Houston flight options

[BBbetter]

BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

BBbetter wrote:

On a related note, is there any reason smaller airports like MAN or LGW cannot offer pre-clearance? Is it because government wants to protect LHR (where there is no space) or due to LHR lobbying?

Firstly it costs as the US Government and Congress insists that any new pre clearance facilities are fully funded by the airport as are any extra cost of salary and e.g. housing allowances for CBP officers deployed to pre clearance airports. So it’s not cheap.

Then there is the whole legal issue of having foreign officials on your soil but there is a precident for that with French immigration oficers being deployed at e.g. St Pancras and Dover.

MAN left shell space in its recent development for a pre clearance facility.

But it also just takes an age. The CBP announced BRU would get pre clearance in September 2020 yet almost 4 years on … ARN was announced long befor that and still nada

EDI applied years ago as well.

I’m sure LHR would love it but as you say there is no space and it would need to be a facility easily accessible by all airlines that fly to the US. And given the number of connections involved to the US there is the whole MCT issue to consider.

And finally given the vast improvement in US immigration processes (not just Global Entry) it’s not as useful as it used to be for a lot of people.

Thanks, that makes sense. Though if it’s expensive, small airports like Shannon wouldn’t be able to sustain?

[NorthernLass]

On a slightly different note, if you fly DUB-LHR-(e.g.)MIA, can you use pre-clearance or is it for direct flights only?

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

Direct ex-DUB only.

Ex LHR you land in the international part of the terminal and get streamed to immigration.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

@BBbetter SNN was set up before US law got changed so was grand fathered in

[dougzz99]

Now wildly off topic. My view of pre-clearance is very so what. You don’t remove queuing you just move it to before the flight rather than after.
Anyone that has an appropriate passport and doesn’t apply for GE is really missing a trick. The cost is trivial if you’re buying Premium or better, and even in economy given you’re looking at say £125 for 5 years, it just makes sense. When you consider the cost of a trip to the US at present, that is a trivial sum.

[masaccio]

dougzz99 wrote:

Now wildly off topic. My view of pre-clearance is very so what. You don’t remove queuing you just move it to before the flight rather than after.
Anyone that has an appropriate passport and doesn’t apply for GE is really missing a trick. The cost is trivial if you’re buying Premium or better, and even in economy given you’re looking at say £125 for 5 years, it just makes sense. When you consider the cost of a trip to the US at present, that is a trivial sum.

Global Entry is excellent. My employer paid for mine, but I like it so much we paid for OH.

[jamesturk]

Another quick question on this, is there logic to how many PE seats BA release per flight?

I’ve been checking the LHR-IAH flights for 355 days ahead, over the past few days.

2nd Feb 2025: 2 PE seats
1st Feb 2025: 2 PE seats
30th Jan 2025: plenty availability on the early flight; 2 PE seats on the later flight

Strangely, for 31st Jan 2025, website says there are 8 PE seats between LHR and IAH. But when I add in the initial connection from Belfast, it’s saying no availability. If that is the case when I go to book, can I book the 4 x PE LHR – IAH seats online, and then call BA up to add in the Belfast flight? (Belfast flight lands 8.15; flight to IAH departs 9.25 – not sure if it’s because there’s a short connection time?)

Anyone able to shed any light/ info?

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

BA only guarentee 2 PE reward seats per flight and they can add more should they wish

Minium Connection time at T5 is 75 mins so any time less than that won’t show.

it will involve a hotel at LHR but you could see what adding a stop over does for ex Belfast availability e.g. Belfast- LHR on Tues then ovenight then LHR-IAH Wed etc

[NorthernLass]

And don’t forget when you book with the stopover, you can select CE for your domestic connection if there’s availability!

[jamesturk]

Ah that’s makes sense then re: the 75min connection time and why they’re not showing

will just book the belfast flight the day before, either stay with sis or airport hotel, and thanks Northern Lass, will attempt booking the CE Belfast – London leg!