IAH-OIL-TRASH

?

"We recently misconnected at IAD coming in from Asia. All segments were on UA and were on one single ticket. No UA flights were delayed.
We misconnected due to slow customs/immigration, and subsequently were protected on a flight, 6 hours later, ex-DCA, and had to fork out $70 for the taxi transfer between 2 airports."

Has the story changed somewhere?

mre5765

Even for a U.S. citizen or Global Entry member, 81 minutes is not sufficient to connect at IAD when clearing immigration, customs, and airport security screening. That said, UA will claim that is a legal connection, so you are out of luck.

maple

No change in story. I wanted to be specific that there were no delays, as all flights took off on time. Thus, there were no delays but a late arrival.

Lightman7

My experience transiting IAD is that GE does not help. Yes, you bypass the long immigration lines, but baggage claim, even if transiting, takes longer than the wait in the customs lines.

Any international connection less than 2 hours if you have checked luggage is a BIG risk.

And as noted above, if you are GE and the kiosks are down, you do get to use the crew line. Take advantage of all your benefits!

EsquireFlyer

?? Then why did he say there were no delays?

IAH-OIL-TRASH

I see (even though a late arrival is a delayed arrival). Still, longer than usual CIQ process. Possible ATC or adverse weather/winds might be cause of delay in landing, again out of UA's control. Flew once IAH to LAS via Memphis (DL/NW). Departed on time, encountered weather at Memphis, had to racetrack a bit before landing, missing connection. Got re-booked for next day, but no hotel/transfer since problem not DL/NW's.

Some of you are confused - Minimum connection times do not account for IRROPS. It's a connection time - from when you leave the jetway of one aircraft until you board the next, allowing time for terminal transfers, security clearances, CIQ, etc. It's based on expected arrivals/departures. If UA has a flight that's constantly late, then it needs to adjust the length of flight, not change MCT. That would have possibly made your connection invalid. If you want to make MCT include late arrivals, etc, let's just allow 24 hours or so as a MCT, unless you're at a infrequent service int'l airport and make it 48...

mduell

If you book a ticket with UA that includes a stop with different destination and origin airports, UA never covers ground transportation between those airports; it's up to you to get between LGA/JFK, DCA/IAD, etc.

From my own experience with global entry and no checked bags, I'm pretty confident I can make an 80 minute ID connection at most airports, and I'd book one. I'd hate to be forced into 5 hour connections if they set the MCT at 2.5 hours so grannie can book the MCT and make it. I also know that if I don't make it, I'll be waiting around for the next available flight.

And there was a reasonable expectation a traveler could make the connection. When you didn't, the airline said we understand people take different amounts of time to get from gate to gate because of immigration, program (global entry, precheck, etc) membership, mobility, etc, so we'll rebook you on our next available flight out of this airport or a nearby airport. You picked the nearby airport.

Not everyone has bags; UA does not know if you'll be checking bags at ticketing time.

thegrailer

I use GE at IAD all the time and zip right on through. I almost never check bags so I can't comment on that wait time, but a GE with no bags is in and out at IAD.

As an aside, wait until folks start counting on the Silver line to get home or into the District but arrive after Metro operations have closed for the night - that ain't going to be fun

Cheers -

entropy

Why is this congre$$'s responsibility? CBP already tacks on ludicrous fees:
5.50 Customs
7.00 Immigration
5.00 APHIS

does anything think it really costs anything close to $17.50 to process a marginal passenger?


Maybe not for you. I had a scheduled 2:30 connection BRU-IAD-YYZ a few months ago, there was a flight 40 minutes from our scheduled arrival time. We landed a little early, GE+security took < 5 minutes, I got myself on the new flight and still had time to hit the RCC for a snack. Checking luggage on an international flight when you have somewhere to be is a recipe for delays. TLV-EWR a few weeks ago I was waiting 45 minutes for (priority) bags.. Ridiculous. The line to get out of customs was also a half hour long, wihth a clear line for GE. That took no time. GE is worth every penny.

Often1

1. UA's obligation was to rebook OP.

2. OP chose to accept the xDCA flight rather than overnight at IAD. That's a reasonable decision and I would almost certainly have made the same decision. But, nonetheless, it's a choice and OP made it.

3. Had OP asked, UA might have issued a voucher, but he didn't.

4. OP can certainly submit the receipt, but there's nothing in the COC which would require UA to reimburse when it didn't agree to pay upfront. If OP gets a couple of miles tossed his way, that would be about it.

On the subject of MCT's, there are people who book short connections, people who want more time and people who don't know what they need. The first two are certainly informed decisions. There's no shame in being like OP -- an traveler who doesn't know IAD -- but that's what a good TA does for you.

I don't want UA deciding for me what I want. While the connection was tight, it's the kind of thing I would have tried for, particularly if there were no later connections.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

The fees do not go directly to the agencies they are intended for. UA does not write a check to Homeland Security. Congress allocates budgets.

achlee

I don't think there is a clear policy, so it's hard to say what you could have gotten if you had asked when you were booked a new connection (unless someone else has personal experience on this). It doesn't hurt to contact CS, maybe you will get a credit for a future flight.

Look at the extreme scenario, what if the plane was stuck on the tarmac upon arrival for 90 minutes? Who is at fault here? In my opinion, I take the risk if I book a flight with a tight connection, but I will always lean on the airline to see what can be done to fix the issue at no additional expense to myself. In that sense, it doesn't really matter who is at fault, it's more about United's willingness to compensate you.

Personally, I would be more bummed at the wasted 6 hours than the $70.

zombietooth

At IAH a few weeks ago, even the GE people were in the immigration line for over 30 minutes. The regular lines were over an hour. I agree with what others have said, don't take any international connection under 2 hours into the US unless you can afford to miss your connecting flight. This is not Hong Kong, after all, with plenty of efficient and competent immigration agents. I have done many 45 minute connections where I had to go through immigration and recheck my bags in HKG, and never had a problem.

There is just no way that you can blame the airline for the competence/proficiency of a government agency!

1kBill

Your profile indicates WAS, so it appears that you do not connect to another UA flight at IAD. Mid-field security can be a nightmare taking 20-30 minutes at times and GE is no help. Bag reclaim is generally not a problem for me at IAD.

HKG is not always a paragon of speedy immigration processing. I've had times through there when immigration/bag reclaim have taken as little as 10 minutes and as much as 45-60 minutes, most recently last year. Land at HKG at the wrong time and prepare yourself for a long wait.

Indelaware

With six hours why would you ever take a taxi? Even if OP wasn't familiar with local public transit, Super Shuttle (for which no reservations are needed) would have done the transfer in plenty of time for only $29.00.