LondonAndy

Thank you both - I just have to get the ACPO form signed tomorrow and sent off, and then it will (hopefully) be all systems go. It does seem like a great money making wheeze by ACPO and the US government. I assume that you still need an ESTA even when you've got this?!

golfmad

You need whatever you needed before. An ESTA or a valid visa.

mrow

I'm an UK based EXP with AA and I have TSA Pre. I'm a British citizen and don't have any visa etc for USA. My other half is American and so I spent quite a bit of time in USA, but only under visa waiver programme. I am not in GE yet, but will most certainly be applying.

Being able to use TSA Pre is a mixed bag as often the TSA won't accept non US ID for TSA Pre, so despite having it on my profile and it being given on my boarding cards, I often can't actually use it!

AlreadyThere

OK, I asked this in another forum (no answers yet), but will the new ability of Brits to breeze through US immigration and customs ultimately doom BA flights 1 and 3 LCY-(SNN)-JFK, for which preclearance was a big benefit? (Although I guess BA3 lost that benefit recently...)

Dave_C

Given the faff around applying for GE, I suspect it would be unlikely. Don't forgot the other key selling point for the BA1/2/3/4 is the location of LCY in east London, proximity to the wharf, and ease of transit through.

AlreadyThere

On the other side of the ledger, LCY has nothing like GF/CCR, and SNN loses its fascination after about the first hour. Plus, I imagine that as time goes by, for GE, the faff factor falls fast.

Dave_C

And no conformance too.

Globaliser

You're not supposed to turn up at LCY far enough in advance to even think about getting a drink - that is part of its appeal.

In any event, for those in LCY's natural catchment area like me, given a choice between the trek to LHR followed by a lounge, and the short hop over to LCY and no lounge, if all other things were equal I'd give up the lounge and use LCY every time. I can lock my front door, take public transport, and be at the LCY boarding gate 25 minutes later. It can be even faster if you start from Canary Wharf and take a cab.

And, AIUI, if BA1 or BA3 are in SNN for as long as an hour, something has gone wrong. Isn't it supposed to be something like 30-40 minutes, including the preclearance on BA1?

Markie

Great you have it, but there must be some other reason - even if that is an error. I know I have GE and despite the number being in my AA, UA, and BA bookings/profile, I NEVER get Pre. As lots of others have reported this, it seems the norm.

matinicus rock

Hey I heard thru the grapevine that since Parlaiment said no to bombing Syria, there have been unexplained delays in processing UK citizens for GE

matinicus rock

I also heard that in MIA yesterday, there were a few GGL's that actually thought there was a special GE lane just for them.

AlreadyThere

OK, I may have exaggerated the SNN timing a bit for comic effect. And granted, the LCY-JFK route has a casual feel somewhat closer to private jet travel (not that I can afford that myself, except as a guest).

But in terms of true net time, adding the extra time to get to LHR and navigate through T5, subtracting the SNN landing/interval/takeoff, is it that different? From LHR you get bigger, more frequent planes. And when Crossrail is complete, with stops at Canary Wharf and Liverpool Street... (OK, now I'm just being outright funny.)

Now, if you happen to be east of LCY, then there's no doubt you're better off with BA1/3.

Globaliser

The scheduled duration of LCY-JFK is about 9:15, and that of LHR-JFK is about 7:30 - so 1:45 difference.

Realistic differences in timing from (say) Canary Wharf for a business traveller:-

• Car to LCY - 10 minutes; car to LHR - 60 minutes
• Check-in at LCY - 30 minutes; check-in at LHR - 60 minutes
• Check-in to gate at LCY - 15 minutes; check-in to gate at LHR - 30 minutes

That pretty much makes up all the difference in scheduled timing, and assumes that you aim not to use the LHR lounges at all.

But in addition to that, it is simply less stressful to get to a nearby airport and/or you have to allow less margin for things to go wrong. (Even with more frequent flights from LHR, people generally prefer not to miss the one they're booked on.) These are things that lead us and others living near us to prefer LCY flights in general, even if it means flying Y rather than J (this is shorter short-haul, of course) and even if it means no lounge at LCY.

In addition, there will be quite a lot of LON-NYC pax who don't qualify for Global Entry; and even for most of those who do, it won't be worth their while doing it.

So I think it's easy to overstate the effect of the change in GE on the LCY service. It's more likely to sink or swim because of other factors.

mmdpkaaa

As a UK citizen would I have to have the interview in the US or is it possible to have it in the UK?

corporate-wage-slave

At the moment only in the USA / Canada and a few other places (e.g. Seoul). I gather there was a discussion as to whether it could be done in the UK, but without a CBP station in the UK, and given the tough funding situation, I can't see it happening. It's not available in Ireland which has 2 CBP stations. The whole incentive to shift regular UK travellers on to GE is to reduce pressure and cost, given that the Entry is self funding, so that the limited resources can be better targeted. So adding a new cost centre doesn't seem part of that process.