Going Through Customs for Leaving Grand Cayman?

[jonhall]

I was able to bring up travel info I had deleted (thanks to Apple Time Machine) so maybe it will help you.

We traveled AA to and from GC this past January. Our flight from GC to Charlotte was 3:35 pm - 6:32 pm. Our connecting flight in Charlotte was 7:49 pm. We always have the same concerns as you, but we had no problem.

One of the things we did to get through lines faster was get Global Entry (expedited clearance) which allows us to pass a lot of people waiting in lines and get to baggage claim before they do. And, as KathyV indicated, expect more schedule changes!

The airline flight reservation system will not let them make a reservation for a connection that is too tight on the same ticket number, so if you do miss a connection - it will be their problem and they will have to take care of you - but they are unlikely to let that happen if it can be avoided.

I have recently read the same about airline scheduling. BUT, we have had 2 experiences with AA and making a connection home from St. Maarten. For some reason the layover times were short. The first time we were delayed leaving St. Maarten and got to Charlotte to late to connect. Although there was nothing we could do, AA said the fault was not theirs, so we were not comped in any way. We thought they might at least put us up in a hotel, but it didn't happen. We spent the night sleeping in the airport and had to schedule our flight home the next morning.

The second time, we were again pushing it to get to Charlotte because of a delay, but we got through customs and made it to the connecting flight's gate. When they scanned our tickets, the scanner beeped and they had us stand aside. As it turned out they gave our seats away as they thought we wouldn't make it in time. Fortunately we were able to get on the flight.....the last 2 seats in the back of the plane.

We are going to St. Maarten again in Oct. with 1 hour and 26 minutes between the scheduled landing and takeoff time coming home. Hoping things go smoothly this time!

 

[BDSC]

Going thru Charlotte from Grand Cayman was the best thing that ever happened to me when traveling. It was such a nightmare that after the experience we got Global Entry and going thru customs has been a breeze ever since. Charlotte use to be one of the better airports to fly thru when coming back from the Caribbean. But after American bought US Air, it changed. Lines were much longer and slower. With Global Entry we walk right past all of that.

Honestly, I think you will be lucky if you make your connection in 55 minutes. I don't remember if you said what day you will travel but Saturdays see a lot of traffic.

 

[howswedeofme]

We didn't do Global Entry when we got our TSA precheck and I regret that. There is still time to get Global Entry (which includes TSA precheck) before your trip. It might be worth getting to reduce some of the travel stress.

 

[BDSC]

We had to drive to Charlotte for our "interview". Took longer to walk from the parking lot to their office than the actual interview. Basically you are really there for them to do finger prints.

 

[String]

There is definitely no US customs clearance in Grand Cayman - there's barely Cayman customs yet alone anyone elses!

 

[AggieDiver]

Something else to consider is the data provided by www.flightstats.com If you are on American 822 from GCM to CLT, that flight is showing a 74% on time percentage, with an average delay of 40 minutes. Not particularly good, as even a 10-15 minute delay probably means you miss your connection for sure.

 

[marshallkarp]

Coming back from Cayman on August 12th and going through Charlotte, we had about two and half hours between flights, so it was just the usual aggravation of waiting in long line for about 45 to an hour. A passenger walked up from way, way back there, somewhere to the security guard and said, "Our connecting leaves in half an hour, what do we do?" People around us said, "So does ours." The security guard said nothing and the passenger walked back to way, way back there, somewhere.

There is one time that we hit the jackpot lucky and walked right through with no crowds. I cannot explain this other than a rare astronomical alignment of the sun, moon, and stars. At this point, the best I can suggest is to developing Plan B.

 

[Damselfish]

You might make it, you might not. I'd keep pushing them to fix it, since they changed it. (Good luck with that.) Assuming there is anything better to change to. Of course it could always change again for the better on it's own.

Another option if you can do it, it to just plan for an overnight in a potential problem airport. We sometimes do this at the beginning of a trip to avoid leaving the house at an insanely early hour, or to avoid a tight layover. It's a much more relaxing way to start a trip. For the way back I often figure just get the travel over with and get home, but sometimes find myself wishing I'd just planned to stop for the night. Maybe you could convince them to move your flight to the next day without a fee since they mucked it up. Maybe. Or maybe just planning for the possibility of missing the connection would reduce the stress on your parents? ("It's tight, but if we don't make it we'll just stay at such and such hotel, have a nice dinner and a good nights sleep, and fly back in the morning. No biggie.")

Not only can't you rely on an airline to determine what is an adequate length layover, you can't even count on them to give you an itinerary that is physically possible. I've even had them reschedule me such that my arrival time was after the next departure. (At least in that instance, you won't get an argument from an agent about fixing it.)

Get Global Entry, if it enables you to make just one tight connection it's paid for itself, not to mention how much nicer it is even if things aren't tight.

Do be careful of depending on PreCheck to make a flight or connection - it helps but is not a guarantee. They can still randomly choose you to not have it for a flight, it won't be printed on your boarding pass, and you can be stuck going through the regular security line. Not often, but will invariably be the time when you are in a hurry.

 

[jonhall]

Do be careful of depending on PreCheck to make a flight or connection - it helps but is not a guarantee. They can still randomly choose you to not have it for a flight, it won't be printed on your boarding pass, and you can be stuck going through the regular security line. Not often, but will invariably be the time when you are in a hurry.

Very true. Have had it happen several times when the TSA precheck line is closed or a good walk past the regular lines to get to it.