[NA-Discuss] Travel arrangements to SJ

[Evan Leibovitch]

For the benefit of ICANN staff and NARALO travelers to San Juan
(especially those going from Canada):


My initial impression of the American Express travel service, contracted
to handle the arrangements for participants in the San Juan meeting is
-- shall we say -- less than stellar.


I say this as a note of caution, especially for other Canadians, to
check their itineraries carefully.


Particularly for an international operation, the Amex agents handling
ICANN seem strangely clueless regarding Canada/US travel, notably the
fact that most Canadians clear US customs _before_ boarding the plane at
the Canadian airport. This is great for Canadians traveling to airports
without customs facilities (ie Laguardia, Midway) but it means that
connection times must be significantly adjusted. If transferring from a
Canadian domestic flight to one headed for the US, you need to reclaim
your bags, check in again, clear US customs and immigration (and there's
usually a queue), re-check your bags and head to the US-bound flight's
gate (which in Vancouver and Toronto can be quite a trek).


(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_border_preclearance#Canada)


Imagine my surprise to hear from one other San Juan-bound traveler who
was given ** 35 minutes ** by Amex to accomplish such a transfer. That
person would have most certainly missed the US-bound flight, and I
believe that appropriate changes have been made.


Of course, if your flight originates in a city with pre-clearance, you
need to get the airport sooner than you would for a domestic or other
international flight. Even here, on my own itinerary, Amex proved
themselves less able to book a decent flight than I could have done
going online myself.


For my own flights to and from San Juan, the Amex agent booked me in
seats adjacent to the lavatory on planes that were far from full.
Thankfully I was able to go online to the airline's site and change my
seat assignments.


(FYI, if you also care about where you sit -- and where the good and bad
seats are in each aircraft -- I highly recommend http://www.seatguru.com/ )


Anyway, just be forewarned -- and check your booking. One would think
that a company like Amex would actually care about their traveler's comfort.


- Evan