Charlotte airport immigration

[brums evil twin]

Anyone been through recently? Got a change there to a puddle jumper and have 1.45mins

Looking at the average times I think I will be okay, we are landing at lunch time on Monday so not peak times.

Coming into D and leaving from E if that makes a difference

[sleepezy]

I go in with global entry but the normal queues look OK most times. Just be aware US immigration is a law unto itself.

Also, you'll have to go back through security as there's no internal transfer for international. It's can be an unbelievably busy airport full of dawdling passengers at both security and down the building spurs.

1.5 hrs should be OK but you never know. Took us 45 mins about a month ago, with global entry and tsa pre check but we also went to customer services to wait list to an earlier flight which took about 10 mins.

[brums evil twin]

thanks

I am looking at Global Entry - have done the UK part, but with this connection I do not have time for the interview on this trip, plus work is tight as well.

Off to Palm Springs in September so will try and get that part done when I arrive there.

[sleepezy]

brums evil twin said:

but with this connection I do not have time for the interview on this trip

Completely agree - frustratingly, when doing registration on arrival you have to wait for everyone else to have gone through immigration before one of the officers conducts your (5 minute) interview (in my own case and while subsequently waiting for a colleague to do his, so only a sample of 2). I still think it's the easiest route, rather than a completely separate interview in an office, but you do need to plan the additional time, particularly if catching a connecting flight.

[djc206]

Sorry to piggy back on the thread but does anyone have experience of doing the global entry interview on arrival at Dublin? I’m connecting through next month and have got 90 mins there. Thinking it might be a bit tight.

[sleepezy]

Can't help directly but I have a colleague who regularly goes through Dublin and always says the actual immigration queue there is typically very short which will help. I've asked him if he has GE, and if so whether he got it in Dublin - if he did I will let you know what he says.

90 mins seems tight but not ridiculously so - I did it with a 90 min connection in JFK, albeit that didn't leave much drinking dawdling time. Dublin's a more compact airport though.

I don't know what the consequences are for not being able to complete your registration when you've pre-arranged an interview. If it's not an issue you could always book it and then abandon if you're running tight for time - must happen with flight delays etc.

[djc206]

sleepezy said:

Can't help directly but I have a colleague who regularly goes through Dublin and always says the actual immigration queue there is typically very short which will help. I've asked him if he has GE, and if so whether he got it in Dublin - if he did I will let you know what he says.

90 mins seems tight but not ridiculously so - I did it with a 90 min connection in JFK, albeit that didn't leave much drinking dawdling time. Dublin's a more compact airport though.

I don't know what the consequences are for not being able to complete your registration when you've pre-arranged an interview. If it's not an issue you could always book it and then abandon if you're running tight for time - must happen with flight delays etc.

That’s great thanks.

Yeah it’s not the end of the world I’ve got a long connection in Chicago later in the year so could just do it then

[Shy Torque]

djc206 said:

Sorry to piggy back on the thread but does anyone have experience of doing the global entry interview on arrival at Dublin? I’m connecting through next month and have got 90 mins there. Thinking it might be a bit tight.

Don’t know if it’s helpful, but we cleared US immigration in a couple of minutes at Dublin last November - there was less than ten people queuing and the process was very quick.

(This was with the standard ESTA and not a GE interview though)

[Panamax]

Charlotte is a bit of a pain but not unmanageable. They don't have a lot of international flights so the "international" side of things is somewhat modest. In summary, nothing to fret about. I can't imagine the normal arrival arrangements would be any significant problem.

[a340driver]

The benefit of flying direct into Charlotte is that you don't have to clear customs at JFK or wherever you arrive in the USA.

The downside is that they're not really set up for it because they've always been a domestic airport so have no permanent immigration staff.

Probably still quicker overall than stopping via JFK/BOS/EWR though.

[Panamax]

a340driver said:

Probably still quicker overall than stopping via JFK/BOS/EWR though.

Yup, I always fly direct whenever possible.

[poosemon]

I've been through Charlotte twice in the last couple of years, both times non-global and needing to connect to another flight.

Both times sailed through, I think 1hr 45 should be plenty. All the terminals are walkable as its spurs off from central hub.

When you go through passport control, you collect your bag and then just after the customs hall there was a place to put it back into the connecting flight system. Even with AA all the way through still needed to do that. Was well marked.

[djc206]

Shy Torque said:

djc206 said:

Sorry to piggy back on the thread but does anyone have experience of doing the global entry interview on arrival at Dublin? I’m connecting through next month and have got 90 mins there. Thinking it might be a bit tight.

Don’t know if it’s helpful, but we cleared US immigration in a couple of minutes at Dublin last November - there was less than ten people queuing and the process was very quick.

(This was with the standard ESTA and not a GE interview though)

That is helpful as that’s Plan A, cheers

[brums evil twin]

that's a good point re the collecting of bags - it was something I was going to ask at check in - I have been caught before with connecting flights in the US

[sleepezy]

How long are you going for? I never check luggage even when going for 2 weeks - US hotels all have laundry so if I am going for longer I just have a 'wash run' on the weekend - but I guess also depends on what you need to take with you as everything I have has to go through security.

djc - my colleague does not have GE so can't really help but did say immigration at Dublin only normally takes a couple of mins with no queue. Sorry can't help more.

[djc206]

sleepezy said:

How long are you going for? I never check luggage even when going for 2 weeks - US hotels all have laundry so if I am going for longer I just have a 'wash run' on the weekend - but I guess also depends on what you need to take with you as everything I have has to go through security.

djc - my colleague does not have GE so can't really help but did say immigration at Dublin only normally takes a couple of mins with no queue. Sorry can't help more.

Appreciate you asking

[InformationSuperHighway]

As above, top tips from me:

- Hand luggage at all costs if you possibly can
- You'll sail through a 'regional' airport much quicker than one of the big ones.
- Make a plan B. Figure out ahead of time what you'll do if you miss your connection (Plan you next flight, move your meeting etc..).

I evens sometimes buy a refundable ticket ahead of time on the next flight to ensure I get a seat on the very next flight if I need it, avoiding the whole stand by thing. As soon as I know I'll make my original flight, I cancel the other one and get a full refund.