devastating impact of tobacco on health and economics. As of January 2009, 168 countries have signed the treaty, and 161 countries have ratified the treaty, becoming Parties to the FCTC.

Nosmoke.org recognises that 2010 marked the 20 year Anniversary of smokefree U.S. domestic flights, and the ten year anniversary of smokefree flights in and out of the United States.

And according to the New York Times, smoking was ALWAYS permitted on the Concorde.

In addition, several flyertalk forums refer to attempts to start smokers-only airlines, although these ideas seem to largely have been all hot air, gone up in smoke, or flamed out…

Answer 2 (score 10)

Even if the airline permits it, local airspace laws may not. For example, Australian federal law makes it a criminal offence to smoke in any aircraft while flying in or through Australian airspace. It is also a criminal offence to disregard an instruction from flight crew (such as being asked to not to smoke or use an nicotine inhaler or electronic cigarette). You may find your one act ends up breaking several laws.

In addition, some countries have treaties which ban smoking on flights between those two countries. Again for example, it is illegal to smoke at any time on any flight between Australia and the United States, and if you do you may find law enforcement waiting for you at your destination.

Answer 3 (score 5)

For me as a flight attendant, my biggest concerns is not about the cigarette. But the smoke. Fire is on the top of the hazard list. And we identify it by the smoke (and the scent). We are trained to spot smoke, identify the source and to drop everything to handle it immediately. So its not about the nicotine

I just have to say it again one more time, any kind of smoke requires the crew to check and ensure that its not a hazard. Fire is a life threatening hazard that can be identify by the smoke. So forbidding e-cigarettes is not about the nicotine. Its about the smoke you will produce :)

Edit: I just found out about smokeless cigarette… To be honest, I have no idea about this one. I imagine if one passenger told me about it I wouldn’t know what to do to keep the policy on.

Question

I’m not sure if this is airline or airport-specific? (assuming airport)

I know that if I have an early morning flight and show up the night before, I’m denied because the date on my ticket is for the next day. However, I just took a flight from Lima to Easter Island that left at 1:20 AM, and while I was denied through security at 11AM (yeah, I tried, I was already at the airport) I was allowed to enter around 4 PM, just over 8 hours prior to the flight. (Security was fine, but Immigration balked at my earliness, and eventually let me through when they got tired of waiting from an answer from above.)

I’ve had 12 hour layovers like this before, but only on international connections through an airport.

I’m interested in the general answer to the question, but I do have a localized situation that has prompted it:

I have an upcoming 9:45AM flight (international) into Santiago, Chile, and my connection (domestic) will get me to the airport around 9PM the night before. I’d prefer to stay at the airport and sleep, but it would be much nicer airside, especially if I get into a lounge. Do I have a chance of waiting until 1AM or so (so the date matches my boarding pass) and being allowed through security?

Answer accepted (score 15)

The specific rules depend on the airport and country. Usually the check-in starts 3 hours before the departure. So if you travel with luggage to check-in, the answer to your question is 3 hours in advance. If you don’t have luggage to check-in, you can go through security 3 hours in advance and sometimes more than 3 hours in advance . That being said, keep in mind that security and immigration is closed during the night in some airports. So if your flight is at 6am and security opens at 4:30am, you can go through security at 4:30am or later.

In most US airports the rule is

• if you depart after 4:30am, you can go through security any time after 4:30am on the date of departure,

• if your flight departs between 12:00am (midnight) and 1:30am, you can go through security on the previous date (after 4:30 am) or on the date of departure (before 1:30am).

• In order to check in for some international flights, you need your documents to be checked by an airline agent (that depends on the destination, the airline, and your citizenship). Then you can go through security only 3 hours before the flight.

(This is only a general rule and you should double check what specific rules are at the airport of departure.)

Question

I have always wondered why the windows shades have to be raised during take off and landing. I can’t think of any safety issues by having a closed window.

Answer accepted (score 343)

I will answer this with a very long answer since aviation safety is my day to day job.

The window shade opening is a part of a long process to prepare the cabin for sudden (unexpected) emergencies. Why is that? Well, cabin crew have only 90 seconds to evacuate all passengers in case of emergencies. The process of evacuation itself should not take more than 90 seconds regardless of the size of the aircraft or the number of passengers. So to make the evacuation possible in 90 seconds cabin crew and other airline staff will prepare every flight in advance to make this possible. One example is the emergency exits, only healthy adults are allowed to occupy these seats, they are also required to read the safety card for emergency exits to make them prepared in case of emergencies to help the cabin crew. They are called ABPs (Able-Bodied-Persons). This is just one example.

Anyway, window shades opening is a small part of a long preparation process. Passengers are asked to open window shades before take offs and landings because these are considered to be critical times in aviation. Many things can go wrong during these times (most accidents do happen during take offs or landings), so people are asked to open window shades along with other things (seats in an upright position, people seated and buckled etc.) to make everything prepared as if the plane were in an emergency. In case something goes wrong (God forbid) things will be ready in advance so cabin crew can easily evacuate people in the short period of 90 seconds.

Specific reasons behind the window shade opening include:

• Passengers are curious, hence they are perfect extra eyes to see if something goes wrong out there. Usually, passengers report stuff right away.
• In case of sudden emergencies, every second counts. Therefore if shades are open crew can easily see outside conditions to help them in planning the evacuation (which doors to use for evacuation etc.).
• In case of emergency (which is more likely during take offs and landings) people should be prepared just in case. So during the daytime, opening window shades and putting cabin lights to full makes the eyes used to sunlight so if something goes wrong and passengers need to be evacuated there will not be a sudden change in light contrast which might lead to temporary blurred vision. The same thing at night flights, window shades are open and cabin lights are dimmed.
• It helps ground emergency personnel outside to see the inside of the cabin.

These rules might be different from one airline to another, but in general, almost all airlines require their crews to make sure of the window shades during take offs and landings. They also add it in the preparation announcements prior to take offs and landings.

Answer 2 (score 34)

The majority of airline evacuations happen as a result of events during takeoff and landing. The reason to open the windows is to see outside. For example, you do not want to open the emergency exit door over the wing if the wing is on fire. Combine the two and one concludes that it is a good idea to open the windows during takeoff and landing.

My source is a flight attendant that I asked this question of a while back.

Answer 3 (score 3)

Slightly different (and more cynical) view: Air Canada wants them open, United doesn’t care. Lufthansa wants you to take the headsets off during take off and landing, Delta doesn’t care. If there was a really good reason for these types of measure, the airlines would use them consistently. No airline is interested in a spotty safety record, so they probably take a good look at these procedures before the decide to adopt them or not. This would indicate that most of these are feel-good measures with no real scientific support.

The only notable exception would be extra revenue for the airlines: until recently it was absolutely forbidden to use any wireless device in transmitting mode during a flight since it clearly wasn’t safe. But then the airlines figured they can charge for WIFI during a flight and all of a sudden it’s perfectly fine to have dozens of WIFI nodes on the plane blasting at full throttle.

Question

This came up as a discussion. With recent incidents in the news, it’s often argued by some members of the public in the US that guns are a requirement for safety, and that everyone should have the right to own a gun.

Obviously, they’re talking about citizens. However, if a tourist visits, surely they should have the same concerns (arguably more, since you don’t know as much as locals).

Anyway, the question that is being asked here (and I’m trying to avoid politics as best as possible) - can a non-resident tourist buy a gun for their travels around the United States?

Answer accepted (score 45)

Sure you can. Just go to the right gun show. Selling guns is hard for private citizens so they can skip all that background check foolishness. We’ve been unable to close the gunshow loophole in spite of discovering documents from Al Qaeda advising cell members to purchase weapons at gun shows. It’s not legal of course but clearly no one’s interested in being serious about stopping you if you really want a gun in this country.

Answer 2 (score 45)

Sure you can. Just go to the right gun show. Selling guns is hard for private citizens so they can skip all that background check foolishness. We’ve been unable to close the gunshow loophole in spite of discovering documents from Al Qaeda advising cell members to purchase weapons at gun shows. It’s not legal of course but clearly no one’s interested in being serious about stopping you if you really want a gun in this country.

Answer 3 (score 22)

Federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 922 bans the sale of firearms or ammunition to aliens admitted under a nonimmigrant visa (“as that term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26))”), and under 27 CFR 478.29a states further that

No person, other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, who does not reside in any State shall receive any firearms unless such receipt is for lawful sporting purposes.

This would rule out any foreign tourist being able to purchase guns from a licensed dealer. Due to constitutional restrictions the federal ban is only applicable if the firearm or ammunition is transported across state lines. But state law does not carry such a restriction, and I am not aware of any state which does not also ban the sale of firearms or ammunition to non-resident aliens. The ATF provides a factsheet for Nonimmigrant Aliens Purchasing Firearms and Ammunition in the United States.

States and municipalities also impose many additional restrictions on firearms and ammunition sales, possession, transportation, and use, particularly handguns, which would make it an impractical matter for someone who is not a resident.

For tourists who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents, purchasing from a gun dealer requires that the laws of both their state of residence and that of the dealer be met, as well as applicable federal laws. Some states require permits for handguns to be obtained in advance. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action provides some summaries of state gun laws

Question

The company I work for has asked me to attend a training class on the other side of the country.

However my situation is my drivers license expired a few days ago. I do however have a separate printed email stating that the license has been renewed.

This drivers license is my only ID that shows both my name & photo.

Is it possible to be able to board a flight with the expired drivers license and the printed email showing that it was renewed?

Answer accepted (score 24)

That would be at the discretion of the security screeners. They have methods of verifying your identity even if you have no ID at all (some people forget their wallet). If you have a passport, bring that. Otherwise I would expect an expired license will not prevent you from being boarded. As a matter of law, an expired license only affects your right to drive. Your identity does not “expire”.

Answer 2 (score 4)

The TSA person said to me that it was ok to use up to a year after expiration. She wanted to let me know that my license expired in case I didn’t.

Answer 3 (score 2)

I have flown for years using my 4 plus years expired ID and my passports. I do however have a current one which I usually leave at home. As long as you haven’t drastically changed in appearance or attempted to change your appearance ie… fake mustache, beard, hair pieces, fake nose, altered chin structure, fake eye inserts, and anything else… then you should be fine.

Question

Why did my boarding pass have a TSA pre-check mark on it?

Answer accepted (score 10)

You specifically asked why your boarding pass had a Pre-Check indication. The short answer is that the operating airline sent your itinerary (PNR) to the TSA before your flight, and the TSA sent it back with Pre-Check clearance for that flight. The TSA clears certain flights for certain people for Pre-Check because one of these happened:

• You enrolled in Pre-Check, paid an application fee, and were approved, and your TSA Known Traveler ID number (KTN) was entered into your PNR
• You enrolled in a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) such as Global Entry, NEXUS, or SENTRI, paid your application fee, submitted a detailed questionnaire, passed the background check, had an interview, and were approved, and your CBP TTP/KTN was entered into your PNR
• You were randomly selected by the TSA based on their own criteria

(There is also a TSA program called Managed Inclusion whereby when you get to the airport, even though your boarding pass does not say Pre-Check, the TSA randomly directs you to the Pre-Check lane, possibly because the regular lane was getting so backed up. But in that case, your boarding pass doesn’t show Pre-Check, and you asked why your boarding pass did.)

Answer 2 (score 9)

I think the official TSA website gives quite some information. (TSA is the Transportation Security Administration)

Fro the FAQ on that same website

Q. What is TSA Pre✓™?

A. TSA Pre✓™ is one of several intelligence-driven, risk-based initiatives helping TSA move away from a one-size-fits-all model to provide the most effective security in the most efficient way. The use of risk-based initiatives will allow TSA to maintain its high security standards and improve the passenger experience while ensuring as many travelers as possible experience the benefit of expedited screening through the TSA Pre✓™ lanes.

In my understanding, it means that the American government trusts you more, which helps you to pass security quicker.

Also, there is always a notification on your boarding pass, which is what you found (from the same FAQ)

Q. How will I know that I have been cleared for TSA Pre✓™?

A. Travelers who have been cleared for TSA Pre✓™ will have information embedded in the barcode of their boarding pass. Once the boarding pass is scanned at the checkpoint, the passenger may be referred to a TSA Pre✓™ lane. Many participating airlines are printing a TSA Pre✓™ indicator directly on the boarding pass.

Question

Where can I find historical data on flights, specifically Delta international flights?

I need to find out about cancellations, diversions and any other flight data pertaining on particular route at a given time. This source has to be official and stand up to legal scrutiny.

Answer accepted (score 28)

The two best sources for this type of data are FlightAware and Flight Stats. Although these sites both get data from the FAA, I don’t know that either would be considered “official”.

The nearest to official source would be the FAA data available at https://transtats.bts.gov/ONTIME/. However, this data is always several months behind (eg, they currently have up to June 2019 as of August 2019), and not as easy to search for specific flights as either of the above two sites.

For both Flight Stats and FlightAware, you’ll need to create an account and buy a subscription, unless the data you want is only a few days old.

Question

I’ve heard that i can travel to the US any time before my tourist visa expiry. Is that true? (please advise)

Answer accepted (score 14)

I haven’t heard or come across a rule which requires you have six months or more validity on a US visa to be allowed in. As the US Department of State website explains:

The visa validity is the length of time you are permitted to travel to a port-of-entry in the U.S.

…

Additionally, the visa expiration date shown on your visa does not reflect how long you are authorized to stay within the U.S. Entry and the length of authorized stay within the U.S. are determined by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer at the port-of-entry each time you travel.

What I believe you are talking about is the minimum validity of your passport that is required. From the London office website of US Embassy:

I understand that my passport needs to be valid for at least six months; is this correct?

The requirement that a passport is valid for travel for six months beyond the holder’s stay in the United States is waived for certain nationalities. Please follow this link for further information.

Which means that if your country is listed among the ones in the PDF document, having less than six months validity of your passport will not be an issue. Additionally, other websites mention a minimum of 90 days validity is required for your passport (although this might be specific to if you’re entering under the visa waiver programme) but the London office of US Embassy site states that is okay, and will only limit your stay period to whatever date your passport expires.

However, the New Delhi website of US Embassy implies you do need to get your passport renewed if it will be valid for less than six months from the time you enter.

Please obtain a new passport before your interview if:

Your passport is going to expire in less than 6 months after the time you enter the United States.

Your situation, then, will vary depending on what residency status you hold in a country as well as your citizenship.

Answer 2 (score 9)

No, this is definitely not true. I’ve had many friends travel to the States with less than 6 months to go on their visa expiration date. Also noted on the site is that the visa is valid up until the date it’s set to expire. http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_1298.html

Answer 3 (score 4)

Such an old post, sorry for such a late response. You can use your visa until the day it expires: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/general/visa-expiration-date.html

Question

I’ve booked international air tickets from a variety of sources and I’ve always needed to supply passport details, e.g. airline websites, travel agents. However I’ve just booked a flight with Expedia and at no point did they ask for my passport details.

Has anyone got some experience with this? Should I be concerned? Do I need to provide them at some point, or just when I show up at the airport to check in?

Answer accepted (score 9)

In some airline examples, it’s only when you get to check in - either online or in person, that the passport details are requested. Before then you’d receive only a booking reference number, and you may be asked for your name and other identifying details (as you’ve stated Expedia did).

The booking number is enough to confirm it was your ticket, and at check-in, the passport details will be entered, either by you or the airline staff at the counter.

