Dear CATSA: your NEXUS program is a mess
Jan 30, 2018 | 10:40 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: The World
Programs: WS Platinum, Marriott Titanium, UA Silver, AC 25K
Posts: 1,788
Dear CATSA: your NEXUS program is a mess
I’ve had a few weeks of flights (almost all WestJet) through various airports across Canada and the U.S.
The NEXUS “trusted traveller” feature at CATSA checkpoints is useless. And utterly pointless.
YYC Concouse A: one line for regular. One line for Wetjet Gold. And one line for us “trusted travellers”. The regular line feeds to multiple screening queues (as it should). The Gold line goes through one. And NEXUS goes to one. And that one NEXUS lane is bloody, bloody slow and congested. Other than one time - when the regular line snaked down the hall past the pre-security shops - NEXUS routinely gets “lapped” by everyone else. Unless it’s a peak passenger period, NEXUS is routinely the slowest option. “But hey”, says CATSA, “you get your own line!”. But it’s pointless. Little to no benefit.
YYC Concouse E: Much talked about already. One line for regular, one line for premium, and one line for NEXUS. And they just all merge into the same line for a Plus machine. Occasionally, a short time savings because you get to awkwardly “butt” in front of some people who’ve waited. But then you’re waiting behind infrequent travellers overwhelmed by the Plus system, who have their bottles of shampoo and water with them, and everyone pulling out their technology for a separate bin, and big families with strollers, and with everyone taking their shoes off. Again, unless there’s a massive regular line, NEXUS is pointless. “But hey”, proclaims CATSA (frequently), “you get front-of-the-line service!”. But it’s of little to no benefit. Pointless.
YYZ T-3. Hey, a whole separate screening area for us trusted travellers! Wow! Great, right? No. Still a bloody long and slow line (hidden behind check-in) with staff running around redirecting people from one screening door to another. An odd merging and ‘de-merging’ with lines for handicapped/family travellers (and I had no idea which line was which, or if it made a difference). While I was there it was still peak leisure travel time (at the start of January), and the whole area was absolute chaos and confusion. And bloody slow. “But hey”, says CATSA, “you get your own line!”. But there’s no benefit or advantage. It’s pointless.
YVR B gates. One regular line leading to 3 stations. One for families. And one for NEXUS. Guess which one’s the absolute slowest option? You betcha! It’s NEXUS! After waiting and waiting and inching ahead, and watching every other (short) line move, I slid under the stanchion ropes across to the ‘regular’ line. And I beat all of the poor NEXUS suckers still standing there waiting for their Trusted Traveller experience. And I beat them handily. “But hey”, says CATSA, “you get your own line!” But, alas, it’s utterly pointless.
Every single U.S. airport TSA Pre-Check experience: Awesome. Fantastic. It works. Short lines, adequately staffed to get trusted travellers moving quickly. Dedicated lanes and service. Incredibly efficient. And, since you’re “trusted” no removing of compliant-sized liquids, or laptops, or taking off jackets or shoes. Making it even faster, even more convenient, and utterly, fantastically reliable. IT WORKS.
Dear CATSA: Your Trusted Traveller system is broken. Fix this. Or just shut it down. Stop pretending.
NEXUS is great for CBSA clearance. It’s great for Global Entry for CBP clearance into the U.S. And it’s absolutely wonderful for TSA Pre-Check when flying from a U.S. airport.
But for you guys, dearest CATSA, it’s useless. And frustrating. And annoying.
Fix this.
The NEXUS “trusted traveller” feature at CATSA checkpoints is useless. And utterly pointless.
YYC Concouse A: one line for regular. One line for Wetjet Gold. And one line for us “trusted travellers”. The regular line feeds to multiple screening queues (as it should). The Gold line goes through one. And NEXUS goes to one. And that one NEXUS lane is bloody, bloody slow and congested. Other than one time - when the regular line snaked down the hall past the pre-security shops - NEXUS routinely gets “lapped” by everyone else. Unless it’s a peak passenger period, NEXUS is routinely the slowest option. “But hey”, says CATSA, “you get your own line!”. But it’s pointless. Little to no benefit.
YYC Concouse E: Much talked about already. One line for regular, one line for premium, and one line for NEXUS. And they just all merge into the same line for a Plus machine. Occasionally, a short time savings because you get to awkwardly “butt” in front of some people who’ve waited. But then you’re waiting behind infrequent travellers overwhelmed by the Plus system, who have their bottles of shampoo and water with them, and everyone pulling out their technology for a separate bin, and big families with strollers, and with everyone taking their shoes off. Again, unless there’s a massive regular line, NEXUS is pointless. “But hey”, proclaims CATSA (frequently), “you get front-of-the-line service!”. But it’s of little to no benefit. Pointless.
YYZ T-3. Hey, a whole separate screening area for us trusted travellers! Wow! Great, right? No. Still a bloody long and slow line (hidden behind check-in) with staff running around redirecting people from one screening door to another. An odd merging and ‘de-merging’ with lines for handicapped/family travellers (and I had no idea which line was which, or if it made a difference). While I was there it was still peak leisure travel time (at the start of January), and the whole area was absolute chaos and confusion. And bloody slow. “But hey”, says CATSA, “you get your own line!”. But there’s no benefit or advantage. It’s pointless.
