Air Travel in the USA Air services in the USA are generally excellent and relatively inexpensive, and travel by air is a very convenient way of getting around such a large country. There are often cut-price arrangements that foreign visitors are able to get, especially if you book before you leave home, but these change from year to year, so you should check with a travel agent. There are also, from time to time, price-cutting wars and other competitive struggles between the different internal airlines, so it is sensible to make inquiries about what the best deals are at any given time. (American travel agents will know better about these. ) It may well be that some airlines are offering better prices or better arrangements than others for the particular journey you want to make. Note that in America a return ticket is called a "round-trip" ticket, and a single ticket is called "one-way" ticket. Major Internal Airlines The major airlines for internal flights include American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Eastern, Northwest Orient, Unite and Western. Airlines covering smaller areas of the country include Frontier (the West), Ozark (Midwest), Pacific (West Coast), Republic (the South and Midwest), Texas, and US Air (the Northeast). American Airports American airports are organized on a rather different basis from those in China. For obvious reasons the international sections are very small, and the domestic sections, which normally include flights to Canada and Mexico, are very large by comparison. The airports are organized by different airlines; each has not only separate check-in desks but also separate gates, lounges or even terminals. It is especially important, therefore, to know which airline you are flying with. At American airports it is very often possible for people who are not traveling themselves to accompany passengers on domestic flights right to the departure gate, provided that they also pass through the security check. Similarly, arriving flights can be met right at the gate. Baggage Allowance Baggage regulations are the same as for international flights, and passengers are allowed to take free of charge two pieces of luggage, (each weighing no more than 70 pounds or 32 kilos) if the length + height + width of one does not exceed 65 inches (1.65 meters). Check-In When you check in at an airport you can request a smoking or a nonsmoking seat. However, current American law requires that everybody who wants a nonsmoking seat must be given one. In other words, the nonsmoking sections on planes must be made larger enough in order to meet the needs of everyone who wants this type of seating. And even in smoking sections it is not permitted to smoke cigars or pipes. It is very possible to check in for a flight at the departure gate if you are taking only hand baggage. Service on Board Some internal flights are long -- it takes seven or eight hours to fly from Seattle to Miami, for example, and five and a half hours to fly from Los Angeles to Boston. Service on longer flights is very much like that on international flights. Passengers are provided with meals, drinks and films. The longer flights usually offer first class and tourist rates while short flights often make no difference in fares. If a passenger has hand luggage only, he can either check in at the check-in desk or ______.