Answer 2 (score 6)

It depends where you’re coming from and going to, however – in my experience – if the airline needs these details then either they will contact you directly, or they will get Expedia to do it. This often happens a little after booking, and sometimes they will wait until nearer your departure date.

If you’re concerned the first thing to try is go to the ‘Manage my flight’ or equivalent on the relevant airlines webpage and try and access your booking via the information Expedia gave (hopefully you have the e-ticket number or booking reference, but often just name and flight are enough). These pages generally make it clear that you need to provide further info, and you can generally do it from that page.

If that doesn’t work, and you don’t get an e-mail, then contact Expedia support and ask them in the first instance. They should be able to help you.

Answer 3 (score 2)

Each time I flew Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, purchasing the flight on Expedia, I was required to provide my passport information. However, I recently purchased a flight to the Philippines on Philippine Air and I was not required to give my passport information, nor does it appear from the expedia or Philippine airline site that it is possible for me to do so.

Question

I am in the process of filling the forms for my wife and daughter (Chinese) to travel with me (British) to the UK for a short holiday. On the government advice located at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/out-of-country/visitors.pdf it says:

Accommodation and travel details

You may wish to submit the following documents to help show us your accommodation and travel arrangements in the UK and on which date you intend to leave the UK. We advise that you do not make any payments for accommodation, travel and so on until you have received your visa.

• Details of accommodation and return
• travel bookings

This could be:

• hotel booking confirmation (usually email) travel booking
• confirmation (can be email or copy of tickets) travel agent
• confirmation of both accommodation details with a supporting letter from the occupant confirming that you are able to stay there

But how do you have tickets for a flight if you haven’t made payments. All airlines I’ve seen require you to pay in full before they issue any tickets.

What is the best way to satisfy this requirement?

Answer accepted (score 18)

The obvious answer is to pay for your tickets! Presuming you have solid travel plans (which is what they are trying to ask you to prove by showing tickets!) then this shouldn’t be a problem.

Of course, the one catch with this is that if your visa application is rejected, you’ve now got tickets that you are unable to use. Some airlines will allow you to get a refund under circumstances like this (even for a non-refundable ticket), as will some travel insurance policies - however many will not.

There’s a few other alternatives, each with their own advantages and disadvantages :

• Ask your travel agent to provide an itinerary, including flight details (and confirmation numbers if they have them - these are generated before the ticket is paid for) and use that as proof of your flights.
• Buy a full-fare, refundable ticket and use that for the visa application process. Once the visa is approved, cancel the ticket (getting a full refund), and then book a discount ticket. The biggest catch is that you’ll be out of pocket for a reasonable amount of money for a while, and in the interim the ticket prices for the cheap flights might have gone up.
• Bite the bullet and just buy the tickets - on the presumption that the visa will be approved.

Answer 2 (score 6)

While both the UK Border Agency and any number of European embassies “advise you not to make payments” before a visa is granted, the reality is that they are simply covering their own tracks (and being nice). I’ve had friends refused visas for incomplete documentation because they think they can wing it with less documentation.

Rest assured that in most cases, as long as you have all the documents (paid hotel booking, flights, et al) then the chances of you being refused a visa for short-term tourist or business purposes is low. Having ‘firm’ bookings makes your case stronger. Having said that, here are a couple of ways you can minimise the risk:

• Instead of booking your flights online, get in touch with a ‘proper’ brick-and-mortar travel agent. What they can do is file a booking with a airline for a ‘held’ itinerary. Essentially, they file passenger names, specific flight times, and a price at the time of making the held itinerary. This is NOT a confirmed booking, but you could use this as proof when applying for most visas (unless it specifically asks for a paid booking). Note that while you wait for your visa to be processed, flight prices will most surely go up so the price you pay will be higher than the initial quote.
• Hotel bookings made through major travel sites are almost always refundable. Check their terms for deductibles and cancellation deadlines. Most of them will give refunds in form of credit on their site rather than a refund to your card though. Shop around on sites to see which one has the most relaxed policy for refunds.

More stringent scrutiny is reserved for longer term visas. As long as you can reassure border control and embassy officials that you do not intend on overstaying, you’re fine. For instance, I’d say I’ve English proficiency equivalent to a native speaker and I hardly ever get questioned at UK Border Control; it helps to be genuinely friendly and cheerful too towards them. On the flip side, I’ve Indian and Chinese friends (to name a few ethnicities) who aren’t perhaps as ‘easy’ for a native speaker to understand because of their accent or speech mannerisms and they often get questioned longer during visa applications or at border control. The crucial thing is that if you give satisfactory answers and don’t contradict yourself - for instance, if a visa officer asks something as simple as your date of birth do NOT mess it up because doing something like that is a red-flag for them - they cannot stop you from being given a visa or entering the country.

Question

I am currently travelling in the USA and when checking in on the boarding flight to enter the country, the security personnel attached a small yellow-white sticker to my passport (see a somewhat terrible photo below):

This happened on Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) when I was waiting in queue for check in, and by one of the security personnel that inquired about my business in USA.

Does this have any special meaning? Why would they do it anyway? Can I take it away before I leave the country, or should it stay on?

Answer accepted (score 32)

I can give an answer to this because this happens to me very regularly, for a good reason.

Typically for holders of US / UK / European / Australian / NZ passports, a wide range of countries do not require a visa in advance, or often issue them on arrival. If you’re travelling within North America or Europe where these visa rules are well-known, an airline simply checks you in.

The security clearance sticker is used whenever the airline has a liability to carry you back to your origin in case you’re denied entry. Many countries require you to pass through passport control both when leaving and entering the country. In UK and Europe however, passport control is done at many airports only when you enter the country, not when you leave.

I hold an Indian passport, which means that for most destinations I need to get a visa. If I ever end up in a situation where I go to a country and I’m denied entry, the airline is obligated to fly me back. For this reason, airlines run their visa checks for passport holders whom they know need a visa, and upon validation, they paste this sticker. Don’t take this sticker off until you reach your destination because in case of any queries - for instance, staff at the boarding gate may want to confirm your visa status - airline staff check for this sticker to see whether you’ve been cleared for boarding.

ICTS International (that’s the corporate name; at airports, I’ve seen employees wearing badges that read ‘i-Sec’) is one of those companies that a lot of airlines hire out this task to; another company that airlines outsource this task to is CheckPoint. Some airlines carry out their own checks and use the same sticker system too.

Answer 2 (score 13)

It says “ICTS”, so this was attached by the company providing security services for certain airports in US. This is probably to mean that you have undergone security checks and had passport checked there. I had similar stickers attached to my passport when travelling in China, as well.

Question

This is the scenario:

I have tickets booked for a 13:40 scheduled flight with Emirates. I need to check bags in so plan to be at the airport at the advised 2 hours before flight departure (11:40) but I look ahead and see my plane is delayed and not scheduled for departure until 16:40.

Can I arrive at the airport at 14:40 to check-in or should I knowingly arrive at the airport a full 5 hours before the revised departure time?

Footnote: The reason of the delay is that the inbound flight which will become be my outbound flight after turnaround is delayed in arriving at my departure airport.

Answer accepted (score 40)

No you can’t turn up late to check-in on a delayed flight, unless the check-in closing time is delayed along with the departure time. Note that usually this is not the case.

The check-in closing time is set relative to the scheduled departure, and usually remains the same, regardless of whether the flight is delayed or not. Hence if you show up at the airport late for check-in, even though you still have plenty of time before boarding due to the flight being delayed, you will be considered as a no-show. This happened to me a few years back on a snowy day in which all inbound and outbound flights to/from LHR were delayed.

Several websites and forums mention this (see here and here). However I believe this webpage from Air Berlin to be more authoritative:

We are unable to check in passengers arriving at the check-in desk after the check-in deadline. These passengers lose their entitlement to be carried on the flight and do not have any right of reimbursement, issue of a credit note or free rebooking. This check-in deadline will remain the same even if the departure of the flight is delayed.

(Emphasis mine)

Other airlines, including Emirates and British Airways, carry no mention of whether the check-in deadline can be modified, probably because they assume that when flights are delayed the check-in closing time does not vary. However they do mention that arriving late for check-in will cause you to be denied boarding in their Terms of Carriage. Emirates (in PDF) says:

6.3 You must comply with the applicable Check-in Deadline. We have the right to cancel your reservation if you do not comply with the Check-in Deadline or, if no Check-in Deadline has been indicated, you fail to check-in prior to closing of check-in for your flight. See also Article 5.7.

British Airways says:

6c) You must check in by the check-in deadline

If you do not complete the check-in process by the check-in deadline, we may decide to cancel your reservation and not carry you. By completing the check-in process we mean that you have received your boarding pass for your flight.

Answer 2 (score 8)

The check-in time has no relation to the flight being delayed. The counter will close on time, even if the flight never departs on time.

This is because there are other things that need to happen for the flight to leave that are dependent on the check-in desk:

1. Passenger manifest.
2. Seat reservations/upgrades/changes.
3. Luggage has to be tagged, the tags have to be entered in the system.
4. Luggage has to be scanned and transported to the loading bay.
5. Luggage may need to be loaded onto freight containers.
6. Passengers may have to pass through immigration.
7. There might be travel time (walking time) to the gate.

All that needs to happen; irrespective of the length of the delay.

There are other considerations too. At most airports; check-in desks are manned by rotating third-party (ie, non airline employee) staff. So the airline has a limited period in which to check-in passengers, before another set of crew sets up on the same station.

At some locations, the physical counters are restricted as well.

Granted, this isn’t a problem if you are departing from Dubai and are on Emirates since they have a dedicated terminal (so all counters are checking in Emirates flights), but the flight itself may not be open (or be closed) for booking (in the reservation systems).

In short, do not gamble with timing.

Answer 3 (score 5)

In your particular case you might know when the flight leaves because it’s unlikely another plane materializes but in general you need to be quite vigilant: it happened to me that the delay was decreased! Say, you show up for a flight to leave at 1pm, the flight now shows at 3pm but then it boards at 2pm and leaves at 2:30pm. You need to be vigilant with these things.

Question

I’ve always bought my tickets through travel agents in the past but this time I’ve bought two flights on two different websites.

Now in the emails they’ve sent me there is my itinerary but also quite a bit of “junk” like hotel offers.

I’m pretty sure I should take some printout to the airport, the ones I got from real travel agents were very clean, looking like typed sheets of info. Also in those cases I thought there were two kinds of printouts with one being the itinerary and the other being the more important one you need to have at the airport - but I can’t remember exactly any more.

Another important factor is that both tickets are one-way flights. I want to be prepared to use a printout of the home leg as proof that I’m leaving in the case that immigration might ask me to produce it at the intermediate leg. (I’m spending six weeks in Korea on my way home to Australia from Turkey.)

I’m really confused as to whether the pages I printed out are the best ones, or if I missed something important with all the distracting ads. The two websites I used are:

• Expedia.com.au

• ebookers UK

Or could it be I’m worrying about nothing and all I need when I get to the airport is my name and the airlines will find me in their database? Even with one-way flights?

Answer accepted (score 12)

Technically speaking, almost all airlines can serve you well without any tickets or PNRs (passenger number record or booking reference) as long as you have bought the ticket and made reservation regardless of the method of buying. All they need is your name and a valid ID (passport in international flights) and they can get you the boarding pass. Even the self service kiosks for many airlines have the option to serve you by scanning your passport (to get your name from the bar code).

Anyway, to be prepared for the worst keep the itinerary number with you (or PNR) just in case. If the itinerary is paid for then the ticket number will be attached to it and it will usually have the form ETKT xxx-xxxxxxx or something similar. You can print the itinerary at home which will be enough proof to show to the authorities or you can ask the counter at the airport to print it for you.

The only time you might need to print the E-ticket and keep a copy of it (or at least keep the ticket number) is when you have a ticket without reservation (they call it open ticket). In this case the ticket will have the sectors shown but with no flight numbers or dates. The open tickets are usually expensive because you have the flexibility to fly on any flight as in the ticket at any time.

Answer 2 (score 10)

By it’s very name, an “Electronic Ticket”, or an “E-ticket” is not a physical item - it’s just an entry in a computer system.

As a result, you do not need to physically present any specific document at time of check-in in order to get your boarding pass. So technically, no, you do not need to print anything out at all.

However there are a few places where having a printout will be very beneficial (and in some cases, required by law). The first of these is if there is a problem! There is always the potential that something will go wrong, either with your booking or with the flights, and having a printed copy with the exact details of your flight (including confirmation number and e-ticket number) can certainly help in these cases. This is especially true if your booking includes multiple airlines, as the first airline may not be able to see all of the details of your later flights on their computer if they are on a different airline.

The second is when you’re traveling internationally. Many countries will require you to be able to show a return or onward “ticket” in order to get through immigration, and in some cases the airline will also need to see the details of such ticket before you board the outbound flight (if the flights are booked on a different ticket). Whilst a printed itinerary from your travel agency/website/etc may be enough here, it’s always better to have a printout of the e-ticket itself.

As far as what to print, there’s a few options. What the travel website has given you is probably OK - just make sure that it’s got the “Confirmation Number” or “Record Locator Number” on it (normally this is a 5-6 character alpha/numeric string, like “Y7EMM4”) AND your E-ticket number (normally a 13-14 digit number). You can often also find an option on the website to print out your e-ticket and/or your receipt which will normally contain the relevant details.

If you can’t find somewhere on the booking website that will give you a clean copy to print, try the airlines website. You should be able to lookup the booking on their website using your Confirmation Number, and they will normally have an option to view/print your booking details, which will normally include the e-ticket number. If your trip covers multiple airlines, you may need to do this step on each of their websites to get all of the details.

Answer 3 (score 6)

On two different occasions I have had issues flying Lufthansa on an Air Canada ticket - their systems don’t work together as well as they should - which were solved only by a tremendous amount of typing by the checkin agent. A vital part of this typing was my ticket number. Since I had nothing printed, I just opened the confirmation email on my laptop and handed it across the counter to the agent. If you don’t intend to bring a laptop with you, then print the email. Sure, it has extraneous junk in it, but if you need it, you need it.

My laptops always have plenty of battery when I arrive at the airport, and I keep my emails locally so I can read them even without internet access. Important emails like hotel, flight, and car reservations are duplicated on my phone, which also has plenty of battery when I arrive. If you’re traveling for leisure you will probably find a few pages of paper easier to deal with than two fully charged electronic things along with remembering to move stuff from the cloud to somewhere on your hard drive.

Question

Confession time: I am from one of these barbaric countries where the use of the bidet is not widespread. So I have no idea…

Question 1: What is the bidet good for?

Question 2: How do I use it?

Image Source: wikipedia

Apparently the bidet is a necessity of daily life in some countries and we have already had questions such as
OK we are all adults here, so really, how on earth should I live without bidet?
but to my surprise nobody has ever questioned as to how to use them.

Assuming I’d be travelling to e.g. Italy and encounter such a bidet in my hotel bathroom,

• What should I use it for?
• What should I not use it for?
• How should I use it?
• How should I not use it?
• Bonus question: What is the social aspect of bidet usage in countries where they are widespread? Is it implicitly assumed everybody uses this device on a weekly/daily/hourly basis? Should I dare not talk about it or is there no taboo around it? E.g. when I say “I just used the bidet.” does that sound like “I just washed my hands” or is that akin to “I just took a dump”, i.e. a rather awkward thing to mention as small talk?

