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  • - What's up guys, it's Luke.

  • And in this video,

  • we're going to be talking about how to check in

  • at the airport in English.

  • But before we get started with that,

  • don't forget to subscribe.

  • And if you like the video,

  • make sure to give it a like.

  • Let's get started.

  • (upbeat music)

  • Whenever you fly somewhere, you need to check in

  • at the check-in counter of the airport.

  • Unless you have your own private jet,

  • in which case this video may not be that useful to you.

  • This video is for people who fly

  • on normal airplanes, not private.

  • We're going to talk about the things that you may be asked

  • by the person at the check-in counter,

  • and the things that you can say to respond

  • to those questions.

  • And if you have some questions,

  • we'll talk about how to ask those questions as well.

  • Let's first talk about what you say

  • when you first get to the counter,

  • when you walk up to the check-in counter,

  • maybe you have your luggage,

  • and you've been in line for 20 minutes.

  • There are people in front of you,

  • and the person there says next, next.

  • Well, okay, then I know I need to walk forward.

  • I step up to the counter.

  • What are they going to ask me?

  • Well, there are really three possible things here,

  • and we're going to go through them one by one,

  • but I want to mention one thing first.

  • What should we call this person?

  • If they have a name tag and it says Kathy,

  • should I say hi, Kathy or Bob, hey, Bob, should we do that?

  • Probably not, probably not.

  • If it's a man, you're probably going to say, sir, sir.

  • Hello, hello, good afternoon sir, maybe,

  • and that person will call you sir if you're a man,

  • but what if you're a lady?

  • Well, if you're a lady,

  • they might call you miss and you can call them miss.

  • Now, if they're a little bit older, maybe middle-aged,

  • you might say ma'am, ma'am.

  • If you have to get their attention, excuse me, sir.

  • Excuse me, ma'am.

  • You can use sir, ma'am, and miss,

  • and they will use the same ones for you

  • based on your gender.

  • The first one we're going to talk about

  • is a more general question, kind of general,

  • and this might be more common for small airports

  • that don't have a lot of traffic.

  • And your question or the thing you're coming up

  • to the counter for could be this or that or that.

  • And so they might say, how can I help you

  • or how may I help you?

  • Again, that's only if they're not sure.

  • They might say that.

  • Most of the time,

  • they'll know exactly why you're there,

  • because you have your bag

  • and they won't ask you that question,

  • how may I help you?

  • But if they do ask this, how can you answer it?

  • Let's say, for example, we're at a small airport.

  • We walk up to the check-in counter,

  • and the person at the counter,

  • the lady says, good afternoon, good afternoon,

  • how are you today?

  • Maybe that's not common either,

  • but you might say, oh, I'm great.

  • I'm wonderful.

  • Thank you.

  • How about you?

  • Oh, I'm good too.

  • Or I'm fantastic or whatever.

  • Now, that's not so common in this situation,

  • but sometimes the answer would be to explain

  • where you're going.

  • And we might say, I have a flight.

  • I have a flight.

  • So for example, I have a flight to Beijing at 7:30.

  • I have a flight to Beijing at 7:30.

  • Now later, we're going to talk about

  • how to mention connecting flight.

  • So, we'll talk about that in a couple of minutes.

  • A much more common greeting in this check-in situation

  • is for this person at the counter to assume why I'm here.

  • I'm here because I want to check in.

  • And there are a lot of people in line,

  • and we're all here for the same reason.

  • So probably they won't say, how can I help you?

  • Probably they'll say, passport please, passport please.

  • Maybe, hello, passport please.

  • And I might say, hi, here you go.

  • And that's it.

  • They might say passport and itinerary,

  • passport and itinerary, please.

  • This is becoming less common.

  • This means, do you have a printed paper

  • that says your flight number

  • and where you're going and the time on it, do you have that?

  • So in a friendly way they might say,

  • hi there, passport please.

  • And I'll say, okay, here you are, here you are.

  • And I hand them my passport, or sometimes, here you go.

  • And then they will say the details of the flight.

  • And all I have to do is confirm it.

  • So they'll say the 9:15 flight to Miami, right?

  • Or it's the 9:15 flight to Miami, correct?

  • So they'll say right or correct.

  • Then I just need to say, that's right or yep.

  • Or yes, that's correct.

  • I just need to confirm it,

  • because as soon as they put in my information, my name,

  • it pops up on their computer screen.

