Travel right now: FAIR WARNING!

[athena53]

Regular immigration/customs is apparently going to to facial recognition too. Yesterday they did not hand out customs forms on the plane. They said you would get one on the jet bridge and only had to fill in your name and date because they were using facial recognition. I'm not sure what your face has to do with how many liters of rum you brought back, but YMMV.

This would be interesting- how many trees would they save if they got rid of the paper forms everyone has to fill out that no one ever looks at when you go through Immigration in the US? I've always filled out an honest Customs Declaration when coming home- typically I bought more alcohol than the duty-free allowance since I'm a solo traveler, and I didn't want it to be confiscated. I've never paid duty. ONE time the agent looked at me and said, "You do know the allowance is one liter, don't you?". And that was it.

I wonder of they'll start doing random searches to make sure that the limits are enforced. I know they already have cute little doggies sniffing around in the baggage claim area, although I never know if they're there to detect drugs, food or both.

 

[USGrant1962]

So no opportunity to declare anything?

Or were you handed something on the jet bridge?

Nope, GE exempted from filling in the customs declaration form - as always. You do hand your GE receipt to the Custom's officer so presumably you are supposed to declare there.

And to confirm - you no longer scan your passport, take fingerprints, or do a customs declaration on the GE kiosk. Touch begin on the screen, line up for the photo, and grab your slip.

I'm pretty sure it was also that way in April when I came back from Cayman Brac. I was kind of confused at the time, having done GE the "old" way for a decade.

 

[explanade]

After I finished in the MPC line at LAX, I asked the Officer where I could get my walk-up interview for Global Entry since I am already conditionally approved.

He sent me over to a line that appeared just about as long as the regular border control line! I declined.

Regular appointments are very hard to come by, but I finally got one at the end of July down near our border with Mexico.

I’m not really sure how much different GE will be from using the MPC app. MOC had me upload a selfie and then the officer took another photo of me. I recall also getting a photo taken when I scanned my passport at LHR.

I did go through it years ago and are on a 2nd 5-year renewal. My credit cards cover the fee or otherwise I might not have gotten GE.

Some people also swear by CLEAR but I'd have to pay out of pocket for that.

 

[explanade]

Nope, GE exempted from filling in the customs declaration form - as always. You do hand your GE receipt to the Custom's officer so presumably you are supposed to declare there.

And to confirm - you no longer scan your passport, take fingerprints, or do a customs declaration on the GE kiosk. Touch begin on the screen, line up for the photo, and grab your slip.

I'm pretty sure it was also that way in April when I came back from Cayman Brac. I was kind of confused at the time, having done GE the "old" way for a decade.

Last year, I lost some sausages and cheeses from Italy because I did declare at GE kiosk. They just simply took them and put it in a big garbage can.

They told me I would have been okay with wine, though I wasn't going to carry wine.

This year so far, I can't recall -- didn't bring anything back -- but yeah maybe they didn't have that screen when I came back two weeks ago.

 

[audreyh1]

Nope, GE exempted from filling in the customs declaration form - as always. You do hand your GE receipt to the Custom's officer so presumably you are supposed to declare there.

And to confirm - you no longer scan your passport, take fingerprints, or do a customs declaration on the GE kiosk. Touch begin on the screen, line up for the photo, and grab your slip.

I'm pretty sure it was also that way in April when I came back from Cayman Brac. I was kind of confused at the time, having done GE the "old" way for a decade.

Thanks!

 

[explanade]

I'm glad you helped her get through the crowd. Sometimes we're programmed to be polite to our own detriment. I still struggle with that.

When I left Munich I found kiosks at Border Patrol where you just scanned your passport and went through. Didn't work for me, of course- you had to have downloaded an app. Fortunately the lines weren't bad but I have to look into getting that app. Heathrow also has a Priority Line and you can use it if you're traveling Business Class- that's saved me long waits quite a few times.

ETA: I finally broke down and bought travel insurance to cover COVID quarantine on next month's trip. Wow- be careful out there. I already have a regular travel policy for the trip and my Medicare supplement would cover up to $50K in medical expenses as well. Many of the less-expensive policies that provide "COVID coverage" have generous limits for medical expenses due to COVID and evacuation/repatriation. Given the prevalence of mild cases (thank heaven) that coverage is of very little use. I had to shell out $340 for one that provided only $2,000 max quarantine expenses (plus decent coverage for trip interruption). $2,000 seems to be the max you can get. I'd found similar results for mu Munich trip- had only $2,000 of quarantine expense coverage.

