What Happens if Customs is Cranky??

[ZansGirl 0]

Just a random query....what happens if you have a connecting flight in the US and the CO is having issues and you miss the connecting flight??? Anyone???

[trailmix 77]

You have to get another flight

They do not care if you miss your flight, they will not help you to get another flight - you are on your own.

Edited January 31, 2010 by trailmix

[ZansGirl 0]

kinda what we figured all ready!!

[Rhiannercakes 14]

Yup, the CO didn't give a damn that I missed my flight. Told me to sit down and wait my turn.

Ended up missing my flight and had to take a different one. So... don't book the last one of the day

[Krikit 1,164]

Yep. Missed my flight too. The airline put me on the next one out. CBP cares not one iota whether they impact your day or not.

I'm going to close your other thread on the same topic.

[ZansGirl 0]

did you have to pay out of pocket for the next flight???

[Rhiannercakes 14]

I didn't. The flights I took were worth less than the one I paid for

So I actually lost money.

[darkchilde794 5]

You usually have to -- sometimes the airline people are nice and they let you rebook the flight and may or may not charge you the rebooking fees. Sometimes they are just plain pain in the butt and they dont care.

I say you come in REALLY early for your POE or visit or whatever you need to do. Its better to wait than miss your flight!

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

You usually have to -- sometimes the airline people are nice and they let you rebook the flight and may or may not charge you the rebooking fees. Sometimes they are just plain pain in the butt and they dont care.

I say you come in REALLY early for your POE or visit or whatever you need to do. Its better to wait than miss your flight!

Absolutely. I'm not doing my POE at an airport, so I can't speak for myself...but if I WERE to fly down, I'd be there five hours before the plane was set to depart. Definitely. Airports are easy places to kill time anyhow.

[Andy and Kayla 45]

Another thing you could do (though it might be too late if you've already booked) is fly out of an airport that has preclearance to the US. When I flew here, I had a connecting flight but I flew from Toronto Pearson International, which puts you through US customs before you board your first plane and so when you get to your connecting airport, all you need to do is find your second flight.

-K

[Krikit 1,164]

did you have to pay out of pocket for the next flight???

No. Usually, the airlines will do their best to accommodate you. The best they could do for me was give me the last seat to a hub (BWI) where I had a 5 hour layover before catching a connecting flight to my original destination (MCO). (I had a direct flight, initially.) I was sick as a dog, had already had a miserable day, and topped it off by being pulled over by the police less than 2 miles from my door. For no reason. They thought my Ford was the Nissan they were looking for.

What were you thinking your plans would be, ZansGirl? lol

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Yeah, I've never been asked to pay out of pocket for a new flight when missing a connection and I've never heard of that happening before. However, missing a connection is usually the fault of the airline and not the passenger. If you miss your connection because you sat at the bar for too long or decided to leave the airport and see the city and didn't give yourself enough time to get back then it might be different, I've never really been there. If you miss it and say it was because there was a long delay in customs and they took their sweet time processing you then I can't imagine them demanding you pay for a new flight. I certainly wouldn't be flying that airline again if that was the case!

So, the airport you are leaving from doesn't do preclearances, meaning you'll need to go through customs before catching your connecting flight? I would just suggest making sure you have a nice long layover, at least two hours. They shouldn't get cranky unless you give them a reason too.

[TimandJoyce 1]

Where you flying from? I flew from Vancouver, and made sure I was there EARLY. Ended up rather early as I was only an hour and a half in secondary. However, there was a couple there, ( I have no idea what the issue was) and they missed the flight. The airlines changed their tickets and baggage claims, did everything for them to ensure they had another one. I think it was totally unexpected for them to be questioned, where as I was aware of it.

I don't know what the other international airports are like in Canada, but I was very impressed with Vancouver's.

[darkchilde794 5]

A friend of mine was flying United and missed her flight due to customs, and they gave her seat away and rebooked her but she had to pay for the fees. United Airlines is really an evil airline, I hate them with passion. It might be just them though.

[Carlawarla 1]

How much time are you leaving between your flights? As long as you have about 2 hours between flights I'd think you'd be okay.