  • So that's easy.

  • That's the easiest thing.

  • The other one that's really common is the question,

  • where are you flying today?

  • Or where are you flying?

  • So they might say,

  • good afternoon, where are you flying today?

  • So they're assuming that I'm flying somewhere.

  • And then my answer has to be where I'm flying.

  • I don't just hand them my passport.

  • And they confirm with me the details.

  • They ask and I say, yes, I'm on, I'm on

  • the 6:30 flight to London, I'm on.

  • Or maybe I could say, the 6:30 flight to Berlin,

  • the 6:30 flight to Berlin,

  • without saying I'm on or anything.

  • Just the 6:30 flight to Berlin.

  • Then if I want to say the stop between here,

  • wherever here is and Berlin,

  • I'll say, connecting the 6:30 flight to Berlin,

  • connecting in London, connecting in London.

  • Sometimes they'll say connecting at,

  • if they say the airport,

  • connecting at London Heathrow, okay,

  • that's the airport name.

  • So, we'll use at if it's the airport,

  • and in if we just want to say the city where we are stopping

  • between here and our destination.

  • Now, you might've heard layover, layover.

  • What's the difference between a layover and a connection.

  • Very simple.

  • We use connection when we're just talking about

  • what that middle stop is,

  • connecting in London.

  • We say layover when we focus on the time we spend waiting

  • at the connection.

  • I had a six hour layover in London, a six hour layover.

  • That's how long I spent waiting for my next flight.

  • The one from London to Berlin to my final destination.

  • Sometimes you can say I'm flying to, I'm flying to Berlin.

  • But then it's a little harder to say the time.

  • So, I prefer to say the, time, flight, to.

  • Simple, easy.

  • Well, now we have to talk about luggage,

  • and it gets a little complicated here.

  • So let's just say the terms.

  • First, we have a carry-on,

  • a carry-on is a bag that I carry on.

  • Oh, that's easy.

  • That's an easy one.

  • A carry-on or a carry-on bag.

  • Then I have a personal item.

  • What's the difference between a personal item

  • and a carry-on.

  • Usually a carry-on is a little larger,

  • and it might have roller wheels,

  • and a personal item might be a backpack or a purse

  • or something like that.

  • The other type is a checked bag, a checked bag.

  • This is the one that goes under the plane.

  • So they'll ask the question.

  • Are you checking any bags?

  • And we'll talk about that in a moment,

  • but that's what they'll call it.

  • Now, you might've heard, okay, bags, luggage.

  • What's the difference between bags and luggage.

  • Luggage is a general word for this kind of thing.

  • My luggage, my luggage was lost.

  • Bags is a bit more specific,

  • and we can add an S.

  • I'm checking two bags, for example,

  • but I can't say I'm checking two luggage.

  • When you say my luggage,

  • we're just talking about generally all of the things

  • that you're taking with you to wherever you're going.

  • So bags, you can count, luggage, you can not.

  • You can't say two luggage.

  • No, incorrect.

  • Can't say that.

  • Bags, bags, bags, bags.

  • So here are the questions.

  • Are you checking any bags?

  • Are you checking any bags?

  • How many bags are you checking?

  • And how many bags will you be checking?

  • So, you'll hear these common questions

  • and there might be some other variations,

  • but basically it's those.

  • Now, if it's, are you checking any bags?

  • Should you just say yes.

  • Not really.

  • If you say yes,

  • then they have to say how many.

  • So it's better if you answer this question with the number,

  • are you checking any bags?

  • Just one or two bags.

  • If you're not, you don't have to say no.

  • You can just say just, you can just say just, yeah,

  • you can just say just,

  • just a personal item and a carry-on bag.

  • How about questions you might ask,

  • you might say, can I have two carry-ons, two carry-ons?

  • Maybe I have two roller bags,

  • and I want to bring both of them onto the plane.

  • The answer is probably no, no, you can't.

  • But you could ask if you have a question,

  • can I have tWo carry-ons, or can I have two personal items?

  • Or maybe you want to know about costs.

  • Maybe if you have two roller bags,

  • and they're very big and you need to check them,

  • you want to know the price that you have to pay.

  • Often, for international flights to other countries,

  • you get one checked bag for free.

  • And then if there's a second, you have to pay.

  • So, you might say, how much is a second checked bag

  • or maybe how much does a second checked bag cost?

  • That's a little more complicated.