These rates require state approval and I'm guessing they'll have to come down in the future. The data underlying the current rates likely includes quarantines form people testing positive before re-entering the US and that's no longer required.

Did they specifically call it quarantine coverage or was it more generic like Trip Interruption, which you typically have to add to most travel insurance policies?

 

[audreyh1]

Last year, I lost some sausages and cheeses from Italy because I did declare at GE kiosk. They just simply took them and put it in a big garbage can.

They told me I would have been okay with wine, though I wasn't going to carry wine.

This year so far, I can't recall -- didn't bring anything back -- but yeah maybe they didn't have that screen when I came back two weeks ago.

Sausages not allowed, but cheese you can bring in as long as it’s aged at least 60 days. Fresh or soft cheeses not allowed.

 

[Trailwalker]

After I finished in the MPC line at LAX, I asked the Officer where I could get my walk-up interview for Global Entry since I am already conditionally approved.

He sent me over to a line that appeared just about as long as the regular border control line! I declined.

Regular appointments are very hard to come by, but I finally got one at the end of July down near our border with Mexico.

I’m not really sure how much different GE will be from using the MPC app. MOC had me upload a selfie and then the officer took another photo of me. I recall also getting a photo taken when I scanned my passport at LHR.

I did not realize how difficult until after I paid my $100 and received conditional approval. Only a few offices in the entire country seem to be taking scheduled GE interviews—none near me.

 

[athena53]

Did they specifically call it quarantine coverage or was it more generic like Trip Interruption, which you typically have to add to most travel insurance policies?

Yes, it's quarantine coverage. Trip interruption was a separate coverage and was far more generous. I'm on a guided tour so it would be good to have coverage for extra costs to catch up with the group if necessary.

I’ve always avoided tour groups. Based on what I’ve read here, at some point I will have to try a small/local group tour, since I think it’s an experience I would enjoy, even though I enjoy traveling on my own.

Yeah, I see both sides. I loved rambling around Munich and Malta on my own with no schedule and making spur-of-the-moment decisions. Even a very good guided tour can include activities that don't interest me, insanely early departures and rain appearing on days when we're scheduled at outdoor attractions. I think I'll be alternating in the near future, choosing organized tours for areas where I don't know the languages, cultures and history well. It was a good choice for India! It's also kind of nice that when something goes wrong, they take responsibility for solving the problem.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

I did go through it years ago and are on a 2nd 5-year renewal. My credit cards cover the fee or otherwise I might not have gotten GE.

Some people also swear by CLEAR but I'd have to pay out of pocket for that.

Delta had a special deal on a year of CLEAR, so I signed up for that.

Once I got verified at the kiosk at ONT, the CLEAR assistant escorted me right to the front of the security line. That was nice.

 

[Koolau]

I’m no fan of govt regulation and with CBP have had many poor experiences, but what is CBP supposed to do? They staff based on scheduled flights and expected traffic, and when airlines cancel or change routes are left hanging like everyone else.

The airlines have built a business model based on their ability to cancel or reroute flights at the last minute, blame the weather to avoid penalty, and then demand that passengers, airports, and infrastructure react and adjust accordingly. We are seeing system failure and stress everywhere.

True enough and then there are staffing issues with ATC, aircraft maintenance, TSA, etc. Perfect grounds for a circular firing squad if ever one existed. It's a cluster flop and that's for sure. YMMV

 

[Teacher Terry]

I noticed that I didn’t have to fill out a customs form saying what I bought. The customs guy just asked if I spent over $800 and I said no.

My kids fly to Poland today to see my DIL’s family for a month. Yesterday the app for Lufthansa boarding passes wouldn’t work and they needed to pick seats so they drove to the airport to get them. The airline employee there told them to come 4 hours early or their luggage wouldn’t make the plane. They are going to do it but seems ridiculous for the Reno airport.

 

[Ronstar]

I just got an email from Southwest that our October flight to Las Vegas is delayed. Airlines can now anticipate delays 3 months in advance.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

While I'm personally frustrated with the travel chaos and have an "all of the above" view to getting control of it (govt mandated fees to customers for cancelled seats, limiting landing/take-off slots until an airline demonstrates competence, etc.), I do think there is something else going on here.

