Originally Posted by
etch5895
With Canada, the Bahamas and even hypothetically Mexico there is an actual valid economic reason for doing so, in that people can save valuable time by making short haul connections in a reasonable and more timely manner. Does it really make much sense for people in Qatar to have to get to the airport 2-3 hours earlier than they normally would have to just so they can shave 30-45 minutes off of the tail end of their journey? Besides, compared to the inter-American flights, how many people coming from Qatar are trying to connect to a short haul flight upon landing in the US?
30-45 minutes is a good gateway on a good day. Get in line behind a couple of Asian widebodies and it can easily (for non-US entrants, for whom I believe this is really useful) increase to 2 hours or more.
Of course, reducing the length (or more precisely time) of these lines would be another option, discussed at length in other threads. One day fish may fly.