Originally Posted by mattm199
Hi all, I'm travelling BNE-LAX-ORD-AKL-BNE next month, and haven't flown to the US since before 2000. What sort of reception are Australians getting in the US? Is there still the mandatory SSSS at all ports? Will I be able to make the AA connection codeshare at LAX 2 hours after arriving on QF175? And are the TSA screeners as unfriendly as I've heard?
I travel on an Oz passport. In 2002 and 2004 on trips to the US, I was always SSSS'd (100% of the time on internal flights), I think because I was on oneway flights, with no status/FF membership (took me a while to recover from Ansett falling over).
On two trips so far in 2006, I've never had SSSS.
Passport control (this is at BWI and LAX) and baggage collection went pretty smoothly and quickly, for J pax; by the time stragglers in Y class got to passport control, the queues were longer and slow. Expect to be finger printed and photographed. Officers were friendly enough, esp in BWI when I had missed out part of the visa waiver form - he let me complete it there rather than sending me to the back of the queue (but I have heard horror stories).
The handbaggage screeners do yell at you if you stuff about, but I actually like that - it keeps the pax on their toes and the queues moving.
James