Air travel -- along with other struggling industries -- is a massively complicated endeavor. The number of people, systems, processes and supply chain elements that must come together to get one safely in a seat from point a to point b with a Coke in hand is staggering.

And most every one of those elements requires a pretty highly trained individual to do that job effectively and safely.

Even working a baggage ramp. Not hard to toss bags, right?

No, but to do it without getting sucked into a jet engine with bags to/from the right planes with all of the traveler and security exceptions is a very skilled position. And beyond the literal time it takes to recruit and train someone, it takes time on the job to reach competence.


Now toss in the people who hold the little oranage wands, fuelers, tug drivers, gate agents, call center people, mechanics, pilots, flight attendants, etc and its a serious issue.

I don't know the real numbers, but suspect that across of these industries millions of highly skilled people have become untethered from their roles. And while we can point to senior management and say "they should have known better" the reality is that many of these companies were under severe financial duress and knowing when the situation would turn was nearly impossible. And now they cannot meaningfully shorten the time-to-competence for the workforce at scale.

In my industry we use call center people. Relatively straight forward job but it still takes 6-9 months for someone to be fully efficient in the role. In my last role we were doing everything we could to fill new hire classes and were still consistently 50% short of our target class sizes. Managers were pulling their hair out, finance was having panic attacks over salaries, and HR was running out of ideas.

We're seeing that while its easy to pull 10k trained people out of an infrastructure with the stroke of a pen, it is much harder to put them back in. Toss in the great resignation and other factors, and its a really tough situation.

It will take 1-2 years to get the knots out of these industries...and that presumes no other big dislocations in the meantime. High inflation and the natural push-pull of realigning salaries with prices will exacerbate this problem.

 

[Buckeye]

While I'm personally frustrated with the travel chaos and have an "all of the above" view to getting control of it (govt mandated fees to customers for cancelled seats, limiting landing/take-off slots until an airline demonstrates competence, etc.), I do think there is something else going on here.

Air travel -- along with other struggling industries -- is a massively complicated endeavor. The number of people, systems, processes and supply chain elements that must come together to get one safely in a seat from point a to point b with a Coke in hand is staggering.

And most every one of those elements requires a pretty highly trained individual to do that job effectively and safely.

Even working a baggage ramp. Not hard to toss bags, right?

No, but to do it without getting sucked into a jet engine with bags to/from the right planes with all of the traveler and security exceptions is a very skilled position. And beyond the literal time it takes to recruit and train someone, it takes time on the job to reach competence.


Now toss in the people who hold the little oranage wands, fuelers, tug drivers, gate agents, call center people, mechanics, pilots, flight attendants, etc and its a serious issue.

I don't know the real numbers, but suspect that across of these industries millions of highly skilled people have become untethered from their roles. And while we can point to senior management and say "they should have known better" the reality is that many of these companies were under severe financial duress and knowing when the situation would turn was nearly impossible. And now they cannot meaningfully shorten the time-to-competence for the workforce at scale.

In my industry we use call center people. Relatively straight forward job but it still takes 6-9 months for someone to be fully efficient in the role. In my last role we were doing everything we could to fill new hire classes and were still consistently 50% short of our target class sizes. Managers were pulling their hair out, finance was having panic attacks over salaries, and HR was running out of ideas.

We're seeing that while its easy to pull 10k trained people out of an infrastructure with the stroke of a pen, it is much harder to put them back in. Toss in the great resignation and other factors, and its a really tough situation.

It will take 1-2 years to get the knots out of these industries...and that presumes no other big dislocations in the meantime. High inflation and the natural push-pull of realigning salaries with prices will exacerbate this problem.

+1

 

[harllee]

I just got an email from Southwest that our October flight to Las Vegas is delayed. Airlines can now anticipate delays 3 months in advance.

Maybe "delayed" really means "cancelled"?

 

[youbet]

I just got an email from Southwest that our October flight to Las Vegas is delayed. Airlines can now anticipate delays 3 months in advance.

Just semantics. Substitute the word "rescheduled."

 

[Koolau]

Just semantics. Substitute the word "rescheduled."

3 months ahead, I can handle "rescheduled." I've often gotten an email indicating that "Your flight schedule has changed." This has happened to a return flight, a month before I am to fly. Usually, it's less than 30 minutes one way or another. Not a problem.

