Cat1099

I'm a US citizen currently in Mexico who needs to fly to London. I could avoid the US entirely by flying Air Canada. However, my trip would be shorter and easier if I chose an option that has me change planes in Houston or Miami. The challenge is that I would like to boycott US "security."

If I have a Mexico-LHR ticket, how likely am I to have to go through security in the US airport where I change planes (likely IAH or MIA)?

The details: All flights out of my current city go to the US first. To fly Air Canada, I would have to take a long bus ride to another Mexican city. I'd like to avoid the bus ride but I'd also like to boycott the TSA.

mre5765

100%

lostinthewash

If you come through YYZ with both flights on Air Canada, they would be considered international arrival and international departure - no customs, no security, just likely a gate change. Providing your bags are checked through.

gglave

Doesn't BA have a non-stop?

neko

If you change planes in the US, you will have to clear immigration (not an issue if you are a citizen) and security in the US. In most other countries, you are considered 'in transit' and don't clear immigration, though you may have to clear security. (But it won't be TSA.)

You may have options flying directly to a city in Europe. You could look at Iberia, which has quite a lot of service to Latin America (fly to London via Madrid). Paris would also not be too far out of the way (you could even take the train to London and avoid LHR security, as well). You could also consider a domestic flight to e.g. Mexico City and possibly even a direct flight MEX-LHR from there.

A good site for looking at options is kayak.com, they have a menu option (left side of the page, toward the bottom) for airports, so you can tell it to exclude flights that transit the US.

Cat1099

Thanks for all the answers. I agree that Kayak is a good place to look, and it's my favorite site for tickets.

I'm in Merida in the Yucatan. Continental flies out of Merida to LHR but stops over in IAH and Dulles.

BA flies out of Cancun, which is a longish bus ride away. According to what I can find on Kayak, there's a stopover in Miami.

Air Canada goes from Cancun to YYZ and then on to LHR and is so far the winner.

I like the idea of landing elsewhere in Europe and taking the train to London. I'll check that out next.

I'm actually not concerned about Canadian or other non-US security. I'm just irked at my government, and the idea of boycotting US airports is also increasingly appealing.

neko

I just checked kayak (I really like the 'no us transit feature') - Aeromexico /Air France MID - MEX (Mexico City) - CDG (Paris) - LHR.

Somewhat more expensive than via the US and I don't know what MEX is like, but that may be an option.

FlyingHoustonian

One benefit at IAH is you shouldn't have to reclaim bags, they will check through on the int'l connection. At some US Airports you have to reclaim bag and recheck. IAH has a seperate security line coming out of customs, but they do have nude-o-scops now;however sometimes they are not on and just use WTMD.
Also CBP FIS at IAH has a transfer line, though it is not always manned, it is used for those in transit, which sometimes speeds up the process. For CBP issues I'd take IAH over MIA everytime YMMV.

Ciao,
FH

Cat1099

Thanks for the help. It looks like I have a winner: BA flies direct to Gatwick from Cancun. I was searching for Heathrow because my client suggested I fly there, but Gatwick was the one that worked.

It looks like I'll be supporting the Mexican luxury bus industry instead of spending money and getting another "massage" in a US airport.

And yes, that "no US layover" option on Kayak is great. I wonder if Kayak's site statistics will show that more people are using that feature as other international travelers decide to avoid the US.

International travelers who don't want to stop over in the US: Try using Kayak.com to set up your flights. As neko helpfully pointed out in this thread, you can have Kayak exclude individual airports or entire countries from your itinerary.

To use the feature:

• Enter your "from" and "to" airports on the main search page.
• On the search results page, scroll down until you see "Airports" in the left menu.
• Click "Show Layover Airports."
• To exclude all US airports, click "clear" by the United States heading.

tev9999

Please drop an e-mail to CO and AA letting them know of your decision to send your money to other airlines rather than connect in IAH/MIA.

Cat1099

I definitely will.