  • How much does a second checked bag costs?

  • Now, once we have that figured out

  • how many bags we're checking, the next question will be

  • or the next request will be to please put your bag

  • up on the scale or please put your bag on the scale.

  • All right.

  • Yeah

  • Put it on the scale.

  • Next, you have to weigh it.

  • Now, something might happen here.

  • If your bag is too heavy, then the lady or the man here,

  • the person checking you in might say,

  • oh, your bag is actually overweight.

  • Your bag is overweight.

  • Then they'll explain probably.

  • There is a fee for bags over a hundred pounds.

  • And then you might say, ah, okay.

  • Now, what do you do?

  • If you want to take things out of your checked bag

  • and put them in your carry-on you can say,

  • all right, I'll take a few things out

  • and put them in my carry on.

  • Or how much is it overweight by?

  • How much is it overweight by?

  • Because if it's only a little bit,

  • it will be very easy to take a few things out.

  • But if it's way over, then I'll just pay the fee.

  • That's fine.

  • I'll just pay it. So I need to know that.

  • How much is it overweight by.

  • Then they'll tell you.

  • Oh, two pounds.

  • Oh, no problem.

  • I'll just take a few things out and put them in my carry-on.

  • Okay, I'll wait.

  • Or if it's a lot heavier than that and it's way over.

  • Ah, okay.

  • Well, I guess I have no choice, you might say,

  • I guess I have no choice.

  • Then, can I pay by card?

  • Can I pay by card?

  • Or how much is it?

  • How much is it?

  • It's $25.

  • Okay, all right.

  • Can I pay by card?

  • Yeah, of course, of course.

  • Okay, here you go.

  • I guess I have no choice choice.

  • Now, sometimes at the counter,

  • there's a sticker and it has some dangerous items on it

  • with some red circles and Xs through them,

  • or maybe lithium ion batteries.

  • We would call those power banks probably,

  • or guns or whatever, some stuff that's dangerous,

  • lots of stuff.

  • So, they might point to that sticker on the counter and say,

  • do you have any of these items in your checked bag?

  • Do you have any of these items in your bags?

  • Hopefully, the answer is no.

  • No, I don't.

  • Okay.

  • But sometimes you forget something.

  • So if they ask you that and you say, no, I don't,

  • then they take it and scan it or x-ray it.

  • They find there is something in the bag.

  • So they say, excuse me, sir, or excuse me, miss,

  • could you please come behind the counter and open your bag?

  • And then they might tell you why.

  • There appears to be a battery in your bag,

  • or it looks like there's a battery in your bag.

  • One of those lithium ion batteries.

  • And then suddenly you remember, oh, yes, that's right.

  • I must have left my power bank in the pocket

  • or, oh yeah, it must be my power bank.

  • Then you go behind the counter, you unzip it.

  • You take out all of your clothes

  • and mess up the beautiful folding job

  • that you did last night when you were packing,

  • take out the power bank and then put everything back.

  • So that it's 'cause you're in a hurry,

  • all wrinkly and feel kind of sad.

  • This has happened to me, obviously, you can tell, right?

  • And then you come back around in front of the counter.

  • So, hopefully that doesn't happen.

  • But sometimes it does, and it is not fun at all.

  • So, we've talked about the greetings

  • and we've talked about luggage.

  • Now, what's next?

  • Well, the next thing usually

  • is to talk about any special preferences.

  • One example of that might be seating.

  • Sometimes you get to choose where you're going to sit.

  • What question will they ask when they want you

  • to tell them what kind of seat you want to have?

  • Do you have a seating preference

  • or would you prefer an aisle or a window seat?

  • Would you prefer.

  • Or sometimes would you rather have an aisle or a window?

  • Sometimes they won't even say seat at the end.

  • Usually, they will.

  • So, do you have a seating preference,

  • then you can say to them,

  • actually, I'd like a window seat.

  • A window seat.

  • If they say, would you prefer or would you rather have

  • an aisle seat or a window seat?

  • Then you can give the same answer.

  • A window seat, a window seat.

  • Now, what if you don't care?

  • What if you don't care?

  • You can say, it doesn't matter.

  • I don't care.

  • But then maybe you have some other requirement.

  • I'd like something maybe

  • near the front of the plane if possible.

  • That means if it's not possible, okay.

  • But if possible, that's my preference.

  • Maybe there's something you don't want.

