"Check" is the operative word here. After checking in, you need to check that tickets as well as passport have been returned safely to your keeping.

Go through the ticket right away to check that only the relevant coupon for that particular flight sector has been removed. If, for example, the ticket is for London-Paris- New York- Paris- Rome, and both the London-Paris and Paris- New York coupons are torn off by mistake in London, there is bound to be trouble at the airport check-in counter in Paris. Checking all flight coupons is particularly important for journeys with multiple stops.

Once, when I was leaving New York's JFK Airport for a flight to India with my wife and two little girls, I sat down after checking us all in, following my usual ritual of thoroughly checking tickets and boarding passes. I found that we all had boarding passes for the New York- Frankfurt sector, with the relevant coupons having been removed. For Frankfurt-Bombay, however, we had neither flight coupons nor boarding passes. I made my way to the crowded check-in counter, jumped the queue to the irritation of other passengers, and brought this to the notice of the young woman at the counter. She punched a few computer keys and told me that was the way of doing things, and that we would possibly get our onward boarding passes at Frankfurt. That made little sense to me, for passes would hardly be issued, I reckoned, in the absence of flight coupons for that sector.

After locating the airport office for that particular airline, I took my case to the manager, who acknowledged that my understanding of the situation was correct. He called the check-in counter, spoke to the young woman in attendance, and dispatched me there.

This time, the girl took away my set of boarding passes, punched a few more keys, and came up with two sets instead for both New York-Frankfurt and Frankfurt-Bombay. She was apologetic about the incident and volunteered the information that she had been on the job for only three days!

Checking on things at this point should include a once-over of the baggage tags to ascertain that they have been marked correctly to the point of disembarkation and that they have been surely affixed so as to stay put through the rigours of handling. My bag once landed up in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, instead of Cote d'Ivoire, as it had been wrongly tagged in Paris.

If you are carrying your own suitcases, it is better to have two of roughly the same size rather than a single, unmanageably heavy one. This will help prevent back problems later on. Lift the bags simultaneously while standing between them and ensure that the weight is close to your body. Similarly, if you anticipate walking around the airport with heavy hand luggage, it is better to distribute the weight between two shoulders. Sometimes, however, regulations do not permit two pieces of hand luggage. If you can obtain a trolley, remember that pushing is always better for the back than pulling.

Baggage tag counterfoils must be safely put away. If it is affixed to the ticket jacket; check that this has been done firmly. While baggage tags are rarely checked at international airports, they are absolutely essential when laying claim to a lost or stolen bag.

Baggage must be marked clearly with your name, address, and telephone and fax numbers, both on the inside and outside. A visible distinguishing mark like an eye-catching sticker or bright ribbons helps you to identify your bag on the conveyor belt, even from a distance. This minimizes the possibility of picking up the wrong bag from among several lookalikes. Even when not in doubt, do check the tag numbers.

On arrival at the airport, remember to park yourself and your trolley at a spot near the baggage carousel where you can lift your bag off the belt and load it on the trolley easily, and where trolley traffic would be lightest after the retrieval of your bag. The starting point of the carousel may not be the best spot; while it may permit you to obtain your bag a few seconds earlier, it may also be the furthest point from the exit.

If a bag arrives open, unlocked or visibly damaged, check immediately to see if anything is missing.