Onward internal flight in USA: customs and check in.

[Highlander]

Headin off to America in a couple of weeks. We'll be flying from Shannon to Newark and then on to Detroit with a 2 hour stop over time. Will it be necessary to clear customs on arrival in Newark, or can this be done in Detroit? Also, someone mentioned we may have to collect our bags, and "re-check in" for the flight from Newark to Detroit?

Can anybody tell me is this the case? Even though, we'll be flying with Continental all the way (Shannon - Newark and Newark - Detroit).

Thanks

 

[RainyDay]

Is your ticket a 'through' ticket, i.e. covering both legs of the flight? If so, you should be able to check your bags all the way through (though I'm not sure if Customs will need you to clear the baks at Newark). If you bought two seperate tickets for each leg of the flight, you'll probably have to collect & recheck your bags at Newark.

 

[soy]

You will have to clear your bags through customs on your point of landing in the US - in your case Newark.
Once passed through customs, there is generally a transfer desk where you hand over your bags to the airline again. The tags detailing your final destination are already on the bags so it is just a simple handover not a full check-in.

 

[Highlander]

Thanks guys. Have holiday booked for months through a travel agents and only thought of this potential delay yesterday. Was worried we mightn't have enough time to make the flight to Detroit. Hopefully it'll all go smoothly anyway.