What are the procedures you go through to get on a plane?

I'm 17 and I want to take a plane from Schenectady Ny to Huntington Wv. If I purchase the ticket online when do I have to pick it up? How early do I have to be at the airport to catch my plane and get through security? If I completely stuff a duffel bag full but weighs less than 50 lbs will it be to big to bring on plane? Any help please?:)|||You are allowed to check in up to 4 bags, I believe (With my airlines - 25$ per bag) You can bring 1 carry-on (usually a small suitcase) and a personal item (backpack/purse).





Arrive 1 hour 15 mins early


1st- Go to your airline check-in (You'll have to wait in line depending on how early you got there)


2nd- Once you get to the counter, you'll give the person your info/flight number and she'll give you the ticket. Here you can turn in and pay for any checked luggage.


3rd-Go to your gate, it should be on your ticket and you can read the signs in the airport to find it.


4th- Before you arrive at your gate you'll have to go through security, here you put your remaining bags on a conveyor belt and it'll be scanned while you walk through a metal detector. You must take off your shoes/belt and any metal (not jewelry) and place it in a given bin to be scanned.


5th-Walk to your gate by following the signs, they make it easy for you. You may get food on the way, there are plenty of places to eat, but are expensive.


6th-Wait at your gate until your flight it called (about 30 mins before departure time)


7th- Depending on your class (1st class, business, etc.) you'll be called to board the flight.


8th- You'll have to give an attendant your ticket/possibly ID/Passport and after they check you'll be guided into a tunnel which leads to the plane


9th-Find your seat and congrats, you're on a plane!|||You don't "pick up" your ticket, you print the itinerary that you get when you buy the ticket online. At the airport, you check in at an electronic kiosk (touch screen computer) and the machine prints your tickets, and if you're checking a bag (which you need to if you're bringing 50 pounds of stuff), then you go up to the counter (wait in line) and they put a sticker around the handle of your bag and check it for you. A duffle weighing less than 50 pounds is fine, but you will have to pay about $25 to check it. If you bring a really light bag, you can carry on if your bag is about the size of two microwave ovens and does not weigh a lot.



When you go through security, you weight in line, show a government issued photo id, and the ticket for the first leg of your trip. You remove your shoes, belt, anything from your pockets, sweater/jacket and you put them in a bin. You also take your computer (if you have one) out of your bag and put them in a bin, and you take any liquids or gels out of your bag (3 oz. bottles or less in a 1 quart bag, limit 1 bag per person). All your stuff goes through an x-ray machine, and you walk through a metal detector. If you are pulled aside for extra screening, you get a pat-down. Do not, under any circumstances, make any jokes about security, unless you really want a strip-search.



You walk to your gate (the number is printed on your ticket) and you wait for your zone to be called (its on your ticket, too) and then you board and sit in your assigned seat (also on your ticket).



If you have a connecting flight, then when you get to that airport, you find a computer screen or ask someone who works there to find the next gate where you wait to board your second flight.







Edit:

Since you are over 15, you do not need an adult with you at the airport.



However, because you are under 18, if your flight gets cancelled for any reason, your airline is legally required to put you on the soonest available flight, even if that means putting you on a different air line or their paying for your cab to another airport. Also, they are legally required to put you up in a hotel if your flight gets cancelled and the next flight is the next day. They won't tell you that, so you have to remind them that you know your rights.



They will give you free soda/juice/coffee on the plane, but no snacks, so bring food.



Have a safe flight, and if you get confused, don't be afraid to ask someone who works there. They will be stressed a possibly rude, but they will help you.