leaving country

[1HappyGuy 45]

if i understand correct you mean me carry the carry on baggage? so she not have to during cbp review? guess not be a problem me claim all the checked bags as we thinking would be about 4 large checked bags as klm allows me 2 per ticket this trip i just made my carryon was 5 pounds over and the counter lady checked it free so had 3 checked bags this trip mostly gifts came back one 25 pound bag seem weird left houston with almost 200 pounds just thinking how much people here in texas will stare once sveta is here as she looks really nice i know most ukraine ladies place alot in how they look i am glad she choise be with me

I mean that if you take all or most of the bags through customs it will be easier than her doing it. Just leave her with a small carry on and her paperwork. You will probably be able to drag them all to the car and return before she has cleared customs. Just have her wait for you in case she gets really lucky at POE. Yeah, you can enjoy all the stares are you walk with Sveta most anywhere. The women will curse you and the men will envy you. Tell your close guy friends how nice you life is now.

[cluelessinny 2]

I mean that if you take all or most of the bags through customs it will be easier than her doing it. Just leave her with a small carry on and her paperwork. You will probably be able to drag them all to the car and return before she has cleared customs. Just have her wait for you in case she gets really lucky at POE. Yeah, you can enjoy all the stares are you walk with Sveta most anywhere. The women will curse you and the men will envy you. Tell your close guy friends how nice you life is now.

ok this will sound stupid

but are you guys saying it is cheaper to piece meal your tickets or do you use the airlines company sights, i have used only orbitz and once lufthansa website...I love flying with them, but on the way home lufthansa booked me on united or as i like to call them soul plane and charged an extra 300.. so i went with orbitz if i get booked on soul plane

[eekee 182]

ok this will sound stupid

but are you guys saying it is cheaper to piece meal your tickets or do you use the airlines company sights, i have used only orbitz and once lufthansa website...I love flying with them, but on the way home lufthansa booked me on united or as i like to call them soul plane and charged an extra 300.. so i went with orbitz if i get booked on soul plane

Soul plane, like the movie with Snoop Dogg?

I've never used an airline company site unless I'm using frequent flyer miles. I use cheaptickets.com.

[Sveta & Ron 23]

i find using airlines web site is cheapest then i find if they are useing other airlines as delta uses klm and air france then i check their sites and i find klm site is lower then delta offers for same flights

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

i find using airlines web site is cheapest then i find if they are useing other airlines as delta uses klm and air france then i check their sites and i find klm site is lower then delta offers for same flights

I don't know. It's hard to beat sites like cheatickets.com, travelocity, expedia, etc.. for the fact they search all airlines/routes and not just a few.

[eekee 182]

I don't know. It's hard to beat sites like cheatickets.com, travelocity, expedia, etc.. for the fact they search all airlines/routes and not just a few.

Yeah, I prefer to know all the options and to have a computer do the legwork for me.

[1HappyGuy 45]

ok this will sound stupid

but are you guys saying it is cheaper to piece meal your tickets or do you use the airlines company sights, i have used only orbitz and once lufthansa website...I love flying with them, but on the way home lufthansa booked me on united or as i like to call them soul plane and charged an extra 300.. so i went with orbitz if i get booked on soul plane

My response was concerning the logistics of landing back in the USA and going through customs. As American citizens/residents, we can go through the customs check usually much quicker than someone arriving in America for the first time. My advice was about getting through all the paperwork with the least amount of problems.

You are asking about getting the cheapest flight. That takes time, experience and a lot of effort to find the best price. But you need to also be comfortable with your overall flight. Generally the costs vary only about $100 to $200 difference, but which airline you fly may have a huge difference in comfort and customer treatment. Also, generally it is much better to have a POE where you are intending to drive away from or at least stay for some hours because clearing all that paperwork can take a long time and you don't have any control over who else is on your flight.

[cluelessinny 2]

Soul plane, like the movie with Snoop Dogg?