  • So you can say, anything is okay.

  • Anything is okay,

  • but I don't want to be by an emergency exit.

  • Sometimes people don't feel comfortable sitting

  • next to the emergency exit,

  • because they might have more responsibility on the flight.

  • What about meals?

  • What about meals?

  • Now usually, you don't need to say anything about meals,

  • but maybe, maybe you're a vegetarian.

  • You might say, is it too late to request?

  • Is it too late?

  • You might be too late.

  • You're worried that you should have done it

  • when you booked the flight.

  • So you can ask, is it too late to ask for or book or get

  • or request and a vegetarian meal?

  • Is it too late to do that?

  • Yes, unfortunately it is.

  • Or no, that's fine.

  • You'd like a vegetarian meal to confirm.

  • Yes, yes please.

  • Yes, I would like a vegetarian meal.

  • Okay, got it.

  • You might also say,

  • is it too late to ask for a vegetarian meal?

  • Is it too late to ask for a vegetarian meal?

  • No, no problem.

  • No, no problem.

  • That means I've got it.

  • You will get a vegetarian meal, done.

  • Your last step is to get your actual ticket,

  • but it's not called a ticket.

  • When you are booking online,

  • you'll say I'm booking a ticket.

  • I'm booking a ticket.

  • That's what you say.

  • But when you get that physical paper from them,

  • from the person at the counter, with your passport,

  • when they return your passport,

  • they don't say, here's your ticket.

  • The paper thing that you get is called a boarding pass.

  • That's what it's called.

  • So, they'll say, here is your boarding pass and passport.

  • And sometimes they'll say, back,

  • here's your boarding pass and passport back.

  • They might just hand it to you and say, here you are.

  • Or they might say, here you are.

  • And then say what it is, your boarding pass and passport.

  • But usually, they will explain it a little bit.

  • They won't just say, here it is, bye.

  • They might say, you're in seat 45A,

  • they'll point to it, and your gate is,

  • then they might say gate another time.

  • Your gate is gate A12.

  • You're in seat 45A.

  • And your gate is gate A12.

  • And they might say the time,

  • they might mention the boarding time.

  • There's a difference between the flight time

  • and the boarding time.

  • The boarding time is when you get on the plane,

  • your plane is boarding at for example, 5:57,

  • 5:57 is your boarding time.

  • And they usually will say,

  • your gate is, your seat is, sometimes your seat number is.

  • This is your seat, seat 45A,

  • and you'll be boarding through gate A12.

  • Your boarding time is 6:20.

  • So I suggest you hurry.

  • So, I suggest you hurry.

  • It's 6:00 now, I only have 10 minutes

  • to get through security.

  • They might say that too.

  • You only have 10 minutes to get through security.

  • I suggest you hurry.

  • Your plane starts boarding at 6:10.

  • Oh, okay.

  • Thank you, thank you so much.

  • Another possibility is something like,

  • after you go through security, find gate A12,

  • your seat number is 45A.

  • Your boarding time is in 15 minutes.

  • Your boarding time is in 15 minutes.

  • So you may want to hurry.

  • The last question may be from you.

  • You might say, where is security or a request?

  • Could you please point me toward, point me toward security?

  • Where is security or where is the security check?

  • Or could you please point me toward the security check?

  • The answer then might be, it's over there.

  • And you just look over there and see it.

  • Or go all the way down to the end and turn left,

  • to the end and turn left.

  • And they'll motion with their hand.

  • Then all you have to do is say, okay, got it.

  • Thank you.

  • Thank you so much.

  • I appreciate it.

  • Whatever you want to say at the end.

  • And usually, that's it.

  • They might say, have a nice flight

  • or bye, or you're welcome, bye, or have a nice day.

  • Something like that,

  • but that's really the end of this interaction.

  • So actually, each step is not that complicated,

  • but there are a lot of different variations,

  • different things that are almost the same

  • that you might ask,

  • that you might say and that they might ask you.

  • So it's good to know all of them.

  • And hopefully, you feel more comfortable

  • about the idea of checking in at the airport in English.

  • But if there's anything you're not sure about,

  • anything that's unclear,

  • anything I didn't mention, just ask.

  • Leave your question in the comments and I will answer it.

  • All right, guys.

  • That's it for this time.

  • Thanks for watching.

  • And I will see you in the next one.

  • (slow music)

- What's up guys, it's Luke.

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