Tom & Jen Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 (edited) We need some quick advice, PLEASE. We are going on a much awaited vacation to Europe this Friday. My son (with a US Passport), who moved to Reno to go to school there, will be flying from Reno to Philadelphia and we all will take the same flight to Zurich. Problem is I have his Passport. The airline said he will need his Passport to check-in in Reno. Our options are either FedEx the passport to him or he can short-check in Reno to just Philadelphia then check-in from Philadelphia to Zurich. My concern with FedEx is, although from past experience they have been really good, there is a chance of a delay on the delivery and we don't have any room for error as the flight on Friday is very early morning. Short-check will depend on the Ticket Agent knowing or allowing it to be done. He will actually not check any bags in and carry on. Any advice or sharing of experience would really be appreciated! Edited September 9, 2009 by Tom & Jen (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 (edited) I have a hard time believing that the airline official will ask for a passport for the domestic leg of his trip, the boarding agent for the international flight starting in Philadelphia, should be asking this before letting him board the international leg. I have flown internationally several times, and have yet to be asked for passport when boarding the flight to Chicago, and only in Chicago am I asked to produce the passport. Edited September 9, 2009 by dnoblett (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric739 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I have done a lot of overseas flights and if your ticket shows you are flying international at any point in the flight, you can be asked for your passport. I would send the passport high priority. Have done it before when my office colleagues forgot theirs. If you gamble and send him anyway, just be ready to explain why you do not have one. Have some other form of picture ID. And TSA has a flag for "no baggage" so expect to be delayed even more if someone gets curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric739 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 By the way, use UPS not Fedex. I work in shipping and freight. UPS and DHL are rated the fastest and most reliable. But Ups is best in the US market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 By the way, use UPS not Fedex. I work in shipping and freight. UPS and DHL are rated the fastest and most reliable. But Ups is best in the US market.Good points. Note USPS also is fast and reliable, I used USPS Express Mail to get our I-751 package to the service center, it arrived there in less than 24 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanghai John Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 If his international flights are on the same itinerary as the domestic leg, he should (and most likely will) need to provide his passport. Personally, I would call the airline and ask them what to do. They may be able to split that portion of the itinerary onto another one, so he can just check in normally for the mini-itinerary and then again on the second one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1651 Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Im with dnoblett on this. If he has a state or drivers license id he is gonna get on the plane. He will need his passport at the end of the flight to Zurich not before. Just a boarding pass and a picture id. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daviation Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Im with dnoblett on this. If he has a state or drivers license id he is gonna get on the plane. He will need his passport at the end of the flight to Zurich not before. Just a boarding pass and a picture id. Nope... passport will of course be needed (at a minimum) when boarding the outbound international flight. This is an absolute. Airlines are not allowed to let someone board without a passport for an international flight... all kinds of reasons for this (especially post 9-11). In fact, if an airline lets a passenger board without proper docs... guess what... they get to fly 'em straight back for free when they're not allowed into the foreign port. If he checks bags just to for the domestic portion, then driver's license is OK for that leg, but make sure there will be enough time to gather bags and recheck-in for the international leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanghai John Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 The airline -will- check his passport at his point of departure, even if his first leg is domestic, if all that stuff is on the same itinerary. You -might- be able to talk them into only issuing boarding passes for the domestic part with just state ID, but I wouldn't be willing to bet on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b.c Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 I have flown from my local airport to Chicago and then to either shanghai or hong kong on the same itinerary on several occasions and never had to show passport on the domestic leg but better to be safe than sorry. If at all possible I would UPS Next Day Air early AM the Passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard & Li Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 From our experience, he could use another form of identification for getting through security on the domestic leg. The passport should not be required until he boards the international flight. As others have said: Check with the airline to find out exactly what is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Im with dnoblett on this. If he has a state or drivers license id he is gonna get on the plane. He will need his passport at the end of the flight to Zurich not before. Just a boarding pass and a picture id.Nope, a person will not be allowed to board an international flight without showing passport, it will be needed before leaving the USA. As others said, you may look into splitting the itinerary so that the domestic leg is not tied to the international leg, but this would require re-checking baggage. Or simply mail the passport to the traveler by a secure method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard & Li Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Im with dnoblett on this. If he has a state or drivers license id he is gonna get on the plane. He will need his passport at the end of the flight to Zurich not before. Just a boarding pass and a picture id.Nope, a person will not be allowed to board an international flight without showing passport, it will be needed before leaving the USA. As others said, you may look into splitting the itinerary so that the domestic leg is not tied to the international leg, but this would require re-checking baggage. Or simply mail the passport to the traveler by a secure method. I'm sure it depends on the airline. But... I'm used to a secondary queue within the secure area of the international terminal to check for passports and visas (by the airline) prior to boarding an international flight. The first check (to get on a domestic leg) is the TSA (rather than the airline) and they accept things like a driver's license. I've never been asked for my passport and visa prior to boarding a domestic flight, regardless of the itinerary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom & Jen Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Thanks everyone for sharing your experience and advice. We decided to go with the short-checkin option. Both my son and I talked with multiple agents from the airline. They said that we can short-checkin. Some said they don't recommend it because it would take him longer in Philadelphia to have to checkin there. My son even went to the counter in Reno and spoke to the agents and the supervisor who said he can short-checkin. We will post what happenned along with our daughter's three submits for a visa She missed getting her US Citizenship by 2 months because she turned 18 before Jen got her Citizenship so she had to get the visa to go to Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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