I've never used an airline company site unless I'm using frequent flyer miles. I use cheaptickets.com.

snoop dogg must have wrote the movie after flying united "low class"

but before i left belarus, the news showed a ####### load of vodka infused fights and i was told not to fly thru russia...but if other members never had a issue i could use them...my biggest issue, is when my wife is granted a visa. in franfurt there is very little time to get the next flight.. but the layover in Chicago is 3 hours, so i thought that would be a good POE...but i still have questions about the POE interview

[cluelessinny 2]

My response was concerning the logistics of landing back in the USA and going through customs. As American citizens/residents, we can go through the customs check usually much quicker than someone arriving in America for the first time. My advice was about getting through all the paperwork with the least amount of problems.

You are asking about getting the cheapest flight. That takes time, experience and a lot of effort to find the best price. But you need to also be comfortable with your overall flight. Generally the costs vary only about $100 to $200 difference, but which airline you fly may have a huge difference in comfort and customer treatment. Also, generally it is much better to have a POE where you are intending to drive away from or at least stay for some hours because clearing all that paperwork can take a long time and you don't have any control over who else is on your flight.

thank you, my three flights have always been based on getting there the quickest, next trip is the BIGGY so i have to give more thought to it

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

snoop dogg must have wrote the movie after flying united "low class"

but before i left belarus, the news showed a ####### load of vodka infused fights and i was told not to fly thru russia...but if other members never had a issue i could use them...my biggest issue, is when my wife is granted a visa. in franfurt there is very little time to get the next flight.. but the layover in Chicago is 3 hours, so i thought that would be a good POE...but i still have questions about the POE interview

My wife's POE was Chicago and she said it was a breeze.

[cluelessinny 2]

My wife's POE was Chicago and she said it was a breeze.

thanks, i think of 100 things that could go wrong!! and it is good to know people going thru this or have been thru this process

it puts me at ease, now if i can only figure out a way to speed it up....it may help if everyone stops asking when will your wife arrive so we can meet her

Edited May 22, 2012 by cluelessinny

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

thanks, i think of 100 things that could go wrong!! and it is good to know people going thru this or have been thru this process

it puts me at ease, now if i can only figure out a way to speed it up....it may help if everyone stops asking when will your wife arrive so we can meet her

lol...I remember family and friends asking why she didn't just come back to the US with me. They didn't (and still don't) have a clue about US immigration laws and process. She said the only thing that sucked about Chicago was there was a bunch of immigrants in front of her waiting to get checked out. Other than that though she said is was a pretty easy process. She has a 5 hour layover in Chicago in which she picked up her cat from customs after a 30min taxi ride (the cat got to Chicago the day before via Lufthansa) and then she was on her way to Anchorage airport where I picked her up. The next morning we went down to the Soc. Security office and got her a SSC # until they sent her a card. That same day she had her Alaskan ID and was put on my bank account. Two weeks after that she had a Alaska drivers license, car and insurance. Two weeks after that she had a job.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Why_Me

[eekee 182]

Re: alcohol, I would honestly say that Aeroflot is on par with any other major international airline now. I would be wary of flying minor Russian airlines, especially Caucasian ones, but Aeroflot is fine. You even get food on the Moscow-StP shuttle, and that's an 1.5 hour flight. Also hard alcohol isn't even served on board Russian flights anymore. But then again I grew up flying USAir, or as it's known in my family, USScare, so I may be the opposite of spoiled in this regard.

[mendeleev 68]

I'd go a little further than eekee and simply say that Aeroflot is on par with essentially any domestic US airline, and better than most. While it can't hold a candle to the best overseas airlines, it puts its domestic partner, Delta, to shame in offering better service, better baggage handling, better food in flight, and better on-time-performance.

Then again, Delta currently does set a very low bar ...

The trajectories are also different. Aeroflot is getting better and Delta is getting worse. Same, but not as severe, for Sibir vis-a-vis American Airlines, who now share membership in the same club.

[eekee 182]

I've never tried Singapore Airlines, but I honestly prefer Aeroflot to BA, AirFrance, FinnAir, etc. Lufthansa is good, but I hate Frankfurt's airport. I forget which ones they were, but I have been on long haul flights without personal entertainment centers which just does not cut it in this day and age.

Edited May 23, 2012 by eekee