Have you ever flown into Atlanta from another country?

[JPD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

You don't have to be a business person, anybody can get it. Costs about $100 for 5 years and comes with TSA pre-check. TSA pre-check saves some time with a shorter line, Global Entry saves the entire line at immigration. Walk right past it to one of the kiosks where you scan your passport, answer a couple of questions on the screen, and you're done. Can't put a price on the frustration it saves.

Many of the good credit cards like AMEX Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserved will give it to you at no cost. But keep in mind it requires a background check that takes about 6 weeks, plus you have to make in in-person visit to the airport for a short interview with the Dept. of Homeland Security. So apply well before your international trip. I believe once you have it, you do not have to go through these steps again to renew.

I was going to mention this, as well. My credit card (not even a particularly "good" one) covered the cost of my Global Entry pass. So that is definitely worth looking into.

"Global Entry" is a bit of a misnomer though, as there is no global benefit. It does you no good when arriving at any other country. It only provides perks when returning to the USA.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by JPD

I was going to mention this, as well. My credit card (not even a particularly "good" one) covered the cost of my Global Entry pass. So that is definitely worth looking into.

"Global Entry" is a bit of a misnomer though, as there is no global benefit. It does you no good when arriving at any other country. It only provides perks when returning to the USA.

Either way, I'll have to look into this in the future. Nothing worse than being detained for questioning after a 24-hour journey.

[glovenyc]

I flew in from Johannesburg 6 months ago, and just returned from Venice yesterday and the only complaint is the long walk. Maybe my expectations are low, but other than that it's not worst than anywhere else.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by glovenyc

I flew in from Johannesburg 6 months ago, and just returned from Venice yesterday and the only complaint is the long walk. Maybe my expectations are low, but other than that it's not worst than anywhere else.

Do you remember if you landed in concourse E or F?

[glovenyc]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

Do you remember if you landed in concourse E or F?

Concourse E both times

[beachmouse]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Frigging Charles de Gaulle takes the prize for worst. The French are horrible civil engineers!

The main part of CDG is a series of lovely buildings that were designed with zero thought about end users in mind.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by glovenyc

Concourse E both times

Then your expectations are not too low.

That was one of the two major design flaws I saw in the new terminal.

The long walk only exists for those us not connecting.

I remember when the terminal was new there was some factoid that they had to make some minor design changes, because originally it exceeded the maximum amount a traveler might have to walk without a moving walk way by IATA's suggested guide lines. They were looking at the walk from the furthest gate in E + the walk between concourses + the walk through customs.

Here is an interesting write up by the AJC when the terminal was new: https://www.ajc.com/business/new-ter...TpwnnH1ECnQII/

Good news? : https://www.myajc.com/blog/airport/h...rcLA8KfJ7TAIM/

Looks like that corridor is soon to get replaced carpet and cosmetic changes....

I did find the factoid in the article interesting. This walk affects about 1,500 out of 15,000 arriving international passengers. Those numbers are up, so I'm guessing in 2018 we are closer to affecting 2,000 people/day.

[K1404]

I just got back to Atlanta this afternoon from an international trip. I made eye contact with an agent at customs after he'd finished with the passenger in front of me, so I walked up to the desk. I was promptly berated for not waiting for a verbal command. It's borderline comical how nasty Hartsfield employees are. On the other hand, the airport workers I encountered abroad were consistently professional, patient, and civil.