guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Raegan!

I am not familiar with the Kansas City airport, but as a rule, when you get to the airport, you proceed to the terminal where your particular airline is located. (Large airports have more than one terminal; small airports usually have only one terminal.) Once you determine your airline's terminal, you will follow signs for the "Departures" area. (If you're taking a taxi to the airport, just tell the driver that you are departing on "XYZ Airlines," and the driver should know where to drop you.)

If you will be checking baggage (and you will have to, unless your bags are small enough to qualify as carry-ons on your airline), you will follow signs in the terminal for your airline's "Baggage Check-in" counter, where an agent will ask to see government-issued photo identification -- such as a driver license or passport -- and will then issue your boarding passes to you, tag your bags, and give you baggage claim checks, which are usually printed stickers that are pasted onto a ticket jacket which the agent will give you with your boatding pass. You will then likely have to accompany your bags to a baggage screening station, at which the bags will be screened by Transportation Security Administration agents. You will then be done with the bags in Kansas City. Then, you will follow signs for your departure gate, which should be indicated on your boarding pass, and go through a security screening of your person. You will again be required to show a photo ID, along with your boarding pass.

When you reach your departure gate, listen for announcements instructing you when to board. You will again be required to show your boarding pass.

You do not indicate which airline you will be flying from Kansas City to Washington, or from Washington to Albany. But in most cases, you will be allowed to check your bags through to your final destination (in this case, Albany).

For checked baggage, you do not have to worry about the quantities of shampoo, perfume, etc., that you have packed. That is only an issue for items that are in carry-on bags.

Thirty-eight minutes is not a lot of time to make a connection, but if your first flight is on time, you should not have a problem. Upon arrival at Washington (which, by the way, is served by more than one airport), you should look for TV monitors showing departure information, to find the gate for your connecting flight to Albany), and then look for signs directing you to that gate. If both of your flights are on the same airline, the flight attendant on your first flight MIGHT announce connecting gate information just before your first flight arrives.

If your first flight arrives late and you miss your connecting flight, your airline should be able to reaccommodate you on a later flight. Your checked baggage should likewise be put on a later flight to Albany. (For any baggage that you keep with you on your first flight, you will be responsible for carrying that baggage over to your connecting flight.)

A few helpful hints if you are going to check baggage:

1. Be aware that many airlines now charge fees for checking baggage. If fees apply, they will be collected at the airport when you check the bags. Your airline's website should contain information regarding checked-baggage fees.

2. Make sure that each checked bag has a sturdy luggage tag with your name and address, and probably with a phone contact as well, in case your bags should be misrouted or delayed.

3. It's a good idea to put a copy of your airline itinerary INSIDE the bags as well, in case baggage tags become separated from your bags in transit.

4. Upon arrival at Albany, follow signs in the terminal for "Baggage Claim," where your baggage will be delivered. In some airports, you may be required to show the baggage claim checks issued to you when you checked your bags, in order to remove your bags from the Baggage Claim area.

I hope you find this helpful, and I'm sure other FTers will weigh in with other suggestions. Enjoy your trip!