What is the point of Carry E-Z?
 

Arrived in DFW on an international flight. For once, the Carry E-Z Lane was open.

Score right?

So, with GE, it was a normal immigration entry. No additional customs exit. Then followed the exit signs (maze actually) and exited ultimately to terminal D - Landside.

What. Was. The. Point?

I expected to emerge in D airside. Instead I have a ten minute walk to the nearest operating TSA Pre lane.

Carry E-Z might save 60 seconds, because I don't have to walk through baggage claim and the GE customs exit. If TSA Pre is operating Landside next to the Carry E-Z exit. Which it was not on a Sunday afternoon.

Apologists on the forum for explaining screened pax entering the USA get rescreened state that the reason is that arriving pax have access to their checked bags.

What is the excuse now? Trot out the excuse that many origins have bad security screening? If so then all such flights should be forced to land in rural area on the coast or border. Ludricous excuse. Third world countries IME have more rigorous screening.

E.g., today in PTY everyone going to DFW had to experience an secondary screening far more rigorous than a non Pre pax on a U.S. domestic flight endures. I had to have my tablet out. Everyone through the WTMD at the gate received a thorough pat down from security agent (as an aside, why is it PTY has females patting down males, but the TSA does not? Why must us males in the USA suffer?).

So why was I screened again by the TSA?

What a waste of money. Jeh, you are an idiot.

What is the Carry E-Z lane meant to be?

The PTY check is done at the insistence of the US g:overnment, the same government that requires you to be rescreened after arrival in the US -- even if you've had no contact with checked bags.

This isn't always true. E.g., clear CBP in Ireland or Canada, and the flight is permitted to arrive at a domestic terminal with no rescreening.

Carry E-Z should offer the same experience.

When flying from PTY, you go through TSA-style security, and then still arrive as an international passenger?

At the gate they x-ray all carry-on and have a WTMD IIRC. There is n:o pre-clearance for US customs/immigration at PTY so you arrive in the US as an international passenger. Quite a few other places have arrangements for similar extra at-the-gate checks for flights on US carriers.

Getting back on-topic, perhaps someone could explain to the rest of us what Carry E-Z is supposed to be.

IAH has had one stop for years and while you do get to skip the second customs exit and check one still has to reclear TSA.

This is true at all continental US airports. Even with one-stop or e-z type systems and through bag checks travellers still need to reclear security with TSA sadly. This has been policy for some time.

So then is there any point/benefit other than not having to wait in a line at customs (in the event there actually is a line)?

So other than via pre-clearance airports (wherein you'll directly deplane airside), one will always be subject to a landside-to-airside-type security screening after an international arrival to a connecting flight, correct?

Other than for an international-international connection if you have checked bags, I'm not seeing any benefit to "one-stop" or "Carry-EZ" set-ups. Or am I missing something?

So what is one-stop or EZ?

How are you avoiding a customs line? I've only ever seen a customs line once, but the GE line was empty. So if you have GE, you really should never have an issue...

I thought FTers in this forum would have heard of Carry EZ.

Anyway, the idea is that if you arrive on an international flight with NO checked luggage, then instead of going through the passport control lanes that lead to baggage control, instead you go through the Carry EZ Lane (which in DFW does have global entry kiosks but does NOT have passport scanners for the non GE folks). There you present your passport or GE receipt + passport to the CBP officer who is empowered to clear you for passport control and customs, if he wants.

You might still be given a secondary inspection, in which case I imagine you would directed to the baggage claim area.

Otherwise you are directed to the Carry EZ exit, which in DFW is a maze of halls and elevators that dumps you out Landside in terminal D no where near a Pre security entrance.

Correct. If you are flying onto a domestic US connection, or into the US, and have a checked bag you cannot use one-stop which is at Houston and now Chicago. It seems DFW now has this E-Z product.

No matter where you are headed if you have a connection after an int'l arrival, other than from a pre-clear location, you must reclear TSA at the first US point of entry.

Again, One-stop allows int'l-to-int'l connections to not have to reclaim bags or do customs. Also if you have carryon only you can use it at IAH or ORD.

It allows one to exit directly to TSA or out of the airport without the second line at customs (which can be long at IAH and ORD depending on time of day).

So someone flying UA LHR-IAH-BZE could use the one-stop line and just exit to TSA not having to reclaim bags and pass the customs exit for example.

I just flew IAH-FRA last Sunday and with just my carry-on I was able to exist after the GE process (which was the longest I have ever seen taking nearly five minutes due to the long line for the agents to accept paperwork after the machine LOL).

You explained why it's bad, but I still don't understand the theory behind it - as in, why would I want it in theory (even if DFW implemented it poorly)

What am I saving? Not needing to walk through a baggage claim hall?

If one does not have checked bags, yes one skips the second step. At IAH last Sunday that would have saved someone at least 40-45 minutes with the customs lines and the possibility of a second interview or secondary.

If one is int'l-to-int'l with checked bags same thing. No need to wait on bags nor go via the second check in customs. It saves time and is more convenient.

Even with the separate GE exit at customs, I save time by just exiting after the kiosk and walking out of the FIS. At IAH at least saves time and keeps some people and bags out of the customs area.

I have not used it recently at ORD, nor the E-Z system at DFW but at IAH certainly saves time even for GE.

Interesting concept then. Does GE help at all versus not?

How does intl. to intl. not need to wait for bags though? Bags are auto-checked through?

Yes. This :(nly happens at a couple of airports, though.