Last BA flight to NYC

Old Jan 14, 2020, 5:36 am
  #16  
 
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Global Entry is great - when they approve you for it. My papers have been in since last August, and I'm still waiting for the approval, before I can go for the face to face interview ….
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 5:38 am
  #17  
 
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I decided last year that next time I travel in for business, I will go into EWR, clear immigration much quicker, get the train to Penn and a cab from there. I'll be into midtown faster and my client will pay less than the $75 cab fare from JFK.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 5:54 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by PAL62V
I decided last year that next time I travel in for business, I will go into EWR, clear immigration much quicker, get the train to Penn and a cab from there. I'll be into midtown faster and my client will pay less than the $75 cab fare from JFK.
Ewr can, at the wrong time in the wrong terminal, be worse than JFK. And the train to Penn does not run to a regularly spaced timetable, so you may wish to pick your schedule with great care. As others have said, if it really matters go via Dublin, or do the Lcy-jfk ba001.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 6:40 am
  #19  
 
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Originally Posted by DFB_london
Ewr can, at the wrong time in the wrong terminal, be worse than JFK. And the train to Penn does not run to a regularly spaced timetable, so you may wish to pick your schedule with great care. As others have said, if it really matters go via Dublin, or do the Lcy-jfk ba001.
I'd agree this re EWR - the shuttle train to the station can be a huge pain if lots of people with luggage want to use it and slows things up, while the connecting trains can be very hit or miss. I'd say having done both fairly regularly that EWR is okay, but JFK can have its moments of efficiency too.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 7:57 am
  #20  
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Originally Posted by DFB_london
Ewr can, at the wrong time in the wrong terminal, be worse than JFK... if it really matters go via Dublin, or do the Lcy-jfk ba001.
I will take EI, with an hour on the ground at DUB and pre-clearance, over a 2+ hour wait on arrival at T7 any day. Same goes for BOS Terminal E arrivals.

Similar wisdom goes for eastbound travel -- a US national arriving at T3 or T5 can get hung up at border entry for ages, and staffing levels do not seem coupled in any way to incoming flight volume, no matter how predictable. But I can get my passport done in a few minutes at DUB and march right out of LHR T2.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 8:11 am
  #21  
 
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Most US (and Australia, Canada, Japan, NZ, South Korea & Singapore) nationals arriving in the UK are now able to use the electronic gates along with UK/EU/EEA passport holders, so the eastbound travel issues in to the UK should be significantly eased
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/g...more-countries
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 8:14 am
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by BearX220
Similar wisdom goes for eastbound travel -- a US national arriving at T3 or T5 can get hung up at border entry for ages, and staffing levels do not seem coupled in any way to incoming flight volume, no matter how predictable. But I can get my passport done in a few minutes at DUB and march right out of LHR T2.
US passport holders can use the e-gates at LHR. They get access to the same immigration process as UK nationals. The same cant be said of UK passport holders at any airport in the US.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 8:21 am
  #23  
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US Immigration at JFK is terrible. They won't do anything about it because it's not like people will stop coming to JFK. When I was a student / on a US work visa I regularly waited 1-2 hours every time to re-enter. I remember sprinting off flights (was never in J back then ) to try to make it to the immigration line as fast as possible, and still waiting for an hour. Global Entry has been a godsend.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 8:30 am
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by BearX220
Similar wisdom goes for eastbound travel -- a US national arriving at T3 or T5 can get hung up at border entry for ages, and staffing levels do not seem coupled in any way to incoming flight volume, no matter how predictable.
But then theres always the additional element of surprise for LHR when theres no gate available, and then when youre finally parked, it takes 20 minutes to find someone to operate just one of the three air bridges.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 10:04 am
  #25  
 
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Reminds me a bit of flying into/out of MBJ or CUN on vacation and waiting 1-2 hours to clear immigration. I can complain, sure, but what alternative do I have? You can roll the dice with EWR, but you may end up just as bad, or worse.

If you fly more than once a year, you should have GE (it's free with a dozen different credit cards). If you're not eligible.. sorry! But you have no recourse.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 10:18 am
  #26  
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A bit unfair to blame immigration on BA.

I recommend the following[

- Global Entry
- BA001 (LCY via SNN)
- EWR (Newark)
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 10:40 am
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by Joeykins
Most US (and Australia, Canada, Japan, NZ, South Korea & Singapore) nationals arriving in the UK are now able to use the electronic gates along with UK/EU/EEA passport holders, so the eastbound travel issues in to the UK should be significantly eased
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/g...more-countries
I can attest to this. It was stupid easy. If I'd known about it beforehand I would've brought my other passport because my main one is a little fussy with those automated machines. Works fine in the GE machines though. Go figure?

Also, I think CBP are rolling out automated machines similar to GE. There were a lot of them when I flew back through Boston. Maybe they'll come to JFK soon?

2 worst immigration experiences I've ever had were Munich during Oktoberfest and Belize City. Terrible.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 10:49 am
  #28  
 
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I've got GE but I've travelled through ORD with companions who don't have it and the immigration process there is significantly better because ESTA holders who've visited the US before can use those kiosks along with US nationals and then just have a short chat with the CBP. The last couple of trips I think it was 5-10 minutes difference between GE based immigration and ESTA kiosk.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 12:21 pm
  #29  
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Originally Posted by jp-mco
Have you ever considered getting Global Entry? Like you, we got frustrated by frequent delays at immigration so my family all applied for GE. It is a long process to complete but now weve completed it weve never had to wait at immigration when arriving in the US. I highly recommend the programme.
I have but TBH BA and NYC is the only time I would ever use it. Flying to LAX and Philadelphia (my main other two US destinations) never takes more than 20 mins plane door to exiting immigration (and thats doing it monthly). Seems easier just to make sure you always use AA into NYC.
Outbound from NYC the T7 Concorde Lounge is pretty much one of the best lounges I have used in the US and would always try and go that way.
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Old Jan 14, 2020, 12:23 pm
  #30  
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Originally Posted by shuly
Can you tell us which flight you were on, and what class? Three hours seem really excessive, were there several other arrivals just ahead of you?

Shuly
BA179 I think on club. There was an Iberia and Lot I think already in the queue.
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