This is perfectly on-topic here on Travel SE as part of the bathroom usage 101 series (not in chronological order, omissions possible):

1. OK we are all adults here, so really, how on earth should I live without bidet?
2. OK we’re all adults here, so really, how on earth should I use a squat toilet?
3. OK we're all nerds here, so really, how on earth should I use a Japanese toilet?
4. We're all adults here - how to use a squat toilet if you have trouble squatting?
5. Are the hoses in toilets in Asia something I should know about?
6. How to use toilet paper
7. How do you use a traditional hot-air hand dryer so your hands are actually dry afterwards?

You could assume for this question I have no physical disabilities that would e.g. cause me trouble squatting.

Answer accepted (score 97)

Bidet Who Are You?

The bidet is a sanitary installation which looks like a shallow toilet bowl with water taps. The purpose of the bidet is to clean up after you’ve done what you came to do in the toilet. The rationale here is that sometimes toilet paper isn’t enough and you can’t always shower after you went to the toilet. Enters: the bidet. I feel like I have to mention this: the bidet is not a toilet. You go to the toilet first and then you use a bidet.

How Do You Work?

The way a bidet works is fairly intuitive: you get tempered water and a piece of soap and you clean yourself. Like a targeted shower, if you will.

Step 1: Sit

There are two ways you can sit on a bidet:

• Facing towards the water taps
• With the water taps behind your back

The way you sit depends on what you want to clean up, and also on the way you feel more comfortable. Below is a picture of a person straddling a bidet facing towards the taps:

^{Image courtesy of WikiHow, CC-by-SA}

You might need to remove your trousers to sit in this way.

Step 2: Wash

Having found your seating comfort you are now ready to turn on the water. You’ll want to do this slowly so as to control the jet strength and the temperature. Once you are satisfied with both you start washing yourself using whichever cleaning product you require.

When washing yourself you can either fill the bowl and splash water on your body or use the water stream directly. This will depend on personal preference. Some bidets have nozzles you can use to direct the water flow (top left). Others don’t and sometimes provide holes from which flows a weak water jet (top right). Some have a vertical spray nozzle (bottom left) which is commonly used to clean the anal region. A more technological bidets can be integrated in the toilet bowl in the form of a water nozzle (bottom right). Below are pictures of these types of bidets:

To avoid any surprises turn on the water slowly and cover the jet with your hand so as to get a warning before the water hits you.

Step 3: Dry

When you are done washing you can either use a towel or toilet paper to dry yourself.

References

Here is a nice instructable video on how to use a bidet. You can also find a text-based guide here.

What Else Can You Do?

For completeness sake, note that you can also use bidets to soak and clean your feet. To do this you lower the toilet seat lid, sit on that, and put your feet in the bidet, provided the two are installed close together.

Answer 2 (score 88)

I’m Portuguese and every bathroom has a bidet. Only the really small ones don’t. It is something I find in European countries with Latin roots (specially Portugal, Spain, France and Italy).

From personal experience and of others, it is not commonly used, although useful on those few times.

The main uses are to clean:

• Your feet: Sometimes you come home from the beach or had a walk bare feet on your lawn, and you feel like taking a shower is an overkill. Then just use… the bidet. Why is it better than the shower? The bidet is higher, so you can reach your feet to clean them, and normally the faucet is fixed so you can use both your hands without the need for one to hold the water. This might actually be the main use of the bidet, specially on the summer.
• Your bottom: Ever used toilet paper and it seems that it is never going to end? Are you going to a formal event or a date and you want to make sure your bottom is clean after using the toilet? Then why not take a shower? Well, that would take long and it might be unnecessary… Then just use… the bidet! Just sit on it, like you would on the toilet, open the water, and clean it with water and soap like you would on a shower.
• Your genitals: Yes, you guessed it. Before and/or after sex.

When should you do it?

Nobody is going to ask you: Hey, how many times have you used the bidet today?

The bidet fits for those cleanings that would be an overkill for a shower and couldn’t be made in a sink, like the ones I’ve written above.

How should you do it?

I would recommend to use it like the opposite of the toilet in the case of bottom/genitals (like the answer with the picture), because it is easy to reach the area you are going to clean, to control the faucet and to grab a towel (normally, there is a towel bar just above the bidet). Just sit on the bidet, one leg each side and with the genitals close to the faucet, let the water run and use it with soap to clean yourself.

In the case of feet, just wash one at a time. Put your foot on the bidet, let the water run and clean it. After you’re done, dry your foot, put it somewhere where it doesn’t get dirty again like a bathroom rug or your slippers, and then do the same with the other foot.

Why not just clean waist down in the shower?

Because you wet way more body, making a bigger mess and the need to wet and dry more. And for you might be hard to reach your feet if you really want to clean them.

Answer 3 (score 49)

Edit: Since I’ve discovered that the “Number two” euphemism isn’t global, I’ll add here that it means defecation, and comes from the fact that “poo” rhymes with “number two”. It’s a common euphemism in the UK/America, used as a more polite (or at least, less “visual”) alternative to saying poo.

I won’t add to the above answers, which have mostly covered the “What is it, how do I use it?” questions, so I’ll go straight for the etiquette

Bonus question: What is the social aspect of bidet usage in countries where they are widespread?

Is it implicitly assumed everybody uses this device on a weekly/daily/hourly basis?

It’s like any other personal hygiene - the assumption is that you’ll use it when necessary. For example, I would likely use some mouthwash after a meal involving garlic bread, or take a shower after the gym… but not everyone would. Regarding the bidet, a lot of people would use it after every number two, with women generally using it more frequently than men for their genital regions. As with much other genital hygiene, it’s personal preference and likely related to how soon you expect another person to be in close proximity to those areas of your anatomy… Daily with your number two would be pretty common.

If you’ve gotten by without using it in your day to day life, though, I highly doubt anybody will notice. It’s a bit like moving to a country with dental floss when you’ve been getting by just fine with toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash. It won’t do any harm to add the extra hygiene, but you’re not going to suddenly lose all your teeth or start smelling of… well, you get the idea.

Should I dare not talk about it or is there no taboo around it? E.g. when I say “I just used the bidet.” does that sound like “I just washed my hands” or is that akin to “I just took a dump”, i.e. a rather awkward thing to mention as small talk?

Somewhere in between the two, but probably closer to the latter. You’re essentially saying “I just washed my bottom/genitals”: before discussing the bidet, think of yourself saying that sentence. If you wouldn’t say that sentence in your current context, don’t say “I just used the bidet”. It wouldn’t be automatically considered rude or taboo, but it’s a little on the tactless side and perhaps not something you’d bring up at the dinner table. You’re unlikely to mention it without a reasonably good reason. How often do you leave a bathroom and tell people you just washed your hands, or used the lavatory?

Question

When speaking of an airline ticket, I have heard the term open ticket which has to do with dates not being fixed I believe.

• What exactly is an open ticket?
• How do you get an actual flight from one?
• What are typical restrictions?

Answer accepted (score 22)

Open ticket means that the return date is not fixed. The date of the first flight is set (although typically this can be changed for a fee). Assuming that it is an unrestricted ticket that means that you can get a return flight on any date usually up to a year after your outbound flight.

You will need to call the airline to book a specific date once you know when you want to use the ticket. This will, of course, be subject to availability. You can not use it for a flight that is already fully booked. Assuming the flight isn’t full, you could do this at the airport at the last minute.

To buy an open ticket you will usually have to go through the airline or a travel agent (i.e. not a website).

Restrictions vary with price. All open tickets must be used within a specific timeframe (at best 1 year). They are often only available for business class etc. Some have a fixed return date that can be changed for a nominal (or not so nominal) fee (useful if you have a ‘I wont be longer than this’ date but would like the option to return earlier). Ask before you purchase the ticket.

I should add that as these tickets are mostly used by business travelers, they are priced accordingly. They are rarely cheap.

Answer 2 (score 8)

There are two parts to an itinerary: an entry in a reservation manager (a Global Distribution System or GDS such as Sabre or Galileo) which contains all reserved flights and is called a PNR (Passenger Name Record) or locator, and a ticket, which has a set of coupons, each good for travel from one place to another. Typically, there will be one coupon per flight (but there are cases where there are extra coupons, called open jaws, for which no flights are purchased). In the old days, all tickets were paper, but for many years most tickets are electronic. Each flight coupon is for purchased air travel from one airport to another, and in most cases lists the date, departure time, and flight code of the flight.

An open ticket is a ticket where some coupons only list the two airports flown from and to, they do not list a specific time, date, or flight code. On some airlines, open tickets must be paper tickets, not electronic tickets.

Open tickets used to be fairly common in the days when all tickets were paper, all fares were flexible and permitted changes, and more people traveled without fixed dates in mind. However, now that almost all tickets are electronic and most fares are highly restricted, they are rare.

I’ll answer the three specific questions:

What exactly is an open ticket?

An open ticket is a ticket with at least one coupon that does not list a specific flight on a specific date.

How do you get an actual flight from one?

You have the airline or a travel agent make a reservation for the specific flight you want, and in the PNR list the ticket number you have. The corresponding coupon in the ticket is then validated by filling in the reserved flight.

What are typical restrictions?

Depending on the airline, it may need to be a paper ticket, which is a big restriction. You have to purchase the ticket using a fare that permits open tickets, which these days may also be a big issue.

Open tickets used to be used for multi-segment trips such as around-the-world fares, as well as simple round-trips on fully-flexible fares.

One case where they were especially useful is when a ticket is purchased but some intended flights are too far in the future to be loaded into the reservation system and hence are not bookable. People could get around this by leaving the last few flights specified only by from airport and to airport. Later, when the desired flights were bookable, they reserved them and used corresponding coupons of the existing ticket. Because of the limitations of open tickets, it’s becoming more common for people who want to achieve the same thing to book their itinerary with flights on dates they have no intention of flying (“dummy dates”). Then, when the real dates are within the booking window (which varies but is commonly around 330-365 days), they change the flights from the dummy dates to the real dates. This avoids ever having an open ticket, but it also reserves seats on flights that aren’t intended to be used, which airlines do not like.

Question

Say I want to book a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Chicago. Say the airline also flies to St. Louis from Fort Launderdale but has a connecting flight through Chicago. If I book that flights from FLL->ORD->STL and just get off in Chicago, what possible problems can I run into, assuming I didn’t check any bags and only have carry on? This scenario exist for Southwest, but I wanted this be more of a general question that would apply to all airlines.

Answer accepted (score 41)

Be aware that doing this can go wrong very quickly in the event of “irregular operations”, such as bad weather, canceled flights, etc.

When you book a ticket FLL->ORD->STL the airline is committing to fly you from FLL to STL. They are not required to get you there via ORD.

If the FLL-ORD flight is canceled for some reason then it’s possible they would re-route you on an alternate flight via a different destination - such as a direct FLL->STL flight, or via a different city, such as FLL-IAD-STL.

If this happens you’re going to end up stuck in either FLL or STL. You could try and ask them to route you via ORD, but your success would depend on there actually being other flights available FLL-ORD with seats available.

Answer 2 (score 41)

Be aware that doing this can go wrong very quickly in the event of “irregular operations”, such as bad weather, canceled flights, etc.

When you book a ticket FLL->ORD->STL the airline is committing to fly you from FLL to STL. They are not required to get you there via ORD.

If the FLL-ORD flight is canceled for some reason then it’s possible they would re-route you on an alternate flight via a different destination - such as a direct FLL->STL flight, or via a different city, such as FLL-IAD-STL.

If this happens you’re going to end up stuck in either FLL or STL. You could try and ask them to route you via ORD, but your success would depend on there actually being other flights available FLL-ORD with seats available.

Answer 3 (score 26)

Well it’s not like they will track you down and force you to go to STL however…

once you skip a leg of a itinerary they will cancel the rest of the booked trip including the return ticket.

By booking a ticket you are actually signing a type of contract with the airline and the airlines specifically put in “tariff and fair clauses” that say if you ditch they have the right to cancel the rest of the ticket, fine you and even ban you from the airline. Though the only times they would ban or fine would be for repeat offenders.

They also usually have rules preventing you from buying a new one way return ticket if it matches the same route back, that way forcing you to pay their re-booking fees if you want to change your return date/time.

The thing is to check out the airlines rules and be careful.

Question

Whenever I have to fetch someone from the airport I usually arrive at the airport on the estimated arrival time resulting me spending useless time in the arrival hall.

Can you get a reasonable estimate how long it takes to get through? I am specifically interested in long hauls, because schengen flights or short hops is usually a question of minutes

Answer accepted (score 18)

There is no formula that can tell you the exact waiting time for every airport in the world, there are many factors:

• Is visa required for the passenger? usually people with visas takes longer time to clear immigrations. Especially if it was visa on arrival.
• Are there separate lanes for immigrations for citizens and non-citizens?
• Does the passenger you are picking up have items to declare for customs?
• Does the passenger you are picking up have checked-in luggage?
• Luggage carousels at the airport, some airports with few carousels makes people wait a lot for their luggage.
• Class of travel.

Each factor of the above factors can add few minutes to the check-out process, sometimes all of these factors come together making it an hour or even more. Other thing that can also be a pain in the neck is special security measures in some airports (USA comes in mind), in JFK I spent 5 hours due to the NSEERS process. There are also other factors that can add to this, such as gates locations, some airports have gates that are so far from the immigration counters, DXB comes in mind. Also, taxi time, some airports have a big ramp, aircraft can literally taxi for more than 15 minutes before reaching the gate, JED comes in mind.

Answer 2 (score 6)

The answer from MeNoTalk is excellent, basically it varies. I wanted to give you a few ideas of how to find out for a given airport.

You can try and Google ‘How long does it take to get out of <airport>’ normally this gives some pretty good hits. There may be a thread on FlyerTalk about it (for example).

Many airports publish target and actual queuing times for immigration (here’s Heathrow) so you can get a rough idea about that and adjust based on the factors in the other answer. Note that some factors cancel out – immigration and baggage reclaim for instance, generally you only need to worry about the longest one, they don’t add the time together.

You can also look up the minimum time to change flights at the airport, which will give you some idea of the in airport travel time (and maybe passport control if they quote for flight changes going through passport control – i.e. Schiphol from the KLM website).

The best idea is to find someone who’s done a similar flight with similar conditions. One other thing you can try is phoning an airport limo or private car service, they generally arrange the car to meet an incoming flight and they’ll have some idea of the average touch-down to out-the-door time. Although how you get them to tell you that is up to you.

On long-haul, I’d watch the real-time flight information (just Google the flight number) to check for delays. Then probably aim to be at the airport 20 to 25 minutes after that. And take a good book.

Answer 3 (score 3)

As a thumb rule (and it’s as good as it is) I plan to arrive around 30 min. after the flight arrival. Never before. It usually works out.

Of course this may depend a lot on the country and conditions as others mentioned, but in general it works out. I often have to wait a couple of minutes, but I always save 30 minutes of waiting time.

It has happened that the flyer arrived earlier, but it’s not frequent and they never waited more than 5 minutes. Again, you need to evaluate other parameters like customs and security. This has worked for me in several EU airports in internal flights.

Question

I’m about to travel via Wizz Air and only have hand baggage. Can I bring condoms on board?

Answer accepted (score 23)

Yes, and there are great articles online detailing travelling with condoms. They’re not liquids, flammable or on any of the TSA unapproved lists, so you’re totally fine to take them. However, remember they’re meant to be stored at room temperature as they are still medical devices you don’t want to take risks with damaging them. Don’t store them with sharp items in your carry-on (even pens etc). If your laptop or phone gets really warm, it’s best not to have them side-by-side either.

