I came into IAD Saturday morning from Sao Paolo . I had 1 hour and 35 minutes between that flight and my connection. it was UA metal and immigration was at the midfield site. The immigration and customs part was only about 15-20 minutes ( and checked luggae was all off loaded when we cleared immigration) but they had all of 2 security lanes open and flights from Dakar, Sao Paolo and I think Kuwait all landing within about 20 minutes of each other. I was one of the first 30 people off my flight and it took north of 35 minutes to get through the security point. I then had to go to A5 for the connection and made it by the skin off my teeth.
So, I am going to be coming through IAD again on Good Friday with 1 hour and 40 minutes to connect( to GSO). My inbound flight is SAS 925 scheduled to land at 16.15. Does anyone know if these clear at the main building still ( it has been awhile since I took this routing) and if so, how is security at 17h ( ish) and is it easier to get to the A gates from this location than from the midfield?
Sorry, I realize several questions in here but I am wondering if I should just pay the $300 change fee and fly back to RDU which has a 3 hour layover.