Originally Posted by
botham
Last night, we arrived into DFW from LHR and had over two hours to connect to MCO and we barely made it! My understanding was that we would collect our bags and drop them nearby, staying airside so we wouldn’t need to clear security again.
As others have mentioned, this is a false assumption.
In fact, we were directed landside and had to join a long line to clear security again, despite travelling in First.
First class doesn't matter. All are in the same queue. The only way to speed it up is with Pre-Check. When I went through DFW last month (LHR-DFW-LAX), there was no Pre-check available at the TSA checkpoint as I emerged from International Arrivals. The next Pre-Check point was past the hotel. Because I was in a tight connection, I elected to go through the full TSA screening where I was. I have my Pre-Check with my Global Entry. Pre-Check is available without Global Entry, for a lower fee.
We also viewed a video on the plane offering us choices to clear immigration, using machines, but none of these were available and we had to join a long line, with only three agents being available.
I did not see any of those machines when I was there Oct 27. I did use my Global Entry and it was super-fast. Because that was pre-Nov 8, most of the passengers were US Citizens entering the US, so the US Citizen line was much longer than the non-Citizen line.
I had no wait for a Global Entry machine and no wait to pass on to the baggage claim. Literally, zero wait.
When I got to my connecting flight, they were boarding Group 8 and there were all of four people left in line. I made it with minutes to spare. Global Entry rocks. Well worth the $100.