However, there are also stories of travellers being detained because of the condoms in their luggage, where they were accused of being working girls(!), so … all things considered, it might be better to just get some at the destination.

Question

At many airports you can wrap your luggage with sheets of sticky plastic. Why on earth would you do that? I only see disadvantages. I can imagine the mess when customs ask you to open your luggage. So what benefits am I missing?

Photo by Reuben Strayer, license: CC BY-SA 2.0

Answer accepted (score 95)

It’s quite simple:

• You can spot more easily whether someone has opened it
• It can not open by accident
• The luggage doesn’t get dirty
• You don’t want your expensive luggage to be scratched!
• It looks really sexy

Answer 2 (score 52)

I remember seeing this at an airport once before. They didn’t have this at my local international airport so I thought it was some crazy thing for paranoid fliers. But in hindsight it has a purpose.

The companies that provide these services claim a lot, but it is definitely going to provide the protection from the following things:

• Tampering (or at least make it clearly evident)
• Unauthorized items
• Theft
• Accidental openings
• Stains
• Weather (rain, snow, etc)

The companies go on to suggest that you can also prevent scratches, wear and tear, and other such things. I find it hard to believe a thin layer of plastic could do that, but it probably does provide some degree of protection from those too.

The most convincing however, is the protection from Weather. The tarmac where the plane is loaded isn’t protected from these things. If I have fabric luggage, I can use these wrapping services to prevent rain, mud, or frozen winter gunk from getting into or on my luggage. Possibly damaging it permanently.

An interesting note. When they wrap the luggage, they often times cut out the wheels, if a pull/push/rolling set, and also some of the handles, so even though it is wrapped up you can still use it like you had.

Also the device they use, for anyone who hasn’t seen this, is an interesting combination of a kiosk and warehouse skid wrapping machine.

Answer 3 (score 31)

It prevents anyone in the airport from stealing anything from your bag. Not a problem in many European/USA airports, but when travelling through, say, Africa, you have to be careful.

I remember a friend of mine, after transferring through Johannesburg, picking up her laptop case from the luggage carousel and remarking that it felt very light.

Question

I’m looking for some old flight stats as Flightaware provides me for the last 4 months. However, I’m looking for flights from the past 5 years. Is there any database that is capable of doing so? For example, I’m interested in KLM1964 on January 5, 2012.

Specifically, statistics including departure/arrival times, and aircraft type.

Answer accepted (score 16)

FlightStats has information going back several years. Their level of coverage is generally excellent, although it can vary a little depending on the airline/location. You will need to create a free account in order to view data more than a few days old.

Specifically for your flight they don’t have any specific information, only scheduled information that the flight was from Zurich (ZRH) to Amsterdam (AMS), departing at 7:25 PM and arriving at 9:00PM on an Embraer RJ170/190.

The lack of information could mean that there is a hole in their data, or it could mean that the flight did not fly for some reason (ie, it was canceled). Checking that same flight for days before and after there is full information available.

Answer 2 (score 4)

FlightView.com has great reports on historic flights (I work in sales there). They’re the only flight data provider which are selected as consultants to the FAA, so you know you’re getting the most accurate data.

Question

I was planning a stay at a hotel in Chicago for an overnight layover and checking prices on the hotel’s booking site (in this case the Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport) for a room with 2 double beds. The site asks for the number of people in my party. In my case there will be 3 adults, no kids.

I experimented with different answers to the # of adults question and found that 1-2 people sharing a room gave a price of $94, for 3 people it was $118, and 4 people raised it to $142.

I don’t get the extra charge since it will be the exact same room in all of those situations. Do most hotels do this? If I just book the room specifying 2 people and bring a 3rd is there any risk involved?

I’d also like to hear any insight from hotel insiders about what is behind the logic of charging different rates for the same room depending on how many people will be in it (assuming you don’t need an extra roll-away bed). It would make sense if there was a free breakfast or something, but this hotel doesn’t offer that.

Answer accepted (score 25)

I have worked at hotels for eight years. The reason behind the rate difference has to do partly with amenities, and partly with laws.

When there is a price difference, it is because of the amenities. The hotel I currently work at serves breakfast. Food costs (even coffee) must be covered byt the rates, or the company will lose money. When that happens, the hotel will either raise the rates, or discontinue amenities.

The legal reason we ask for the number of guests is in case of emergency. If you have listed only 2 guests in your room, but you have 6 with you, and a fire breaks out… We, and the fire department will only be looking for two people. Four people may lose their lives in such a situation simply because we didn’t know they were in there.

We are much more diligent about the number of guests (and anything else you’re sneaking by us) simply because I work for a small hotel, and we care about our hotel and our positions within the hotel. Larger chains seem to have some more apathetic employees, who don’t really care about you, the hotel, or their jobs.

A tip for you: We cannot make offers on specials. Look the hotel up online (make sure it’s the real site because third party booking engines can’t offer packages or discounts, and they usually remove some of the perks), then call us, and ask what specials we are running. While we cannot offer up the deals, we are happy to tell you what specials are running, but we can only do so if you ask. Always ask if there is a possibility of a discount. Some of us have the leeway to do a little bit of a discount, but please don’t push us too hard. We hate that we can’t do more for you, but our paychecks are tied to the hotel turning a profit.

P.S. The nicer you are to the clerk, the nicer we will try to be for you. We can usually request upgrades from management or assign the better views if we feel like you have just been super pleasant to work with.

Toodles, and happy vacationing!

Answer 2 (score 15)

I am not an insider but most hotels I know charge extra for three people in a room, some also charge extra for single occupancy. One exception that comes to mind are no-frills hotels in Europe that specifically advertise with rooms for up to three people at the same price, e.g. Première Classe. Hotels probably do it simply because they can, either out of habit or because someone figured that they make more money that way. Needing an extra roll-away bed isn’t even the most important factor.

Consider this: There are dozens of different prices for the same seat in the same plane. Train or bus pricing is still not as sophisticated but can also vary quite a lot. And the same room in the same hotel will also be cheaper at some times of the year or could be offered at other prices through different channels. Twenty years ago there would be a kilometer charge for trains, one or two prices for hotel stays (e.g. high and low season), all printed in guidebooks and elsewhere, plus some “hidden” prices (e.g. for tour operators who would book and pay in advance and carry the risk of selling the room or not). Nowadays, the web allows a lot more flexibility and you will find different prices depending on how full the hotel really is, whether you can cancel or change your booking, etc.

The basic fact is that whether you get the same service or whether it costs the same to the provider is simply not relevant to pricing, at least as long as they have some way to practice price discrimination without antagonizing the customer too much. Just saying “for you, it will cost double” depending on how a person looks is difficult (it does work that way on markets in some countries!) but an extra charge for an extra guest won’t feel like a very bad deal and is easy to communicate and apply. I suspect there is no other reason behind this.

Note that it often works the other way around as well. The lowest rate on a particular flight might very well be under the average per-passenger cost. Economically, it’s the cost of an additional passenger (the “marginal” cost) that matters and when most of the costs are fixed, it can be very low. Once you have a plane flying from A to B or a hotel staffed and warmed-up, you need to fill it at the highest possible total price, cost per unit is not relevant anymore.

Also, using an extra bed does cost something, even if the bed is always there in the first place. You have to factor in laundry, some more cleaning, extra towels and other amenities.

Answer 3 (score 3)

Rather lengthy, so a kind of summary:

I don’t get the extra charge since it will be the exact same room in all of those situations. Yes, the same room but more cost for the hotelier. In general at least all the following (where relevant) will cost more for more people: chocolates etc, cleaning, cooling, electricity, heating, ice, laundry, lighting, loo paper, maintenance, stationery, tea & coffee, toiletries, and water.

At first I thought the logic might have been that the price for 1 or 2 occupants had been adjusted to meet market conditions (for example lowered for a time when general occupancy was expected to be low) and that rates for 3 and 4 occupants had been left unadjusted (might have been too much bother to keep updating for what was likely a rare requirement).

However there is far more logic to the pricing than I would expect from hoteliers. The prices are essentially $46 +$24 per person. Just with a twist that 1 person is counted as 2 people.

Where rooms are double it is normal to charge for two people. Any discount for single occupancy is likely as much a result of negotiating skills as any regular difference in price. If for instance the bed is a double then just as much changing and washing of linen is required for one as for two people.

But if there are two beds to change and launder then there is more cost than for one, so it is fair to charge less for usage of one bed and more for usage of two.

As pointed out by @Relaxed, market forces are at work. These however are not accurately quantifiable because it also takes time and effort (ie cost) to fine tune tariffs very frequently – and keep any selling agencies up to date. So prices at any one time may not appear to make much sense when compared with other time periods.

Working back to how the numbers were calculated might go something like this:

• Annual Fixed cost (lease, permanent staff, insurance, fixtures etc) $xM or about $30/room/available night (say)
• Variable costs (electricity, water, laundry, toiletries etc) per night per resident say $20
• Scale up the fixed rate to cover room-nights not rented, say to $40
• Add a return (say ~15%) and when occupied this is $46 per night per room when let and $24 per occupant/night.

Those hotels that charge a rate per room may do a similar calculation but simplify their tariff by selecting a little more than the rate for two people – in relative terms charging slightly more for couples but slightly less for 3s and 4s. Overall they may also be making some savings by such simplification.

Based on the above the prices part of your question might be expressed as “Is $20 per person per night a fair costing?”. In my view it is not, quite. Labour is probably a large element of it (cleaning, housekeeping, maintenance) and that is mostly per room (when occupied). Electricity/(part of) heating is likely mostly “per room” – but bedside lights and appliance use (eg personal computers) would not be. Water, loo paper, minor damage etc is likely ‘per person’. Toiletries and towels etc may be either. However I think near enough equitable for the approximation to be justified.

Combined into a per room rate the prices you mention might be something like $110/night, to recover the same amount from the same number of guests spread across rooms in the same way. But in that case some singles and couples could be expected to be put off. For them it would be a price hike of $16/night. So the occupancy rate would go down and the price have to increase beyond $110 to compensate for that. Whereupon even more potential guests may be discouraged!

I think your questions with question marks have been answered but:

Why do hotel booking sites ask for the number of people?

Most hotels do charge per person. I tried a group that does not, for 1 double for 1, 2, 3 and 4 people and the price was the same for 1 and 2 and twice that for 3 and 4 (but the same as each other). I doubt many of the ‘per night’ hotels (in UK) offer family rooms. 3 and 4 above were for two rooms. This being one reason to ask for number of people.

Does it matter how many I say?

Yes. There is almost certainly an upper limit per room (if only for fire security reasons, as mentioned by @Shannon). My experience is much the same as @Kate Gregory’s regarding fire drills and even for real (minor) fires I have noticed no headcounting, but in the case of something more serious the consequences for a hotelier failing to keep proper records could be expected to be severe. (It is no joke to risk lives for ‘people’ that are not in the hotel at the time of a disaster.)

Do most hotels do this?

Yes.

If I just book the room specifying 2 people and bring a 3rd is there any risk involved?

Definitely. For example that your third person will have to seek other accommodation. Hoteliers have to juggle a lot of unknowns and at times don’t live up to expectations. Given a choice between downgrading you (with financial compensation) to a double (that appears to be all that you really need) for your one night stay and turning away a large party that requires all the family rooms the hotel has for a full week including your ‘one night’ … you can predict the result!

And as mentioned by @Gagravarr, you risk being charged the (often very much higher) walk-in rate for all three.

Question

I guess this one will be hard to answer because prices vary from airport to airport, but…every time I travel friends tell me not to forget to “bring something from the free shop”.

On a general basis it would be advisable to wait for the free shop to buy things you are willing to buy?

Is the price difference really worth the risk of not finding what you are looking for at the airport? or is it just a marketing stunt to get more sales?

Answer accepted (score 24)

It depends on the item. Alcoholic spirits (whiskey etc) and tobacco are the usual items to get, since they typically are the most heavily taxed items, so can be considerably cheaper at Duty Free than in either country. Usually you’ll be able to get all of the major name-brand items, and sometimes some regional items (eg. Jenevers - Dutch gins - if in Amsterdam, or Icelandic spirit Brennivín if departing Reykjavík), but often best not to count on it.

Note that if you purchase spirits you might run into complications with regulations allowing or limiting liquids on flights. Usually you should be fine if it’s a non-stop flight, you’ll typically get the bottles in a special sealed and marked bag. But it might be trickier if the flight has transfers that include additional security checks; you may or may not have an opportunity to transfer the liquids to checked baggage.

Duty Free stores at airports also tend to have selections of perfumes, jewelry, and some electronics, but I’ve no idea how good value those are. There’s also assorted candy and gifts available. I suspect some of these are often aimed more at guilting a traveller who feels obliged to return with some sort of gift to his/her sweetie or kids rather than actually representing good value.

Found a couple of articles that seem to back up the “go for the booze and cigs” angle:

• CNN, 2009 - What’s the deal with duty-free shopping?

• Sydney Morning Hearald advises you to take local exchange rates into account also. (Suspect you may not get the best prices if flying out of somewhere that’s expensive to begin with!)

Answer 2 (score 11)

There are two kinds of taxes you can possibly avoid buying in duty free shop:

• Excise tax — this typically applies to alcohol and tobacco, in some cases perfumes (also fuel and firearms, but these aren’t sold in airports ;-)
• VAT (sales tax) — if and only if you’re traveling from EU to destination out of EU. It’s also possible to get VAT refund for stuff that you bought outside of airport, but there are restrictions.

Excise taxes vary widely, but generally they are quite high on tobacco, for example US Federal Excise Tax is $2.11 per pack of cigarettes. And there can be state excise tax on top of that. With alcohol the excise tax is calculated based on alcohol content, thus it’s higher for distilled spirits, and practically irrelevant for wine of beer. And still, even for distilled spirits it’s much less in relation to total price than in case of tobacco. Eg. US Federal Excise Tax for 750ml bottle of 80 proof spirit is $2.14.

Standard VAT ranges anywhere from 15% to 25% depending on a country.

Now for “is it cheaper” part: from my experience it’s almost always cheaper in case of cigarettes, even if you don’t get VAT return. In case of alcohol if you don’t get VAT return, than usually you can get better price at a supermarket, than the difference made by not paying excise tax. In case of not paying VAT, YMMV.

In case of all other products: even if you’re getting VAT return, still the price in airport shops is that much higher, that you’re not gaining anything at all. It’s rather kind of last resort for these who either don’t have time or simply forgot to shop for gifts.

Answer 3 (score 6)

Friends ask me to buy Tobacco at duty-free shops, since cigarettes are heavily taxed in my country (France, 80% of the price are taxes). That’s the only product I buy for friends at duty-free shops.

Lots of people don’t know that Luxury items (such as perfume, wine…) can be de-taxed (VAT) at the shop where you bought them. Ask for it and show proof you’re a foreigner. This way is cheaper than duty-free.

Local handicraft / productss tend be more expensive at duty-free shops. For example jade stones bought on a local market in China were bargains. Even Swiss chocolate “Toblerone” was more expensive at Zurich airport than the local store in France, Germany, or Los Angeles airport.

Question

I am traveling from the US to India via London Heathrow on November 6. I will be at LHR on 7th at 6:20 am and departing at 9:25 pm. I’m an Indian national and have a valid US visa.

