Heeee's baaaaack...

So I finally go to the airport today, only to find a sign on the door to Immigration that says Monday-Friday. Wish they'd told me that on the phone.

Anyway, being at the airport, I spoke to a Customs agent. His response "No problem. Remain in the transit area, then clear US INS/Customs before boarding the plane." Only problem is, you don't pre-clear on the way to HNL. So much for this guy.

Speak to CP agent at International check-in. He says, no problem, just stay in the transit area, then get on the plane. He's not certain of all the details.

Head to Trans-border check-in, and speak to one of those wonderful CP agents who can move mountains. He explains, in detail, the process, then calls it up on his computer screen for me to read it. Too bad he had no way to print it out. He also had some other useful suggestions. So here it is:

Your aunt will not need to clear Canada Customs/Immigration, if she meets the following four criteria:

1. Must have entry documents for the next onward country, in this case, the USA (i.e. Visa, passport, etc.)

2. Must arrive and depart on one of about 7 different airlines. CP is included in this list, so no problem here.

3. Must have onward ticket out of Canada, departing within 24 hours of arrival.

4. Must remain in transit area.

The agent figured that #4 would be the only problem, as confused passengers sometimes wander into the customs hall. His concern was that, not only would CP be fined $3000, but even worse, immigration would give the passenger a hard time. (I thought it kind of cool that he thought the passenger's problems were more important than the $3000 fine. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )

To alleviate these potential problems, he had several suggestions, in order of effectiveness:

1. When your aunt gets off the plane in Vancouver, have her "grab" the agent who will be waiting, and tell them "I am going to Honolulu." (His words -- "grab," and he meant physically take the agent by the arm.)

2. Before boarding in London, or wherever, have a notation added to the passenger record to request "Meet and Assist service" along with the details -- i.e. Elderly, may be confused/frail/lost/whatever, and is going to HNL.

3. And finally, if you want to be absolutely certain, request a wheelchair for her. (I suppose this depends on how she feels about it.) If you do that, there will be an agent assigned specifically to her, to make sure she gets on the correct plane at the right time, and stays in the transit area.

I'd have faith in this guy. He really seemed to know precisely what was going to happen, and how it all works. In any case, I'll phone immigration again tomorrow when they are open. I'll just have to ask whoever answers, and hopefully they will confirm the above.

Great agent. One of those people who can deal with and solve any problem. And keep cool the whole time, as well.

Regards,

Ken Hamer


[This message has been edited by KenHamer (edited 04-26-99).]