Originally Posted by
Agneisse
20 years ago then-INS (now CBP) at PDX had a terrible reputation for Asia flights with a much higher rejection rate than other west coast airports. Obviously lots of time has passed (and one would hope conduct has improved) but could still be a non-zero factor for non-PDX-originating customers - all else being equal why deal with potential drama.
Link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archi...-ed7f1b79976c/
I do remember that as well. I used to fly the NRT- west coast routes on NW quite extensively pre-2009 merger but never ended up using PDX for some reason. Usually ended up doing LAX or SFO and maybe once or twice SEA. Apparently customs at PDX was horrible and lots more luggage checks than other airports.
I'm quite curious how much demand there really is for PDX from Japan. DL didn't really feel it was a great route for them, but I think a OneWorld carrier would be better with AS feed.