Do I need a transit visa to stay airside?

I have been scared that British Airways have stopped a few people from boarding flights (no details just rumors).

Do I need a transit visa to stay landside? I want to do some sightseeing. What are the chances of getting past officials using transit without visa concession?

Real stories will help a lot to calm the butterflies in my stomach.

Answer accepted (score 6)

Per the page you link to, you are eligible for transit without visa (TWOV):

To be considered under this concession you must be transiting and meet the following conditions:

you must arrive and depart by air;

your onward flight must be confirmed, and must depart within 24 hours; and

you must have proper documentation for your destination, including a visa if required

As an Indian going to India, holding a valid US visa and transiting by air, you meet all the conditions. If your flights were more than 24 hours, you would have to either apply for a full transit visa, or change to flights that are under 24 hours apart so you can use TWOV.

Answer 2 (score 5)

I’m assuming from what you’ve said that you’re on your way to the US? And so your full status is an Indian passport holder, Indian resident, with a US visa en-route to the US?

If so, it looks like you should be covered by the ‘Transit without visa’ concession (scroll to near the bottom of the page and click to expand). The landside Transit without visa concession indicates that as your transit is under 24 hours, you should be allowed to exit the airside during your layover.

The key bit here is that you have a US visa, you’re en-route to the US, and your stopover is under 24 hours. If any of those weren’t the case, you’d almost certainly need a visa. For the general case, the UK Border Agency “Do I Need a Visa” website wizardy thingy can help you work it out.

Answer 3 (score 3)

I don’t think there are many scenarios in which you can get a visa on arrival in the UK. Either you need a visa and you need to apply in advance, or you qualify for some exemption/concession and you are just exempted from the visa requirement without needing to pay a fee or to follow any particular procedure.

If for some reason the UK border force denies you the right to go landside but you are already in the airport under some visa exemption rule then I don’t think there is any timely way to get a visa and I assume you have to spend the night there. It’s probably the same thing if you are denied entry despite having a visa but I would expect this to be extremely uncommon.

Furthermore, the page on airside transit also mentions a 24 hours requirement for the DATV exemption (presumably to avoid having people stuck in the airport for too long), so it does indeed seem you will need a visa in any case. You will need to get it in advance to avoid being denied boarding in Chicago.

Finally, I would assume that the 48 hours requirement is also a sharp one, which would mean that your other flight option would not only require a “visitor in transit visa” but a (more expensive) short-term visit visa, no matter whether you want to stay airside or go landside.

Info on application process and fees when applying in the US (also note the “Apply for a visa online” in the top right corner).

Question

I’m travelling to Canada

Does anyone know which prepaid SIM card has the best data plan?

In term of data usage and 3G/4G coverage. I don’t think I’m ging to need to call a lot so talk time/texting/etc. are just optional. The only thing I care is data, preferably 2GB with cheapest fee.

Answer accepted (score 8)

Here’s what the current Telco providers have for prepaid data plans (closest to 2GB):

• Rogers offers 2GB on the Talk, Text and Internet 80. $80.75/month. $0.04/mb
• Bell offers 2GB on the Prepaid - 100MB with $50 add on. $70.75/month. roughly $0.03/mb
• Chatr offers 1GB on the Canada-wide Talk & Text with $25 add on. $60.00/month. $0.06/mb
• Telus offers 400MB on the Talk + Data + Messaging 40. $40.00/month. $0.1/mb
• Fido offers 1GB on the The base Prepaid plan ($15.75) with a $30 add on. $45.75/month. $0.04/mb
• Koodo offers 1GB on the The base Prepaid plan ($15.00) with a $30 add on. $45.00/month. $0.04/mb

Answer 2 (score 2)

Bell has a 30 day pass data plan which is $35 for 5GB of data. This is $0.007/MB. Very good value. Use a SIP talk and SMS. I use Anveo, it gives you Canadian numbers that can receive SMS – you will get them in email. And can send SMS via email, too.

Wind Mobile will give you an unlimited data/text/talk plan for $35 (for more details consult the quick compare chart on the linked page) but if you go above 5GB you will be throttled. You need an AWS capable phone, there is no LTE and the coverage especially inside highrises is weaker. Wind calls prepaid “Pay Before”. They also have a Mobile Internet Plan which is only $25 for 3GB and $35 for Unlimited which is again 5GB, really.

I would go with the Bell plan if I were you or if you are really short on money then perhaps the $25 for 3GB on Wind if my device would support it. (But then again I would rather skip going to Starbucks twice to save $10.)

Question

I drove through London last week. Mostly on the the A406. I only briefly saw an announcement about the congestion fee, when entering london on the M11. I didn’t see any camera or any other signs on the road, that I actually entered the zone where I would need to pay a congestion fee. The question is, how do I see that I am entering a congestion fee area and is there a way to find out as a non resident (ie. no british license plates) if I have a bill running in the UK now?

Answer accepted (score 19)

According to http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/ , you can call them at (UK) Tel: 0333 200 1000. I can’t find a form matching your exact enquiry online. You can pay a penalty online (when you get the penalty form), or you can pay in advance, but I don’t see a way to see ‘Is there a penalty I owe I haven’t found yet?’

Short answer, you need to have “driven by” one of these signs:

Here is the actual map:

Answer 2 (score 8)

I had the problem this morning, so I called the number given above.

No, they cannot tell you whether you have to pay the fee or not. That’s what I was told on the phone. Unless you had to pay and didn’t pay, in which case they will issue you with a huge fine. At that point it’s too late.

It seems that you can pay and then complain later to get a refund, which had an administrative fee of £10 some years ago when the fee itself was less than £10, so you won’t get your money back. I couldn’t find how you go about the complaining either.

If you expect that you get into the same situation again, I think you can set up automatic payments where they take the money off you if you entered the zone.

Question

My old passport has a 2-year validity visa for DR Congo expiring on 04.06.2016. It has only two blank pages remaining, so my boss told me to obtain a new passport, which I did. Presently I am on holiday and due to go back to DR Congo on 01.05.2016.

Will the Immigration officer accept my visa if it is in my old passport?

Answer accepted (score 9)

You will need to carry both your old and new passport while traveling and immigration would have no problems with that. I have ten year and five year visas for many countries (including Canada and USA) and they are all on my old passport including an indefinite leave to remain in the UK stamp and I just carry both my passports with me.

Source : Own experience

Answer 2 (score 5)

You will have no problems . Since I travel a LOT , I need to renew my passport every year almost . I have some long term visas ( Including 10 year visa ) . I just carry the ones I need together .

Further Information regarding valid visa in expired passports :

Some countries require that you will renew the visa if the passport is changed . Most don’t . ( I never actually encountered it in case you have the old one )

That is the case for EXPIRED passport - not for LOST or DAMAGED .There is a difference.

When you renew your passport , the consulate ( or respective minister ) is obliged by international law to give you back the old one providing it has valid visas from 3rd countries . legally speaking , the visas in your passport are properties of the country that issued them, and no other entity can invalidate or destroy them .

The most common way of invalidating a passport is to cut the “ears” or corners of external cover . That way no visa is damaged .

If you do not have valid visas some entities will punch a whole through the passport and give it back if specifically ASKED to.

In most cases ( depending on country of course ) , when applying for a new passport - the old passport will be validated with some kind of a note such as " this passport is replacing an Expired document NO. XXX " of one kind or another . This ties both old and new passport together .

Some countries require further documents on arrival, such as Australia and the Airline is actually the one to prepare it .

from the Australian Consulate immigration Info page

If you have a valid visa associated with an expired passport (i.e.you have been issued with a new passport since your current valid visa was granted), you may travel carrying your old and new passports together and the airline will arrange to have the details updated at time of check-in. If so, you should check-in a little earlier to avoid delays.

So again - the direct answer - You will have no trouble as long as the visa page on old passport is valid and not physically damaged , and you have that with you on arrival .

Question

What’s the difference between MileSAAver and AAnytime reward tickets on American Airlines, once they have been booked? Do they have different cancellation or change policies, for example?

I’m looking at a situation where Economy MileSAAver tickets are unavailable for a date, but both AAnytime Economy and MileSAAver business/first tickets are available for the same number of miles. Are there any reasons why potentially I shouldn’t book the latter?

Is the situation changed if I am American Airlines Exec Platinum?

Answer accepted (score 15)

If you are choosing between a business or first MileSAAver or an economy AAnytime, the only reason to choose AAnytime is to maximize your flexibility in changing flights. An AAnytime award can be changed essentially any time until the day of departure with no penalty, provided there is a seat available, whereas to change a MileSAAver flight, there would need to be MileSAAver availability on the new flight and you would be assessed a $150 change fee.

The incidental costs and benefits at the airport would be roughly the same. But flying in the premium cabin means a better in-flight experience, and on intercontinental routes you would also be comped access to the Admirals Club.

AAnytime awards are generally treated as full-fare (Y) tickets. An AAnytime economy ticket, for example, will include two free checked bags and a Priority AAccess boarding pass. You can also request seats in the Main Cabin Extra seats or Preferred Seats for no charge. There are no fees for any changes to your flight, although there is a fee for redeposit (unless they are from an account with AAdvantage Executive Platinum status).

They differ in that award tickets of any kind cannot be endorsed, do not earn miles or Q-miles, and cannot be upgraded.

MileSAAver awards have all the above restrictions and lack all the benefits, and are subject to tight capacity controls to boot. They do incur a change fee if you alter your routing (again, unless the miles come from an Executive Platinum account), though not if you keep the same routing and merely change your travel dates. A MileSAAver economy ticket is like a discount economy ticket; it does not get the baggage and priority boarding benefits.

But as you have found, a MileSAAver business or domestic first ticket costs the same number of AAdvantage miles as an AAnytime economy ticket. Flying in a premium cabin also gets you a baggage allowance and Priority AAccess, a priority checkin line at the airport, plus an invitation to the airport club if you are on an intercontinental flight, not to mention a seat that is going to be at least as comfortable as any Preferred Seat in economy. Given my travel patterns, I will always opt for a restricted premium cabin ticket over an unrestricted main cabin ticket when they cost the same.

Question

As mentioned in another question, I’m planning on traveling with a desktop computer as checked baggage. After considering the options, I’ve decided to take it in its original cardboard box (used for shipping), making sure to pad everything inside very well.

What should I do to securely prepare the box before checking it in? Some suggestions others have given me so far:

• Spray paint the box black so it’s not obvious there’s a computer inside.
• Wrap the entire box with duct tape to reinforce it.
• Use tape to seal the “hand holes” on either side used for carrying the box.
• Run packing tape around all the edges to reinforce the box.
• Write “FRAGILE” on multiple sides of the box.

Answer accepted (score 20)

I’ve used cardboard boxes as checked luggage several times, including to transport desktop computers twice.

Most likely the airline will make you sign a waiver that you accept all responsibility for any damage, but otherwise you’ll have no issues as long as it’s within the allowed weight/size guidelines (which if it’s just a computer, it will be).

I didn’t bother with any extra padding/etc, on the basis that the original foam in the box fitted the computer perfectly. I did make a point to wrap the computer completely in plastic (eg, the plastic bags that they normally come in, or something similar) and then seal the bag with tape in an effort to make it somewhat waterproof - obviously not enough that it’s going to handle getting dunked in water, but enough that it’ll survive getting rained on whilst they are loading/unloading the plane.

Fragile stickers certainly wont hurt - I actually use “fragile” tape that you can get from Office Depot or similar and just run it around the box a few times.

If possible, try and pick flights that are on a wide-body aircraft (747, A340, etc) as cargo on those is generally treated a little better than on narrow-body aircraft where it’s manually loaded into the hold, rather than being loaded in crates.

And just remember that at the destination airport you’ll probably need to go to the “oversized” baggage area to collect it rather than getting it on the normal luggage belt.

Update: I once again traveled with a checked-in box from the USA to Australia just before Christmas. On this occasion the box was opened by the TSA for a security check - however I’m happy to say that they did an excellent job of opening and re-sealing the box. Other than the note they put in the box and the fragile tape obviously being cut there was no other indication that it had been opened. Everything was still packed exactly as I had left it, and they had sealed the box just as well as I had.

Answer 2 (score 8)

London Heathrow has a service wherein they’ll essentially wrap your box in green saran wrap (a plastic film). The idea is that it will be immediately evident to any thieves that a box has been tampered with, and thus they had be awfully sure that they want to break in before attempting.

This answer about wrapping your luggage at the airport will have more about that.

Question

I’m going to visit my boyfriend and as any girl, I want to smell nice for him. I’m flying with United, and I have an 89 ml body spray, 29 ml and 60 ml hand sanitizer. Is that allowed?

Answer accepted (score 8)

See http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/3-1-1-liquids-rule for rules about liquids when flying within the US. (The rules are set by the government, so it’s irrelevant what airline you are flying.)

Liquids in containers of volume up to 100 ml each are generally allowed, so they should be fine. You will have to take out these items, as well as any other liquids, gels, aerosols, creams or pastes in your purse or carryon luggage, and put them in a quart-size plastic bag.

You are only allowed as much liquids as will fit in the plastic bag, so if any of your items has an unusually bulky container, or you have a lot of other liquids in your carryon, you may have to put something in your checked luggage, or leave it at home.

If your flight starts outside the US, the rules may be somewhat different, as the TSA only handles airport security within the US.

Answer 2 (score 3)

Total Volume of Liquids/Gels Per Person

As Nate correctly points out in this answer, the volume of each individual container must be ≤ 100ml (3.4 fl.oz.). This raises the question of what is the total volume of liquids/gels you can carry on board? Because the volume of the bag is approximately 1000ml (≃ 34 fl.oz. ≃ 1 quart), one could easily think this is the maximum allowed volume. However, since containers rarely tessellate due to their irregular, dissimilar shapes, and because the containers themselves take up space, the actual maximum volume you can carry will equate to less than 1000ml. Therefore the answer is you can carry as many ≤ 100ml containers as you can fit in the bag, so that the bag closes correctly.

United also mentions this in their Carry-on Bag Policy webpage:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allows each traveler to carry on liquids, gels and aerosols in containers of 3.4 ounces (100 mL) or less, inside a single quart-size (liter-size) clear, sealable bag.​

International Inbound Flights

It is worthy to note that passengers on international flights connecting through the us, are allowed to carry on-board liquids in containers of volume > 100ml if they meet the following conditions, quoted from the TSA 3-1-1 Liquids Rule Webpage:

1. they are in transparent containers;
2. you bought them at a duty-free shop, and
3. the store packed them in a secure, tamper-evident bag

Question

I will be landing at New Delhi airport. The worth of new laptop (Lenovo Yoga Idea Pad 13) is about $1000 and old one (Macbook Pro) is > 1 lakh INR. I want to leave the new laptop in India. I have a copy of bill with me but not the original bill. I want to know if I have risk of being charged with custom duty.

Answer accepted (score 9)

Customs rules in India state (the ‘free allowance’ referred to is for personal items, and the duty-free allowance of alcohol cigarettes):

One laptop computer (notebook computer) over and above the said free allowances mentioned above is also allowed duty free if imported by any passenger of the age of 18 years and above.

• You can bring your new Lenovo laptop duty-free under this allowance.
• Since your Macbook was bought within India, you don’t need to pay customs duty on it. However, you may be required to provide proof that you bought it in India.

EDIT: It seems that an invoice isn’t valid as a proof of purchase. Specifically, you’d need to get an ‘export certificate’ before flying out of India.

