Originally Posted by
brunos
You say "typically", so why don't you enroll in the Frequent Visitor program. It is open to the FFP members of most airlines and allows you to use your passport on the e-gates once your fingerprints have been taken at enrollment.
Hmm, last time I looked I don't think Delta was a participating FFP (though it looks like they are now), and I typically don't meet the minimum visit requirement otherwise. (I don't think I've been to HKG more than twice in the same year, and that's my travel pattern in general, though the Schengen area taken as a whole is an exception.) I'll look at it again next time I find myself there. (Thanks for the nudge.)
That being said, I have numerous family/friends who use the "human" chanel and they ahev never had to wait more than 20 minutes. You even have staff that direct you between A and B areas if one area ifs more crowded than the other.
For some reason I always seems to get stuck in line after large groups of mainland shopping tourists...
Originally Posted by
NickB
The purpose of my post was not to express a view as to whether the USA should be given a star for being a good boy at the top of the class or be made to sit on the naughty step. It was meant essentially as a factual statement, highlighting some relevant context for the readers of this board: many Europeans, and in particular many of the readers of this forum, have no access to GE.
So, knowing that GE kiosks work well and that there are plenty of them is interesting... in the same way as, say, knowing whether automated kiosks for EAC nationals at Kigali airport work well might be interesting
That's why the half of my post that you trimmed talked about the
US APC kiosks, which are not the same as GE, and can be used by
any return ESTA visitor without pre-registration.
Originally Posted by
stimpy
Add another country to that expensive list in the UK. Yes it's still part of the EU. You can sign up for their Registered Traveler program as an American citizen (or several other countries). It's been a huge timesaver for me when traveling to the UK.
I think the UK program was already mentioned by
NickB, and I actually do qualify for that one, though I typically take the daytime flight from the US (arriving around 8pm) and can get a fast track card, so the time savings aren't as great for me.