YVR B gates. One regular line leading to 3 stations. One for families. And one for NEXUS. Guess which one’s the absolute slowest option? You betcha! It’s NEXUS! After waiting and waiting and inching ahead, and watching every other (short) line move, I slid under the stanchion ropes across to the ‘regular’ line. And I beat all of the poor NEXUS suckers still standing there waiting for their Trusted Traveller experience. And I beat them handily. “But hey”, says CATSA, “you get your own line!” But, alas, it’s utterly pointless.
Every single U.S. airport TSA Pre-Check experience: Awesome. Fantastic. It works. Short lines, adequately staffed to get trusted travellers moving quickly. Dedicated lanes and service. Incredibly efficient. And, since you’re “trusted” no removing of compliant-sized liquids, or laptops, or taking off jackets or shoes. Making it even faster, even more convenient, and utterly, fantastically reliable. IT WORKS.
Dear CATSA: Your Trusted Traveller system is broken. Fix this. Or just shut it down. Stop pretending.
NEXUS is great for CBSA clearance. It’s great for Global Entry for CBP clearance into the U.S. And it’s absolutely wonderful for TSA Pre-Check when flying from a U.S. airport.
But for you guys, dearest CATSA, it’s useless. And frustrating. And annoying.
Fix this.
Last edited by FlyerJ; Jan 30, 2018 at 12:42 pm
Feb 4, 2018 | 9:34 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: YYC
Programs: AC-E50K, *G, WS-Gold, Nexus, HH-Diamond, Marriott-Gold, Hertz-PC
Posts: 188
The feeling of the Nexus lane often being slowest is a reflection of reality. Whenever CATSA is training new agents at security they will almost always set them up in the Nexus lane, with the reasoning that because it is used by “trusted travellers”, there is less risk with them and therefore less chance of an agent’s error causing a serious issue.
So ironically (and infuriatingly) the “trusted travellers” end up undergoing even more scrutiny than the “normal” line, while the agents learn how to scan, x-ray and swab.
So ironically (and infuriatingly) the “trusted travellers” end up undergoing even more scrutiny than the “normal” line, while the agents learn how to scan, x-ray and swab.
Mar 8, 2018 | 2:30 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 3
Keep in mind
Greetings.
A lines speed is dictated on two factors, 1.) Xray operator experience. Newer is slower. 2.) passengers not having a ton of clutter, dense objects, laptops or water bottles etc left in their carryon. Most of time a laptop gets swabbed, it's because the owner left something on top. The second slows everything down, expecially when you have both 1&2.
Note: My opinions are my own and not of any organization I may or may not work for.
A lines speed is dictated on two factors, 1.) Xray operator experience. Newer is slower. 2.) passengers not having a ton of clutter, dense objects, laptops or water bottles etc left in their carryon. Most of time a laptop gets swabbed, it's because the owner left something on top. The second slows everything down, expecially when you have both 1&2.
Note: My opinions are my own and not of any organization I may or may not work for.
Mar 10, 2018 | 10:48 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Port Moody, BC
Posts: 484
Maybe it's because I usually take early flights, but I haven't experienced any delays using the NEXUS lines at YVR...however, returning home is a PITA because the majority of the NEXUS/GE kiosks are non-functional. I used CATSA's online comment form to complain about the issue and received this response:
It's pretty much the (non) answer I was expecting.
Thank you for sharing your concerns. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is committed to providing NEXUS members with a safe and expedited border crossing experience. Feedback such as yours is important for the Agency to strengthen its programs and services, and deliver on its commitment to service excellence.
The CBSA is aware of certain instances where issues with the kiosks resulted in difficulties for members attempting to use them. The Agency continues to monitor kiosk performance and work with the regional offices to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. The Agency is planning to gradually replace some of the kiosks at that location, the time is to be determined.
Should you experience difficulties with a kiosk in the future, you may try a different one or proceed to the special services counter, where you will continue to receive expedited service.
Thank you for contacting the Canada Border Services Agency and for your membership in the NEXUS program.
The CBSA is aware of certain instances where issues with the kiosks resulted in difficulties for members attempting to use them. The Agency continues to monitor kiosk performance and work with the regional offices to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. The Agency is planning to gradually replace some of the kiosks at that location, the time is to be determined.
Should you experience difficulties with a kiosk in the future, you may try a different one or proceed to the special services counter, where you will continue to receive expedited service.
Thank you for contacting the Canada Border Services Agency and for your membership in the NEXUS program.
Aug 1, 2019 | 2:53 pm
#6
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 3,195
The chaos and incompetence continues at YYC as of yesterday. Total goon show. Check the CATSA twitter feed - it's all about how great their people are. People are not great when they're incompetent, snotty and snippy.
Is it too much to ask that what works at five other airports in Canada should also work at YYC?
This has been going on for far too long. We need some house cleaning at the senior leadership level at CATSA.
Is it too much to ask that what works at five other airports in Canada should also work at YYC?