If a passenger going abroad is taking any item (non-commercial, personal, private property) as baggage which is intended to be re-imported into India on a later date, to avoid paying Customs duty on that item during such re-importation, the passenger should ask the Customs at the departure terminal to issue an “Export Certificate” in respect of that particular item.

…

Any dutiable item, even if taken out from India, shall attract duty unless accompanied by a valid “Export Certificate” issued in the name of the passenger or in the name of any member of his/her family.

Answer 2 (score 1)

I usually bring two laptops on my return trip to India. I would declare the work laptop that I am bringing to US on the customs declaration form when entering US. (Take a photo of that for safety).

During my return to India, I usually buy one laptop for me or my friends or family and keep it with me as a carry laptop and safely cover/wind the work laptop within clothes, and put in one of the check-in bags (usually in my Samsonite hard-case for safety).

I had done this about 7 times and never questioned once in any of the airports in India. But please remember that any other combination would be questionable. i.e., Two or More new laptops as carry luggage or check-in.

Answer 3 (score 1)

I usually bring two laptops on my return trip to India. I would declare the work laptop that I am bringing to US on the customs declaration form when entering US. (Take a photo of that for safety).

During my return to India, I usually buy one laptop for me or my friends or family and keep it with me as a carry laptop and safely cover/wind the work laptop within clothes, and put in one of the check-in bags (usually in my Samsonite hard-case for safety).

I had done this about 7 times and never questioned once in any of the airports in India. But please remember that any other combination would be questionable. i.e., Two or More new laptops as carry luggage or check-in.

Question

For example, suppose that I’m going to travel London and will arrive at 10am, 1st December. And will stay a week, means will leave 10am, 8th December. Technically it’s 7 nights, but also 8 days. Should I book 7 counts(nights) or 8 counts?

Answer accepted (score 19)

Counting Nights

Accommodation bookings count the nights you spend simply because that’s what you need accommodation for: to sleep. This is based on the somewhat valid assumption that your main night time activity is sleeping.

I understand where the confusion might arise from between day and night counts. Because nights are interposed between days you think you are staying for 1 day more. However consider that usually check-in time is in the afternoon and check-out is in the morning so effectively you are occupying the accommodation for the exact numbers of hours (computed as nights * 24h) you booked it for. To this purpose consider a realistic 3 night booking with check-in at 3pm and checkout at 11am. Total booking time is 2 * 24 + 20 = 68h which is ~ 3 days.

Your 7-Night Reservation

You say you plan on arriving on the 1st December and leaving on the 8th of December. That equates to a booking of 7 nights. Since you mention an arrival time of 10am, the actual check-in time depends on the hotel/hostel. Most of these usually check guests in in the afternoon, to leave time between check-outs to clean the rooms. Check-out times tend to be before noon, for the same exact reason. To be sure, ask the hotel for specific check-in and check-out times.

However, if you arrive before your room is ready you can most definitely ask for them to keep your luggage whilst you go to the nearest pub for a good old English breakfast. This should be a free service.

As mentioned in the comments below, if you desperately need the room for 10am because you want to shower/sleep then you might have to book for an extra night (the one between the 30th November and 1st December). If you do so make sure you tell the hotel you will be arriving on the 1st rather than on the 30th, to ensure they don’t consider it a no-show and cancel your booking (most probably after charging you for the whole amount nonetheless).

Answer 2 (score 8)

Another way to think about it:

Answer 3 (score 2)

Endpoints are a common source of confusion. “Day” can mean “24-hour block” or “calendar days”. A stay that lasts exactly 7 times 24 hours will span 8 calendar days, except if you make it start exactly at midnight on a given day.

That’s why it’s much more convenient to think about “nights”. Usually a night goes from 3 or 4 PM on one day to 10 or 11 AM on the next. That’s what you are booking if you are talking about accommodation and not a full 24 hours of stay. If you want more than that (i.e. arriving early or leaving late), you might have to pay more or risk having to wait before getting to your room.

To avoid any misunderstanding, you can simply communicate that you will arrive in the afternoon on a given day and leave in the morning on another one (i.e. you are not booking the night of Monday the 24th, you are booking the night from Monday the 24th to Tuesday the 25th).

Note that packaged tours or visa forms will sometimes also mention days and usually that would include both the day your travel is starting and the day it ends, so one more than the number of nights.

Question

I’ve got two transfers between long-haul flights coming up at DXB, and I’d like to freshen up with a shower. Information on the net is outdated and contradictory, and the official site is remarkably useless. I will be in the Terminal 3 (Emirates), although I’ll do the long schlep to T1 and back if I need. I have no frequent flier lounge access.

What are my options for a shower?

Answer accepted (score 28)

I hereby present…

The Exhaustingly Exhaustive Dubai Airport Shower Guide

All prices and info accurate as of June 2014.

Marhaba lounge

The Marhaba lounge in T3 Concourse A (between gates A2/A3) has rather nice showers, easily on a par with a four-star hotel. A shower alone without lounge access costs Dhs 55 (~US$15), including towel and cosmetics kit (shampoo, body soap, toothbrush, shaving kit, etc). Just beware that in the muggy Dubai summer, even “cold” water is lukewarm, and ventilation is kind of minimal so it gets pretty sauna-like pretty fast if you shower too long. Opening the cubicle door provides rapid relief though. There might be a queue (even longer than the free shower). Overall score, 8/10.

• Full lounge access is Dhs 190 (~US$50), which gets you a buffet, internet access, and a buggy transfer to your gate as well.
• Bonus: Lounge access is free with a “Titanium, Platinum or World” MasterCard if (per the T&Cs) issued in the Middle East & Africa, although enforcement appears to be a bit loose.

Dubai International Hotel

You can take a shower at any of the many Dubai International Hotel outlets, including the one in Concourse A, for US$15. Not tested yet.

G-Force Health Club

Access to the G Force Health Club gym (including showers), at T3 Concourse B only, elevator to level 5 right opposite the elevators to the Gate A trains, can be purchased for Dhs 70 (~US$19) for 1.5 hours. The gym is basic but does the job: treadmill, stationary bike, multipurpose machine, dumbbells. The shower, on the other hand, is rather nice, the amenity pack includes everything down to Q-tips and you even get a bathrobe. Plus water is cooler and it doesn’t steam up as badly as Marhaba’s version. Overall score, 10/10!

Public showers

There are clearly signposted free public showers in Coucourse A, near gate A1 right opposite the Le Clos wine shop. These look clean but no-frills, you’ll need to bring your own towel and toiletries (there is a soap dispenser), and there was a (short) queue when I came to take a look (but it might be shorter than the Marhaba lounge). Apparently Concourse B has a similar setup at gate B13, and there are a few signs pointing the way.

Per Sleeping in Airports, the free showers in Terminal 3 can be found near these gates:

Terminal 3, between Gates A1 - A24, Gates B13 - B19 and Gates C18 and C22.

Question

I have searched for a definitive answer to this question on google but found conflicting opinions. My question and situation is as follows:

I am traveling from Ithaca, NY to Detroit, MI and back later this month. I am a big fan of weightlifting and am staying in Ann Arbor, MI to work in U Michigan Ann Arbor for a few days. I intend to buy a week pass to the gym and do some powerlifting in addition to work.

I am wondering if I could bring a zip lock bag of whey protein powder with me as part of my carry on and if anyone has had any similar experiences regarding this situation.

Answer accepted (score 13)

Yes, you are fine bringing a bag of protein powder in your carry-on. The TSA requires food (which it would probably be considered) to be wrapped and to be sent through the X-ray machine at the security checkpoint, but so long as it is not a liquid or gel it isn’t banned.

Note that, especially since it won’t be in its original container, they may want to sample it for testing. The same goes for any powder (e.g. powder makeup, sugar, dietary fiber supplements, talcum, Gatorade). It goes without saying that powders which are hazardous materials (e.g. explosive or corrosive) are banned of course.

Answer 2 (score 1)

I’ve done this…mostly. At the last minute, I thought about a big bag of unidentified powder, and stuffed the whole bag in a smaller empty protein powder container. It didn’t even matter that it was a different powder from the one I was taking (which had a much larger canister) - the packaging let it go through without difficulty.

Stories I’ve head say it should be alright, with the caveat unlabeled bags or homemade packaging might leave you subject to a touch more scrutiny, and labeled packages less (irregardless of actual content) - and they’ve included such items as protein powder, sacred ash, or powdered herbal remedies. As long as you’re willing to lose a bit of time and a sample if they notice and ask, it should get through fine.

Question

On US interstates, there are weigh stations for trucks.

Are they for trucks only? What are the exact categories of vehicles that must/may enter?

• If I rented a UHaul or Penske truck, would I be required to enter into an open weigh station? I know that, when a speed limit sign says 70 Trucks 60, UHaul, Penske or large motorhomes are limited to 60 mph. Does that mean that they also need to submit to weigh stations?

• If I drove a 30 - 50 ft motor-home, would I need to go through the weigh station?

What dimensions or attributes of a vehicle would require it to submit to weigh stations?

Answer accepted (score 15)

The short answer is yes, larger trucks like moving trucks will be required to go through a weigh station in some states; AAA has a guide to weigh station requirements in Canada and the United States, and you should also ask the agency you are renting from.

You will not necessarily have to stop at the weigh station for an inspection, as modern weigh stations have rolling scales— or you may simply be waved through by the agent or officer. Sometimes, there is even a special lane for moving trucks. But it is better to be safe than sorry, as the ticket for failing to stop at a weigh station when required can be costly.

To generalize, most states require only 1) commercial vehicles, of which your rented moving truck or pickup would not be included, and 2) vehicles over a certain weight, again, which your rented moving truck or pickup is unlikely to exceed, to stop at weigh stations. Some explicitly include or exclude trailers, motor homes / recreational vehicles (RVs), or campers.

The most common limits are 8,000, 10,000 lbs and 26,000 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). It is extremely unlikely that a motorhome or a moving truck of personal goods would exceed 26,000 lbs., which is a common level at which a commercial driver’s license is required.

But many of the larger trucks you can rent from Penske, U-Haul, and so forth would fall under the regulation. The Movers.com Weigh Stations page offers the following table of approximate gross vehicle weights:

• 14-foot has GVW of 14,050 pounds
• 17-foot has GVW of 14,050 pounds
• 24-foot has GVW of 18,000 pounds
• 26-foot has GVW of 20,000 pounds

Answer 2 (score 2)

My parents used to rent Ryder trucks, and then Budget trucks, once Ryder went commercial only, between 1983 and 2007. We would tell all of our customers to stop at all weigh stations.
More currently, though, in the state of California, ANY vehicle weighing more than 10,000 pounds HAS to go over the weigh station. This includes any motor homes, rental trucks, commercial trucks, and pickups that weigh that much or more.
Although, I know that the weight is going down to include some pickups and smaller trucks starting in January, 2016.
I know I’m late to the conversation here, but I hope I was helpful.

Source- California Highway Patrol V C 34501.12 if you really want to read all of the legal jargon

Answer 3 (score 2)

My parents used to rent Ryder trucks, and then Budget trucks, once Ryder went commercial only, between 1983 and 2007. We would tell all of our customers to stop at all weigh stations.
More currently, though, in the state of California, ANY vehicle weighing more than 10,000 pounds HAS to go over the weigh station. This includes any motor homes, rental trucks, commercial trucks, and pickups that weigh that much or more.
Although, I know that the weight is going down to include some pickups and smaller trucks starting in January, 2016.
I know I’m late to the conversation here, but I hope I was helpful.

Source- California Highway Patrol V C 34501.12 if you really want to read all of the legal jargon

Question

Suppose that:

• I have both valid US & Schengen visas
• I am a savvy backpacker with a preference for economical travel
• I have no fixed schedule to meet. A longer travel time is even better.
• Any European port (of Schengen country) is okay.

Answer accepted (score 9)

Mouvicels answer is correct. I’d like to add a bit more on freighter travel. Although I have no personal experience with it, I think it’s an interesting option that I would certainly like to try out some day. The information below is fully based on what I have read on the internet.

In freighter travel, you get to travel on-board a freighter. Those freighters take only a handful of passengers, typically a dozen or so. You need to entertain yourself. The freighter has a particular route and you can join either the whole way, or from port to port. You may need to pay a not inconsiderable amount of money to use such an unusual port of entry in the United States. Your luck is that transatlantic freighter travel is one of the most popular routes.

You might pay around US1500.Thiscannotbedirectlycomparedagainstanairfare, becauseforthispriceincludesallmealsandlodging.Forsomeroutes, thepricesareinUS/day plus a base fee.

It will probably take between 8 and 12 days.

Some sources for freighter travel:

• Wikivoyage on freighter travel. It countains a lot of practical information and further links.
• An overview of trans-atlantic routes. You have the choice between the North Atlantic (e.g. UK - New York), the Mediterranean (southern Europe - USA), or to travel to the Caribbean.

Answer 2 (score 11)

The two main options that I am aware of are:

• The Queen Mary 2, the only regular transatlantic passenger line,

• Freighter travel, which is not cheap either.

I would not be surprised if you could join a crew aboard a luxury yacht in Monaco going to the Caribean for the winter. For example, Cruisers forum has a Crew wanted section. In that case, you get paid for the experience.

Answer 3 (score 9)

Mouvicels answer is correct. I’d like to add a bit more on freighter travel. Although I have no personal experience with it, I think it’s an interesting option that I would certainly like to try out some day. The information below is fully based on what I have read on the internet.

In freighter travel, you get to travel on-board a freighter. Those freighters take only a handful of passengers, typically a dozen or so. You need to entertain yourself. The freighter has a particular route and you can join either the whole way, or from port to port. You may need to pay a not inconsiderable amount of money to use such an unusual port of entry in the United States. Your luck is that transatlantic freighter travel is one of the most popular routes.

You might pay around US1500.Thiscannotbedirectlycomparedagainstanairfare, becauseforthispriceincludesallmealsandlodging.Forsomeroutes, thepricesareinUS/day plus a base fee.

It will probably take between 8 and 12 days.

Some sources for freighter travel:

• Wikivoyage on freighter travel. It countains a lot of practical information and further links.
• An overview of trans-atlantic routes. You have the choice between the North Atlantic (e.g. UK - New York), the Mediterranean (southern Europe - USA), or to travel to the Caribbean.

Question

As an Indian I have grown up in Delhi using water to wash after using the toilet instead of toilet paper. In Indian culture this is considered a cleaner practice because of the use of water in order to wash the privates instead of toilet paper which may leave a residue.

Although I was able to comfortably adjust with the toilet paper system, many Indian people find it quite difficult and “dirty”.

Are there any tips for a traveler to appropriately conduct themselves while fulfilling their wish of using water instead of toilet paper. I have heard of several people carrying PET bottles to the washroom in Western countries due to lack to tap and jug or hand shower, but I feel this is even worse and inappropriate as well.

Answer accepted (score 18)

This may not be exactly what you are looking for, but it will be better than just dry toilet paper. Wet wipes are sold in most grocery/sundries stores in the baby section. They can even be purchased in small packages which are made to fit in a purse and some of them are specifically sold as being flushable (i.e. it’s ok to just throw them in the toilet afterwards). I usually take some of these along for hiking/camping trips when I’m not sure how long I’ll have to go without a shower.

