It's been close to 4 years since I've been on a plane and after 42 years and 39 countries, I have never seen an airport this jam packed. I heard after COVID it was even WORSE.
I'm sitting here surrounded by about 5000 people with no seats, no room at the bar, people tripping over each other and just a loud mess. Of course everyone rushing the gate to get on first.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
TSA Pre + Global Entry + Lounge Access = life altering. I actually get to the airport early these days just to relax and have some free food and drinks.
(Granted, a lot of lounges are becoming pretty overcrowded these days as well, but it's still better than being out there with the riffraff.)
We have a Global Entry interview set, but the earliest time slot available is in October! There's quite a backup for those services.
For those that don't know, Global Entry basically allows you to skip customs. You just fill out a form on a kiosk and you're done. There's no waiting in line to talk to a cusoms agent. [Reply]
Originally Posted by loochy:
We have a Global Entry interview set, but the earliest time slot available is in October! There's quite a backup for those services.
For those that don't know, Global Entry basically allows you to skip customs. You just fill out a form on a kiosk and you're done. There's no waiting in line to talk to a cusoms agent.
Not sure how widespread it is, but at DEN you don't even have to fill out a form anymore. You just go to the kiosk, look in the camera, and it uses facial recognition to confirm who you are. It prints a receipt that you give to the guy on the way out the door, and you're done (assuming you're not declaring anything). I'm 90% sure that I literally never even pressed a button.
I'd guess it took me 15 seconds when I came through a few weeks ago. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Not sure how widespread it is, but at DEN you don't even have to fill out a form anymore. You just go to the kiosk, look in the camera, and it uses facial recognition to confirm who you are. It prints a receipt that you give to the guy on the way out the door, and you're done (assuming you're not declaring anything). I'm 90% sure that I literally never even pressed a button.
I'd guess it took me 15 seconds when I came through a few weeks ago.
Wow, even better! I was just going by what I read on the website. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
TSA Pre and CLEAR. You still get morons but the number is greatly reduced.
I haven't been able to justify CLEAR yet. TSA Pre is a no-brainer for me at $100/5 years or whatever it is, but CLEAR at $200ish/year doesn't seem like it makes THAT big of a difference.
Of course, I just travel for fun, so maybe 8-10 flights per year. If I was traveling for work, the extra 3-5 minutes each time would obviously add up. [Reply]
Originally Posted by loochy:
We have a Global Entry interview set, but the earliest time slot available is in October! There's quite a backup for those services.
For those that don't know, Global Entry basically allows you to skip customs. You just fill out a form on a kiosk and you're done. There's no waiting in line to talk to a cusoms agent.
I didn't get asked any questions entering Japan in June. If you fill out the declarations form on the plane you just hand it to them, they do a digital passport check, stamp it, and off you go. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I haven't been able to justify CLEAR yet. TSA Pre is a no-brainer for me at $100/5 years or whatever it is, but CLEAR at $200ish/year doesn't seem like it makes THAT big of a difference.
Of course, I just travel for fun, so maybe 8-10 flights per year. If I was traveling for work, the extra 3-5 minutes each time would obviously add up.
CLEAR is $109/year for me with my United status. I think it's going to be "free" when I get my new credit card. I fly almost every week so it more than make sense for me.
Did you know that there's a TSA Pre and CLEAR combined lane at DEN? You have to be both. I've seen the TSA Pre lines at DEN. **** that. It's only at the North checkpoint and you kind of have to look for it.
North Security Checkpoint
Primary checkpoint for TSA PreCheck passengers, open 4 a.m.-7:45 p.m.
CLEAR Customers: A CLEAR lane is available on the east side of this checkpoint for travelers who are CLEAR customers with TSA PreCheck. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Donger:
I've flown in and out of PHX well over 200 times. Since they finally demolished the old United terminal, it's much better. And the new rental car center train is awesome. Standing outside in July waiting 20 minutes for the old buses to show up and then a 15 minute ride to the rental car center was brutal.
That rental car bus was terrible. Nothing like budging in line
People suck
It will be interesting to see the next time we go back.
But, truthfully, is there a perfect airport? [Reply]
Originally Posted by loochy:
I love the Sacramento airport. I love tiny airports period. Santa Fe - awesome. Vail/Eagle - awesome. Victoria, BC - awesome. Ontario, California - awesome. Burbank - awesome. Reagan - awesome. Kona - awesome. Lihue - awesome. Guatemala City - awesome. Denver - F U. Seattle - F U. Orlando - F U. Dulles - F U. LAX - F U. Phoenix - F U.
Have you ever flown into Pelston in Michigan?
Modeled after a hunting lodge where you can sit in front of the fire and read books lol
Originally Posted by Donger:
CLEAR is $109/year for me with my United status. I think it's going to be "free" when I get my new credit card. I fly almost every week so it more than make sense for me.
Did you know that there's a TSA Pre and CLEAR combined lane at DEN? You have to be both. I've seen the TSA Pre lines at DEN. **** that. It's only at the North checkpoint and you kind of have to look for it.
North Security Checkpoint
Primary checkpoint for TSA PreCheck passengers, open 4 a.m.-7:45 p.m.
CLEAR Customers: A CLEAR lane is available on the east side of this checkpoint for travelers who are CLEAR customers with TSA PreCheck.
Eh, the Pre lane looks scary but moves super fast on the North side since they have almost zero general passenger lanes there. I can't ever remember taking more than 10 minutes to get through.
But again, I definitely get that dropping that 10 minutes to 5 minutes would make a big difference if I was flying as much as you are. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
TSA Pre + Global Entry + Lounge Access = life altering. I actually get to the airport early these days just to relax and have some free food and drinks.
(Granted, a lot of lounges are becoming pretty overcrowded these days as well, but it's still better than being out there with the riffraff.)
100%. But Global Entry includes TSA Precheck, so just get it, IT'S SOOOOOOOO WORTH IT!!! Add lounge and 1st class to the experience and life is good,even on a ground hold... [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
There's your problem. If you're paying for it, you're doing it wrong. :-)
But yeah, they can be crowded. Still, they almost universally have more comfortable seats than you'll find on a concourse, often have nice views of the airfield, and the expectation is that you'll be there hanging out for a while vs. a restaurant that wants you to get in and get out. I also generally find that I eat healthier food in lounges than I do at restaurants - casseroles, soups, salads, roasts vs burgers and fries.
You don't care about alcohol, I know, but for me that's worth around $15-$20 per person for a couple of drinks compared to what I'd pay in a restaurant.
That said, some lounges suck. I'm excited for United to get all their upgrades done at DEN, as the current lounges there are some of my least favorite I've ever stepped foot in.
100% of all of this... I travel internationally for most of my current trips (I DON'T miss work travel in the least) so I do my best to add some buffer during layovers, and that longer buffer is best spent in a lounge. And while I was an American Airlines loyalist 8 years ago, having met friends who work for United, I'm converted. In the last 8 years they've cancelled only one of my flights, and that was because they were clearing jets out of IAH because of a pending hurricane. Lucky for me, my friends know the system and have contacts and had me booked through to NAS on Delta in an hour. I'm blessed in many ways.. [Reply]
Sky Harbor is fine, especially for how busy it is. They make driving around it easy too. I can pick up someone curb side and drive around the other side to get out without any stop and go traffic. I say that's pretty impressive. [Reply]