But arriving at an airport and finding your flight has been cancelled should not be happening going forward. There's been enough time to sort out the "holes" and either fill them or give folks a couple of weeks notice of rescheduling - even if that rescheduling is a couple of days one way or the other. Of course, what do I know??

So, what DID the airlines do with that 50 BILLION we gave them? Buy back stock? YMMV

 

[ivinsfan]

3 months ahead, I can handle "rescheduled." I've often gotten an email indicating that "Your flight schedule has changed." This has happened to a return flight, a month before I am to fly. Usually, it's less than 30 minutes one way or another. Not a problem.

But arriving at an airport and finding your flight has been cancelled should not be happening going forward. There's been enough time to sort out the "holes" and either fill them or give folks a couple of weeks notice of rescheduling - even if that rescheduling is a couple of days one way or the other. Of course, what do I know??

So, what DID the airlines do with that 50 BILLION we gave them? Buy back stock? YMMV

If memory serves stock buys were prohibited in the government Covid aid. Of course the money did serve to cut operating losses which stabilized stock price. I think airlines are too busy trying to put out todays fires to think about what might be burning in 2 weeks.



You couldn't pay me to step on a plane in the short term.

 

[Koolau]

If memory serves stock buys were prohibited in the government Covid aid. Of course the money did serve to cut operating losses which stabilized stock price. I think airlines are too busy trying to put out todays fires to think about what might be burning in 2 weeks.



You couldn't pay me to step on a plane in the short term.

Unfortunately, until they get the bridge done, I don't have a lot of choice. YMMV

 

[ivinsfan]

Unfortunately, until they get the bridge done, I don't have a lot of choice. YMMV

They might get the bridge built before they fix the travel problems...

 

[youbet]

DW flew from OHare to Bangor a week+ ago and is in Bar Harbor visiting friends right now. Her flight was fine. Took off about an hour late but otherwise no issues.

My concern is the return flight being cancelled on short/no notice. A friend drives her from Bar Harbor to the Bangor airport, about a 1.5 hour drive. Bad news to find out your flight is cancelled until the next day when it's a 3 hour round trip for someone to pick you up again or you need to book a room and just hang around overnight.

Cost for the flight seemed reasonable, although we booked it several months ago so perhaps it's more now. 25,000 credit card points for the round trip plus $35 to check her bag.

Update.

DW is home. Her return flight was flawless. Left Bangor 2 mins early. Arrived OHare 15 mins early. No whacko passengers. Courteous crew. No lost baggage. I guess you get lucky every once in a while.

The only minor issue was picking DW up at the American terminal (#3). She called and told me what door she was standing outside of and I left the temporary parking lot and went there. Lotsa traffic. I made it to the curb and saw her maybe 70 ft ahead of me. A large (should be playing on Da Bears offensive line) and very mean looking gal carrying a baton screamed at me that there was no standing/waiting allowed while she slapped her baton against the palm of her hand. I pointed at my DW and screamed back (it was very noisy) and said "she's right there." I then got cussed out including religious-based profanity and some expressions I hadn't heard since working nights in an inner city factory. DW finally looked up and saw me and walked over.

I've picked up people from OHare dozens of times and was following the usual procedure. I know they have to keep you moving. There's no room for cars to park for 5 - 10 mins waiting for their party to arrive. I got there after DW informed me she was standing there waiting. I just needed to get her attention since she didn't see me pull up in all the noise and crowds. Sheeesh..........

Perhaps the gorilla-gal with the baton and loud, foul mouth was just having a bad day?

This was an airport employee, not an airline employee. Everything about American Airlines and their staff was great according to DW.

 

[Koolau]

They might get the bridge built before they fix the travel problems...

NOT what I want to hear.

 

[ndongobudget]

I do agree with you. Traveling via airlines in times of COVID-19 pandemics was a nightmare.

 

[Koolau]

I do agree with you. Traveling via airlines in times of COVID-19 pandemics was a nightmare.

I think the current issues are more about moving BEYOND Covid. IOW, airlines got used to Covid and are struggling to deal with "the way things used to be."

Lots of issues, of course, and Covid is a big one. Hope it gets sorted out soon. I gotta fly home! I don't want to ever spend another winter on the mainland (YMMV).