Answer 2 (score 9)

Many of my Japanese colleagues (as well as Indian colleagues) usually prefer to stay in hotels that provide bidet toilet pots. If that is not available then most will keep an empty bottle in their bathrooms. I can say this for sure about my buddies from the Middle East, India and Asia in general. It is fairly common to instruct house keeping not to dispose of the bottles from the bathroom. Or they will keep a glass which is washed regularly

If one really needs to relieve themselves in a public bathroom, IMO, it is alright to take a PET bottle along with oneself. I have given away many of my used soda bottles to colleagues in emergencies. Even in public toilets I haven’t seen anyone bat an eyelid if someone takes in a bottle of water with them. Just don’t leave the place wet and soggy. If a bottle isn’t available most people will simply wet some tissue paper at the sink and take it along with them as apparently cleaning with toilet paper will never give the feeling of clean to most people not used to it.

Answer 3 (score 4)

Get a Hand Bidet Sprayer @ www.bathroomsprayers.com and then you can clean with water conveniently. Nothing you can do about a public toilet but as soon as you get home you’ll be all set and your visiting guests will be much happier also!

Question

On an upcoming trip, I will be taking a desktop computer and monitor as checked luggage (on a United/Continental flight). What should I be aware of when doing this? What needs to be done to properly protect all the components? Are there any airline policies I should be aware of?

Answer accepted (score 34)

A friend recently did this, flying from LON (London) to SYD (Sydney).

I went shopping with him and found a hard-shell suitcase. They’re surprisingly light, and Samsonite has claimed theirs is “strong enough to stand on”.

We then removed his harddisk drive. This is the most valuable and most fragile part of the computer. It’s also feasible to do the same with the sticks of RAM and other parts, but the harddrive is the critical bit.

This was packed in an anti-static bag, and bubble wrapped, and I believe he actually took it on his carry-on to make sure he had it safe at all times.

Aside from that, you check the suitcase in just as per normal. I’d perhaps put some jerseys or other clothes in the suitcase with the computer to try and give it just that extra bit of protection, and to prevent it from sliding around too much if it’s not an exact fit.

Answer 2 (score 7)

I personally would take some precautions. First of all, make a backup of your data. Leave on in your home and take another one with you so that you can use it in your destination place. Then when transporting a desktop computer, the most fragile part is almost always the hard disk drive. So I would dismount it if possible and take it into your cabin luggage. You could also do this for other sensible parts like for example other drives, the processor, or the RAM bars. This I would pack into anti-static bags and take it into the cabin.

The tower itself you can put into protected pc transporting bags like this one. This bag will be checked so that you can’t smuggle and weapons or drugs. But you shouldn’t normally fear that this will damage your computer.

And last but not least, you could also think about sending your computer with a carrier. I quote this from a message board:

Send it via a Secured Carrier, RPS(Royal Packaging Service), Which Delivers Things in the most pristine state Possible. Door to door Service, White glove care. But i warn you, Its pricey. 15lb = $200/USD.

Answer 3 (score 5)

I must take George’s comment to an answer because it’s too important: depending on the kind, the heatsink may need to be removed. Apply common sense / guess the centre of gravity. If it looks like this:

it very likely will cause no problems. If it looks like this:

you definitely do not want that bumping around.

Question

I’m travelling soon but need to renew my passport.

Given that I have to provide my passport number to the airline to book a flight, I was wondering if my passport number would change if I renew it.

Or would the number stay the same and the expiry date just change?

I’m asking specifically as an Australian citizen, although I suspect a ‘common’ answer (if there is a general way this works) might be useful too.

Answer accepted (score 52)

All biometric passports have serial numbers that change when issued. Per this notice from the Singaporean government, this is an ICAO requirement: https://www.ica.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=12246

And since virtually all passports are now biometric, even those countries (like Singapore) that did not previously change numbers do so now.

Update: Here’s Document 9303-4 “Specifications for Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) and other TD3 Size MRTDs” direct from the ICAO Machine Readable Travel Documents Programme:

Field 05/I (Mandatory)

Passport Number

As given by the issuing State or organization to uniquely identify the document from all other MRTDs [machine readable travel documents] issued by the State or organization.

“Uniquely identify the document” means that the number cannot be reused for other documents. And of course it’s only a “recommendation”, because ICAO only sets standards and does not enforce them – but if countries produce passports that don’t follow the rules, they’re not going to be accepted by other countries. In particular, ICAO member states are supposed to ensure that non-MRP passports are no longer accepted after November 24, 2015.

And a final nit: the standard above is technically for machine-readable passports, which is not quite the same thing as biometric passports, but the standard in question does document the rules of biometric passports, and all biometric passports are supposed to follow the rule above.

Answer 2 (score 37)

I called the Australian Passport Office, as I couldn’t find this information anywhere on their website.

They confirmed that passport numbers do indeed change both at a renewal and also at a passport reissue due to name change.

Obviously this only applies for Australian passports; I’m unaware of whether this is a general rule for other countries.

Answer 3 (score 13)

Yes the passport number changes upon renewal. The new passport will have it’s own unique identifier i.e. its own passport number. This is a common practice. The old passport number will be invalidated and will appear as such when checked by border officers if you try to use it to travel.

As an authoritative reference, the British embassy in Bern confirms this:

Informative Note

Passport numbers change upon renewal

To whom it may concern:

This is to confirm that when a British passport is issued it carries a new number which is not related to the number of any previous passport. The British Embassy is not able to provide a letter or certificate confirming the passport numbers.

Question

If I book my flight through Expedia, can the airline make changes to that reservation (e.g. if I wanted to change my return date), or do I have to call Expedia directly?

Answer accepted (score 12)

Yes, the airline can make changes to a ticket issued by a 3rd party.

Whether they will make changes is a different matter.

In general, the ticket is deemed to be ‘owned’ by whoever booked it - generally either the airline itself, or a 3rd party travel agency. That party is the one that has been paid to issue the ticket, and is generally responsible for making any changes at least up until the start of the first flight.

So in general, any changes - at least before the start of travel - will need to be made by Expedia.

Some airlines do give you the option for them to “take over” the ticket so that they can make changes, however (at least in the US) they will generally charge you for doing this. eg, the United Airlines Contract of Carriage states :

UA will assess a 50.00 USD/50.00 CAD fee to assist with a voluntary change on tickets originally issued via any external ticketing source (travel agency, internet agency, other airline, etc.). The fee is non-refundable and applies in addition to all applicable charges.

American Airlines call it a “External Reservation Handling Charge”, along with a US$25-35 fee.

This fee may be waived if you are a high-level frequent flyer, or potentially if you are on a high fare ticket - but often that’s at the discretion of the phone agent.

You can always try calling the airline, especially as every airline has slightly different policies, but for something like a change of date of a flight I would not expect them to assist you without paying this fee. If your travel has already commenced then you might have more success.

Answer 2 (score 10)

According to Expedia’s FAQ

Major Airlines

If your travel plans change and you need a different flight than what you originally booked, please consider the following:

The airlines will assess a fee for most changes to your flights. The change fee varies, but a typical change fee is $150 for within the United States, and $200 for international flights. This fee will be passed on to you. When changing your reservation, the new flights selected must be on the same airline. It may be helpful to familiarize yourself with the alternative flights available prior to calling. If there are differences in the airfare between the flights originally booked and the new flights selected, the difference will be charged to you. Most airlines do not allow changes to the names of the travelers originally booked without incurring a change fee.
To change your flight reservation, please contact us. Find your contact method below and provide your travel details to expedite your service.

If your flight is part of a Vacation Package booking, please read How do I change or cancel a Vacation Package? for assistance from an Expedia Vacation Package agent.

Low-Cost Carriers

For flight changes or corrections on our Low-Cost Carrier airlines, view our FAQ for the specific airline below or go directly to their Web site and click “Manage my Booking/Trip.” Because Expedia cannot access the booking systems of Low-Cost Carriers, Expedia Customer Support cannot make modifications to Low-Cost Carrier reservations, even if they were booked on Expedia.

To access your flight details on the airline’s website, you may need to set up an account using the same email address you used to book your flight on Expedia and/or provide your airline booking confirmation code.

Question

Is there any specific limit of money you can carry on cash while flying from one European Union country to another?

Answer accepted (score 24)

There seems to be no limit as such.

However if you carry more than 10’000 €, you might have to declare it depending on the country.

For example in Germany, you are to declare it when orally asked to do so. For the UK on the other hand, there seems to be no need to do so.

So if you consider taking more than 10’000 €, you should check the rules for the specific country you are flying to.

Answer 2 (score 19)

Assuming a maximum luggage allowance of 20kg, and that the weight of 1m EUR is about 2kg. Then we are talking about 10 million Euros. :D

Of course that is assuming that you are too poor to pay for extra allowance.

Answer 3 (score 9)

Apart of regulations mentioned by drat, EU also has anti-money laundering laws. They apply regardless if you travel internationally or not.

The EU directive 2005/60/EC “on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing” tries to prevent such crime by requiring banks, real estate agents and many more companies to investigate and report usage of cash in excess of €15,000

How this directive is implemented in practice depends on each member state.

Question

I stumbled across a discussion yesterday where industry insiders share tips relating to their respective fields. Someone who works in e-commerce stated :

“When purchasing items on the internet (especially airline tickets), use incognito mode on your browser. We use your own cookies against you: raising the price on tickets the more times you check, as you shop around for better deals. That way you’ll think the price is going up or that seats are being actively sold - thus increasing your urgency to buy, and punishing you for trying to get a good deal.”

and

“The point is that it’s not enough to just shop around to different websites on your own computer anymore. You have to shop around with a clean browser, different browsers, different computers, change of IP, maybe try from work then RDP to your home computer or somebody on the other side of the country, etc. Also, always call the airline directly and check on the price - sometimes it’s much cheaper.”

Do these tactics indeed work when purchasing tickets online?

Answer accepted (score 19)

Yes, these tactics do work. I have experienced, for example, the rising price effect when refreshing a browser window with an itinerary already listed. After the refresh, the price has increased. I opened another browser (Chrome), did the same search and the price was the initial lower price. I refreshed, and the price went up to match that of the original browser (Safari).

If I searched a site or airline site located in a specific country from another country, the price was higher. If I used my VPN to appear as though I am in the country, the price was lower.

This has occurred on Airline specific sites, like AA.com, aircanada.com, flychinaeastern.com, airasia.com, etc., as well as search engines like vayama.com, hipmunk.com. If the price itself hasn’t gone up, what happens is that the seat I was looking at supposedly sold out, so I had to look for a different seat, or date. But as I said, doing the same search with a different browser would always return that initial lower price.

That said, this is a lot of rigamarole to go through, and most prices increases were only a couple hundred dollars. If you consider that you might spend several days doing this, you will experience a genuine price increase of more than a couple hundred dollars related to how close you are to the departure date.

I fly several times a year and this always occurs. Of course, my itinerary doesn’t change much so I recognize a good deal when it pops up, and just buy it rather than do all the above.

Answer 2 (score 12)

The French administration in charge of enforcing trade and advertisement regulations (DGCCRF) and the observatory of data privacy (CNIL) held an investigation on IP tracking on an unspecified set of vendors of train and flight tickets operating in France. Their conclusion was that they could not find any evidence that prices would rise when you check the same site multiple times.

They did however find evidence that prices would sometimes depend on what other sites you had visited before. In particular, if you visited a price comparison site, you are more likely to be offered a cheaper advertised price but with higher fees added when ordering the ticket.

Additionally the price of a ticket depends, sometimes openly (if you dive into the small print), on the time at which you buy the ticket — it seems that booking at 4am is cheaper than booking at 11pm.

Question

I will be visiting California and some parts of the US West Coast in the coming September. I’d like to rent a car for travelling, and to reduce travel expenses I would like to sleep in it some nights. I’ve already done it on a past trip to Iceland and I’m accustomed to it.

• Is it legal to sleep in the car during the night in California and USA in general?
• Is is generally safe to sleep in the car during the night? I’ll be traveling around LA and San Francisco.

I’m an Italian citizen and never been to USA before, if that matters.

Answer accepted (score 30)

The area you will cover is a bit broad but there are generally rules that you can follow:

1. If you see the No Overnight Parking sign that has an obvious meaning.
2. There are plenty of roadside motels and camping grounds where you can park overnight and sleep.
3. The municipalities may institute their own rules for overnight parking and sleeping in cars so when you enter one you should check for signs that may indicate possibility of overnight parking.
4. If you need to sleep on a highway find a parking area rather than the side of the road.

Now for more details you should provide more exact places you will be visiting and routes you will be taking because between San Francisco and LA is about 400 miles/650km by the shortest route and for example Greater Los Angeles Area is about 85,000 Sq/km with about 18 million people and a large number of individual municipalities. San Francisco adds a bunch more

Answer 2 (score 28)

California has some rigorous laws against vagrancy and homelessness and depending upon local ordinances or just plain bad luck you could be in for a nightmare. If you have to do it, try to be outside the city limits.

Based upon what you wrote, you will most likely have a license plate that identifies a rent-a-car. That will flag up as unusual for anybody who takes notice, like the police. It means it will be more difficult to ‘blend in’. That might be enough for an alert cop to justify checking you out on ‘probable cause’.

Someone could report, for example, that you appear to be an unresponsive person inside a vehicle, and that will bring the police to check you out.

Or alternatively, a local whacko might decide you’d be better off without that shiny new car, your cash and valuables; and in the best outcome the police will show up and start asking questions. In the worst outcome, you’re dead so it’s a moot point.

If you get caught, you’ll have to demonstrate that you’re not ‘homeless’ and not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and most awkwardly, that you’re not soliciting for prostitution. If they are not satisfied, it’s off to the nick with you. If they see you have an Italian passport, DHS will get involved.

And heaven help you if there was a violent crime in the area and they are sweeping the area.

READ THE LAWS: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/PEN/3/1/15/2/s647

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disorderly_conduct

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loitering

You also need to read the fine print on your rent-a-car agreement. If they disallow sleeping overnight, the contract may become invalid, and then the attached insurance and what-not might be invalidated, and that means you are in a big time problem if you get caught.

Other than that, fine!

Answer 3 (score 22)

Don’t sleep in your car in cities and suburbs in California. Most have local laws covering this, and I wouldn’t consider it safe, especially in a new-looking car.

Consider getting out of the cities (which can be very unfriendly places) to smaller towns and more countryside. There can often be free camping spots in parks.

One resource for free camping is Freecampsites.net. Be aware that some of the listings may be only for those camping in RV’s (campervans). Tourist offices, especially in small towns, may be able to point you to other suitable places.

In short, if you’re going to camp, look for a place to camp that is designed for it. It is often free or cheap.

Question

I have an overnight layover as part of a single itinerary. Does the airline store the checked luggage overnight, or make me pick it up and then re-check it?

If they store it and I needed access to the luggage, can this be arranged at the time of check in?

If instead I don’t need to access my luggage and don’t want to deal with storing it, can I ask the airline to keep my luggage for me?

Answer accepted (score 9)

The simple answer is, it depends! Each airline, and even sometimes each airport, will have different rules about what is and is not allowed.

As a general rule, most airlines will NOT automatically check your luggage through for an overnight connection. You will normally need collect your luggage when you land, and re-check it the following morning. This is normally a good thing as it allows you access to your luggage for your overnight stay.

However this is not true for all airlines - some WILL check your luggage through, especially for short overnight stays (eg, arrive 11:30pm, depart 5:30am).

