for those of you who have gone through US Customs in Calgary

[dino_martini]

How long are the lines?

Im going to LA in about 10 days, and our flight leaves at 10:50am. So would arriving at around 8:30am give enough time to check in and get through US Security/customs at the airport? Westjet says to arrive atleast 2 hours ahead of the flight. :dunno:

[SkittleFreak]

at least two hours.

The lines starting building a few hours in advance. When we went to pennsylvania we were 3 hours early and We were almost last in line.

[JAYMEZ]

It just depends on how many flights are leaving at the time , once i had to wait an hour.. another time it was 10 mins.. I find if you go really early , you can go right through , then just relax and eat food on the other side. :thumbsup:

[lexIS300]

just went to vegas i was there 2 hours early but had to wait for people and they came an hour later, got pulled in by customs and almost missed my flight. so i would say go 2 hours early at least

[dannie]

I am so glad I don't have to deal with U.S. customs anymore!!! Yay!

The length of the line completely depends on the day and time. Monday and Friday, expect a long line. Tues, Wed and Thurs is much better.

If you are flying with an airline that will check you in online, I would do that. Then when you get to the airport if you have luggage to check you just have to get a tag. (Saves you time). If you aren't checking luggage, you just take your boarding pass that you printed off your computer and your passport and jump into the customs line.

2 hours ahead will be plenty of time especially if you are able to check in online.

[kaput]

.

[UndrgroundRider]

Don't waste your time. 1.5 hours is the recommended time to be there. You will make it through with lots of time to kill. US customs is really fast in Calgary. It's the security check that can be slow when there are lots of flights going out. If your flight starts boarding they will fast track you to the front of the line though, so nothing to worry about.

I use to travel to the US on a very regular basis for work. As long as I had only carry on luggage I could easily show up 45 minutes before the flight and still make it to the gate with time to spare.

[broken_legs]

Originally posted by UndrgroundRider
Don't waste your time. 1.5 hours is the recommended time to be there. You will make it through with lots of time to kill. US customs is really fast in Calgary. It's the security check that can be slow when there are lots of flights going out. If your flight starts boarding they will fast track you to the front of the line though, so nothing to worry about.

I use to travel to the US on a very regular basis for work. As long as I had only carry on luggage I could easily show up 45 minutes before the flight and still make it to the gate with time to spare.

I have spent over an hour in line for US Customs multiple times... Never spent more than 5-10 minutes in line for security. Are we talking about the same airport?

It all depends on the time of day and # of flights leaving for the US.

One thing I have learned to save an easy 20 minutes in line is to go to the "short" line behind the airline desks. The ticket girls might tell you that you are going the wrong way but just ignore them and walk over to the short line.

Here is the diagram: (i hope none of you are terrorists)

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj259/broken_legs/USCustomsatYYC.jpg


Just follow the green line and you can show up 1.5 hours before your flight and get in with lots of time to spare.

When you go to security grab the first set of bins you see and start unloading all your electronics and belt watch etc. etc. then just budge in front of the useless people who are getting confused about taking off their shoes and what not.

[mekeni]

We usually go two hours before our flight (5 flights so far this year).. 30 minutes is the most time we got stuck in customs line.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by SkittleFreak
at least two hours.

The lines starting building a few hours in advance. When we went to pennsylvania we were 3 hours early and We were almost last in line.

Usually whenever you get in line you are "last in line".

[Quiet10]

On a trip to Central America we stopped off in Toronto to switch planes and got to US customs line like 25 minutes before the flight departed. We thought we were screwed but told one of the security guys and he pushed us straight to the front.

I guess we were lucky? :dunno:

[arian_ma]

Originally posted by dino_martini
How long are the lines?

Im going to LA in about 10 days, and our flight leaves at 10:50am. So would arriving at around 8:30am give enough time to check in and get through US Security/customs at the airport? Westjet says to arrive atleast 2 hours ahead of the flight. :dunno:
It depends where you're born. If you're from the Middle East, fucking forget about it. Get there 6 hours in advance and just keep your pants around your ankles and the lube out. No need to pull your pants up at any point, you'll be getting raped for the said 6 hours, non stop, no exceptions.

Edit: OH and the best part is that at the end of the "Secondary Check" which takes about 2.5 hours to complete, they say "that will be $18 dollars," and you look at them with that "this is why people bomb your country" look.

[max_boost]

Maybe I just got lucky. I got into the Airport roughly an hour before scheduled departure and still made it through for my flight to San Francisco.

Then I really pushed my luck (never again) coming home from New York. I got into Newark airport 20 mins before departure. :eek:

[Crymson]

If it's FIRST thing in the morning, it's a huge wait. Custom's doesn't open till like 7 or 8, so there is always a huge lineup of people who are waiting to get through, who have already checked in.

[malcolmk14]

Similar question but for Toronto. I arrive from Edmonton at 6:09 AM on Friday morning and then have to go through US customs quickly, my flight to Baltimore leaves at 7:30.

What's the best way to do this at Pearson, as I've only been once and it was on a domestic connection from Halifax to Calgary.

[dino_martini]

Originally posted by Crymson
If it's FIRST thing in the morning, it's a huge wait. Custom's doesn't open till like 7 or 8, so there is always a huge lineup of people who are waiting to get through, who have already checked in.

Well the flight leaves at 10:55am, but we are planning to be there like 8ish.

[Team_Mclaren]

My flight was scheduled for 1030 today, i got there at 845, got through the line, checked in my bags, through customs all in 30 mins. It was super dead/fast today.

[dino_martini]

Originally posted by Team_Mclaren
My flight was scheduled for 1030 today, i got there at 845, got through the line, checked in my bags, through customs all in 30 mins. It was super dead/fast today.

Good to know. Hopefully it will be like that when we go.

[dino_martini]

I have one last question to ask before I leave for LA. We got some US money but if were buying dinner or what ever we would like to use a credit card. Will Visa rape us with service fees and exchange rates for using it in the US?

[FiveFreshFish]

Visa's exchange rate is okay.

There's no service fee tacked on to the transaction.

[mekeni]

Originally posted by dino_martini
I Will Visa rape us with service fees and exchange rates for using it in the US?


Yes, expecially when you return an item, expect to get less.

Difference in exchange rate.

[dino_martini]

You guys were completely right..we went and after a short wait to check in security and customs was a walk through

Space mountain is so fun though