This has been going on for far too long. We need some house cleaning at the senior leadership level at CATSA.
Aug 6, 2019 | 2:09 pm
#7
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Victoria, BC
Programs: UA 1k, AA Exec Plt 2MM, HH Diamond, *wood Gold, disgruntled Amex Ex-Centurion
Posts: 594
With about 40 trips from YYC terminal A over the last 12 months, there were exactly two scenarios I encountered:
- All lines short and moving reasonably quickly, Nexus or WestJet Premium line did not make a difference
- Regular line busy and congested, Premium and Nexus somewhat busy. I agree that the Nexus line could have moved faster in some cases, but there was still a significant advantage in these situations.
Aug 11, 2019 | 8:31 am
#8
Join Date: May 2006
Location: MYF/CMA/SAN
Programs: COdbaUA MM, AA EXP, AF G, Bonbon Gold, Hilton G, All G, GHA Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis Presidential
Posts: 5,929
Part of the problem is the move to automated bag x-ray screening. Notice that no one sits behind the machine with a computer screen in NEXUS lanes? Then bags suddenly get pulled over at a higher frequency. Further, the correlated move to mandatory bins for all bags, but not all checkpoints having the feeder style individual bin areas. That makes things go SLOW, especially when you get people who travel mostly in the US and are used to completely the opposite with Pre Check.
Aug 11, 2019 | 1:48 pm
#9
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: SAN
Programs: BAEC Aeroplan MileagePlus
Posts: 305
At YVR a few months ago - I'm GE but can use the TT lane - returning to the US - as I was in the lane they decided to close the TT lane leaving me to go to the regular lane. I was told this was due to not have many travelers that evening. Admittedly the wait time was not too long but then I had to do the extra stuff that TT don't do - shoes off etc.
Aug 26, 2019 | 2:10 pm
#10
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,835
Every single U.S. airport TSA Pre-Check experience: Awesome. Fantastic. It works. Short lines, adequately staffed to get trusted travellers moving quickly. Dedicated lanes and service. Incredibly efficient. And, since you’re “trusted” no removing of compliant-sized liquids, or laptops, or taking off jackets or shoes. Making it even faster, even more convenient, and utterly, fantastically reliable. IT WORKS.
Dear CATSA: Your Trusted Traveller system is broken. Fix this. Or just shut it down. Stop pretending.
NEXUS is great for CBSA clearance. It’s great for Global Entry for CBP clearance into the U.S. And it’s absolutely wonderful for TSA Pre-Check when flying from a U.S. airport.
But for you guys, dearest CATSA, it’s useless. And frustrating. And annoying.
Get to the scanners, and they're putting people through the MMW scanner <sigh> Agent (pre-scanner) says, oh, you don't have to do that with Pre, and directs me to a closed metal detector.
I wait for them to open it, while a dozen people behind me go through the MMW and my wallet is sitting at the far side of the xray machine. They wouldn't let me go through the MMW, they had to wait for someone to open the basic metal detector.
IDIOTS.
Aug 31, 2019 | 11:11 am
#11
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: SAN
Programs: BAEC Aeroplan MileagePlus
Posts: 305
Just came through YVR 3 days ago and thought of this thread. CATSA TT lane was closed again. So was made to go through the regular lane. It was not busy so there were about 5 screeners for every passenger each issuing different instructions. I also got a quick patdown even though there was no alarm. After leaving using PreCheck I found it very invasive.
Pointless having a TT lane if it going to be closed.
Pointless having a TT lane if it going to be closed.
Sep 1, 2019 | 12:43 am
#12
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: SEA, or BOS, or MUC, or other places (probably connecting). "Detroit, Michigan is in the Eastern time zone."
Programs: DL GM/1MM, NEXUS/GE, CLEAR, Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 1,211
Just came through YVR 3 days ago and thought of this thread. CATSA TT lane was closed again. So was made to go through the regular lane. It was not busy so there were about 5 screeners for every passenger each issuing different instructions. I also got a quick patdown even though there was no alarm. After leaving using PreCheck I found it very invasive.
Pointless having a TT lane if it going to be closed.
Pointless having a TT lane if it going to be closed.
It was decidedly not pointless on Friday afternoon when I went through the international checkpoint at YVR's D Gates. The regular line was past the food court seating area, but there was no line on the TT side.
Even if I'd had to get the full regular screening, I saved what I suspect was at least 30-45 minutes in line and could have been over an hour.
Sep 1, 2019 | 8:15 pm
#13
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: SAN
Programs: BAEC Aeroplan MileagePlus
Posts: 305
When did you go through, and for which set of gates?
It was decidedly not pointless on Friday afternoon when I went through the international checkpoint at YVR's D Gates. The regular line was past the food court seating area, but there was no line on the TT side.
Even if I'd had to get the full regular screening, I saved what I suspect was at least 30-45 minutes in line and could have been over an hour.
Sep 1, 2019 | 8:38 pm
#14
Moderator: Hyatt Gold Passport & Star Alliance
Join Date: May 1998
Location: London, UK
Programs: UA-1K 3MM/HY- LT Globalist/BA-GGLfL
Posts: 12,761