The only way to find out exactly what they are going to do is to ask the airline, and even then you might find that when you get to the airport they proceed to do something different anyway!

If you want access to your luggage at the stopover point then basically all airlines will honor such a request at check-in. This is called “short-checking”, and although not all airlines will do it in a general sense, they all should for an overnight layover.

If you want them to keep your luggage overnight, then it may be a bit more of a struggle. Some airlines, and even some airports, have policies that they simply will not do this - so whilst you can ask, be ready for a refusal. The one time you may be able to talk them into doing this where they otherwise refuse is if you are not able to go through passport control at the connecting country (eg, you don’t have a visa), in which case you will not be able collect your luggage - in this case they may be more willing to check it all the way through, however I would not bet on this always being successful.

Answer 2 (score 2)

Does the airline store the luggage overnight?

It depends. If your bags are checked through to your final destination then they will ‘store’ your baggage overnight.

If you bags aren’t checked through to your final destination then you will need to pick them up at the layover destination’s baggage carousel and retain them until you can check them in again (4-5 hours before your next flight).

If one needed access to the luggage, could this be arranged at the time of check in?

Yes, just have them check your bag only to your layover destination. You will have to claim your bag at the baggage carousel and check it back in as early as 4-5 hours before your next flight.

Answer 3 (score 1)

At check-in, the ticketing agent usually tells you if the luggage is checked all the way through or not. There is no fixed rule that applies to all cases.

If it is checked all the way through, meaning they expect you to pick it up at your final destination and that is not what you want, ask for the luggage checked to the stop you want to access your luggage. In most cases, this will be possible but you must ask at check-in time. Once a piece of luggage is tagged with its destination, this will be unlikely to be changed.

If they say it is not checked all the way through, you must pickup your luggage and check it in again. This happens depending on the route and airlines involved and you rarely have the option not to do this. For example, if you have a domestic flight following an international one, there is often the requirement to get the luggage through customs yourself and re-check it in.

Now, if you are checked-in for the later half of your route but your luggage is not, you have to go to the airline counter if it was tagged only to your stop. If it was tagged all the way but you had to pick it up at the stop, then you may hand it to a designated baggage drop-off point instead. They will often pass the whole thing through an X-ray machine or manual inspection again at that point. Stay there until someone responsible tells you it is OK.

Question

I have flight where I need to move from airplane to another. Do I need to check out my luggage and then check it in again, or will it be automatically transferred to another plane?

Answer accepted (score 22)

That depends. If you booked the flights together at the same time, luggage will usually be “checked through” to your final destination. If you booked them separately, especially if it’s different airlines, you’ll probably have to pick up your luggage and check it in again.

In any case, the airline employee at your original checkin can tell you whether your luggage is checked through - they’ll often ask you themselves to confirm whether you want that.

Answer 2 (score 12)

Usually, an airline checks luggage to the final desination when transfers occurs. On a same booking, as already said, there are many chances your luggage goes on through to the next plane.

Exceptions :

• Separate reservations on different airlines

• Airport change during a transfer : you will need to bring the luggage with you during the required ground transportation

• Transfer from an international inbound flight to a domestic outbound flight : since this is your entry point into the country, you will have to pick your bags, clear the customs then re-check them right after. This is the case at least in the USA, and depends on the countries. In Europe Schengen space, it did not happen when flying MIA -> FRA -> CDG although FRA is the entry point into Schengen space.

Question

Can i take an external USB drive with me on an international flight? Do they open or scan it, or go through its contents at an airport or during a customs security check? If it is allowed, do I have to carry it in my hand luggage or should I put it in my suit case?

Answer accepted (score 17)

Yes, you can. Pretty much every time I travel by plane I carry one or more external hard disks in my hand luggage. This has never been an issue, to the extent that, on occasion, my luggage does get searched by hand, as opposed to just by machine.

I very much advise against putting a hard disk, or any sensitive electronics for that matter, in checked-in luggage. The risk of it getting damaged is too high. And, airlines don’t take responsibility for damaging such things when in checked-in luggage.

Answer 2 (score 13)

There are no restrictions on portable hard drives. You can carry as many as you like in your carry-on luggage.

All luggage is subject to search and inspection. Your hard drives are not physically opened and searched; however customs officials have the right to plug your drive in and search its contents for illegal material.

If they do this, depends entirely on the border you are crossing. I have been stopped at the Saudi border while they plugged in my hard disks (and, oddly, my xbox) to verify its contents.

I have traveled multiple times to Europe and South Asia without anyone blinking an eye.

Yet, my brother returning to the US after summer break for college had his laptop, external drives and phone checked.

Answer 3 (score 4)

With some “minor” exceptions, this is trouble-free. You are perfectly allowed to take a harddisk, however there is of course a but (that had to come!).

First, what you can take aboard is defined by the IATA guidelines (which are pretty liberal, you could even carry a knife if you have a justifiable reason (tool) as well as other pretty dangerous things)

.. and now it comes…

plus
any local laws (which are pretty restrictive after 2001, and getting worse)
plus
any arbitrary, haphazard change-without-notice rules set up by the respective airport
subject to
the controlling officer’s discretionary power.

The officer does not have the right to confiscate your possessions or look what’s on your harddisk (though of course it will be x-rayed, which is harmless) or anything of that kind but in an increasing number of rogue nations they do that anyway, and you are wise if you do not oppose to that.

Also note that “officer’s discretionary power” means as much as: “fuck you, fuck your rights, and fuck the rights you think you have”. Officer says you don’t pass – you don’t pass. So, if being stranded is not a viable option, well… you know.

Second, there is customs/immigration. They are the much more serious threat.

Customs may want money for goods that you import, but more importantly they also check that you do not have anything illegal on you. Now that is not a problem because you aren’t a smuggler or a criminal, right? You can be very wrong about that. Very innocent things can cause great grief (try your luck with a harmless salami in your bag in Singapore, or rather… if you are wise, you don’t try).

You definitively want to read up-front if some kind of material (“porno” as well as anything related to sexuality (condoms, lingerie, dildos) comes to mind, but even things like “music”, “political texts” or “CDs” or “chewing gum” can be illegal!) is forbidden in your destination.
Be positively sure that no similar material is on that harddisk, or check the destination country’s import restrictions that it’s allowed.

At immigration, you may very well have some guy copy the contents of your harddisk under some premise (terror, espionage, … pick one). That shouldn’t be legal, but it certainly is. And you bet that you don’t want to know what happens if you refuse.

What’s probably worst, you cannot back off. If the security guy doesn’t like you, then in the very worst case you walk away. Fly another day.
The moment the customs officer says “let me see that bag” or the spy guy wants the data on your disk, you already have entered the territory and now it’s too late. You are now subject to their legislation, there is no going back. Now you can only hope you did your homework right, and they’re not finding anything illegal.

Customs do not normally (in some places they do, but usually not) search everybody. Checked-in luggage is in most places routinely x-rayed and searched with drug hounds (especially thoroughly on flights from particular origins) without you knowing, and before you even get to pick it up again. Getting your hand luggage searched, however, is rather unusual unless, I guess, you look like a criminal (I remember having that happen once in 30 years).

Depending on the location, you are either waved through right away (or officers are sleeping) unless you look suspicious, or being questioned in a standardized manner, and if the answer to every question was “No”, you get an “OK, welcome Sir” (that’s my experience anyway, your mileage may vary).
In any case, you definitely want to be truthful in your answers, for the odd chance that they do want to see.

If you are caught lying, the consequences are… well, let’s say you don’t want that to happen. Lying to the security guy and being caught is mildly embarrassing and means you miss your plane. Lying to a customs/immigration officer means you pay a 4-digit fine in the best case, or, in the worst case, spend 6 weeks awaiting your trial in a prison cell with 15 inmates and 10 rats (depending on where you are).

Question

Is there a way to automatically search and request a ride when there’s no cars available for a ride at the moment. In case I’m flexible with my time, and can tolerate an hour or two of waiting.

Other than constantly staring at the app? Is there third-party app maybe?

Answer accepted (score 13)

In general, your best bet in a situation like this is to give up on Uber.

You can try other ride-sharing services like Lyft, or one of the many local alternatives, such as Juno in New York.

But in many cases, if you don’t see anything on one ride sharing app, you won’t see anything on the others either. In this case, your best bet is to pick up the phone and call a good old fashioned taxi service. Google and Yelp should have plenty of listings. Pick one with a few decent reviews or ratings, make a phone call, and be on your way.

Answer 2 (score 5)

Uber is about to launch a scheduled rides service. Details are available here and here. What might be possible, if you can sign up to this service, is to just schedule a ride an hour from now if you can’t find any cars available.

An alternative way that might work, is to move your pin to a nearby area with a car available. Call an Uber and when you get a ride, call the driver and say you’re in another location and will he still pick you up. If no, then you’d cancel the ride.

Answer 3 (score 4)

If you want to stick to uber, you will simply have to play the waiting game. Yes, you will have to keep watching and book as soon as you see a cab (you don’t want to lose out to others in the same area in the same situation). If you are in a downtown area, the situation will pass in a matter of minutes because one or the other uber cab will come close by to drop someone else. It can get tricky if you are in a “remote” area with ubers plying rarely. You can also try competing cab aggregator apps servicing your area. They should work with different cabs, so your probability of success should increase. Source: My experience with uber.

Question

When traveling for an extensive period of time, you may need to get a haircut in a country where you do not speak the language.

I usually get a machine haircut and just saying or showing the number (length) is easy enough (you would think).

However while in the UK I usually get a ‘five’ and that also works in the United States and many countries in Asia, the same length in Germany is a ‘twelve’.

I just came back from a haircut here in Morocco and it seems they are using ‘the Spanish system’ and what seems to be the same length of hair cut was a ‘two’.

Is there a system behind this madness? What do these numbers actually mean?

Is there a table somewhere online that compares the different numbers and lists the countries they are used in?

Answer accepted (score 10)

In Spanish Wikipedia, Hair clipper article has an explanation about that. I’m Spanish and I have always seen this system:

(roughly translated)

Each number means 3 mm or 1/8 inches (= 3,175 mm).

Number 1: 3 mm - 1/8“.
Number 2: 6 mm - 2/8” (1/4“).
Number 3: 9 mm - 3/8”.
Number 4: 12 mm - 4/8" (1/2“).
Number 5: 15 mm - 5/8”.
Number 6: 18 mm - 6/8" (3/4“).
Number 7: 21 mm - 7/8”.

Now I’m living in Italy and I bought here an electric clipper (Philips) that uses this same system.

If you went to Morocco and they used this system and nº2 is equivalent to a UK&US 5, it’s pretty probable that you measure it in millimeters (maybe you already know it, anyway it is only my guess), but I have no idea what German number (12) can mean.

Maybe people from these countries can tell us how many millimeters it is “a number”.

EDIT: Unfortunately I can’t speak German but I have googled for understanding UK & US notation and I have found this web. It seems to be American and, although it depends of the clipper brand, as an example this is the representation:

Blade - Length:
00000 - 1/125“
0000 - 1/100”
000 - 1/50“
0A - 3/64”
1 - 3/32“
1A - 1/8”
1.5 - 5/32“
2 - 1/4”
3.5 - 3/8“
3.75 - 1/2”

So my supposition above was wrong.

This other page, maybe American too, or perhaps international, shows a system like the Spanish one.

Answer 2 (score 5)

What I usually do is use pictures instead. The next time you get a good haircut, ask a friend to take a few pictures of your head or take some selfies. Then every time you go to a barber shop in any country show them these pictures and they will know what to do. A lot more reliable than trying to guess the local number system :)

Answer 3 (score 2)

This is a very old question but the truth is there is no real answer

All counties have different systems, having said that all (usually) follow a simple rule - which do they use day to day? imperial or metric? If its metric its 3mm per grade and 1/8 if imperial. This is the only answer to this kind of travel problem without listing every single country

Overall the best way of dealing with with this problem is to show them a photo

If you like this please also like @machlas answer as its absolutely correct (as far as it can be) but offers no solution to the problem - so while it doesn’t answer the question you should take a photo if you are unsure and think you will stay long enough to need a haircut

Question

I’m taking some freeze-sensitive items in a checked luggage for a short flight. It’s cheese, chocolate, toothpaste and wine. I would like to know whether the luggage can get “frozen” in the aircraft. Sometimes it happened to me that my stuff actually was quite cold after the flight, so I’d like to be quite sure. Especially the cheese was really expensive and freezing it would very likely demage it.

Usually I pack everything well in clothes, but this time the things are just too many so it’s tough to do more than just protect the wine from breaking.

Some details: It’s an A320 flight taking 1.5 hours, with Czech Airlines, from Paris CDG to Prague PRG.

Answer accepted (score 35)

On an aircraft like one you’re on, it’s interesting to realise that the cargo hold is actually pressurised, just like the cabin. (The floor between the two is not a pressure bulkhead, so needs to be roughly the same or it could collapse from the pressure.

However, as you’ve observed, the temperature is often cold as while the cabin is warmed, the cargo hold usually is not.

From a similar plane (767) and written by a A320 pilot:

Conditioned air is directed from the cabin, so the air tends to be a little cooler by the time it reaches the cargo areas, which are also less insulated than the cabin. Cargo temperatures vary in our fleet. The Boeing 767 maintains its baggage hold above 7˚C, but the bulk area (where animals are carried) can be heated above 18˚C. Controlled temperature cargo bins are also available when temperature-sensitive goods are being shipped.

So your wine is unlikely to freeze if it only gets down to 7 degrees, but it’s worth noting that in some exceptional cases (close to the outside, no insulation, extreme temperatures outside) it may cause some freezing. Your best bet is to insulate it with some jackets or similar, like you’ve suggested you will do. Odds are, it’ll be fine.

Answer 2 (score 10)

Running a datalogger inside a checked suitcase between Paris and Sydney via Dubai showed the minimum temperature to be 13 degrees Celsius. That occurred in the last 3 hours of flight. A change of aircraft at Dubai showed the temperature rise to 28.5 degrees Celsius, when it changed aircraft, and then slowly drop as the Sydney bound aircraft proceeded on its flight. Temperature and humidity were logged every 15 seconds. The datalogger was a recorder and not a transmitter. Transmitter equipment aboard aircraft is illegal. I am yet to marry data from the recorder against actual flight data available online, but aircraft typically travel at around 38000 feet, with an outside temperature of around minus 44.6 degrees Celsius. The datalogger was placed against the side of the suitcase in a side pocket. The suitcases position within both cargo holds was unknown.

Answer 3 (score 5)

Hi I’m a flight attendant and have checked in freeze sensitive items like the above (wines , cheese… even champagne and a whole clingwrapped roasted duck) to bring home throughout my 2-year career. Yes, it’s only 2 years but I do check in such stuff frequently (between monthly and quarterly basis). I would stow them quickly in the fridge when I get home. Everything ended up fine and unspoiled. So far (Thank God) none of the wines/sparkling wines which I packed home exploded or ended up like 7-11 Slurpee slush or separated into different layers of liquid. In fact, my greatest concerns and the greatest risk taken would be physical damages to the bag during the check-in-out process which may in turn damage my stuff. Ground staff handling baggage may damage your bags accidentally. If you’re lucky, it’s a harmless scratch. A wheel missing? OK, still repairable. But have you ever seen bags badly cracked or dented lying sadly on the conveyor belt? A bad dent in the wrong place may cause a bottle to crack and soak all my stuff inside. Hope this helps. :)