[NA-Discuss] Travel arrangements to SJ

[Alan Greenberg]

I checked several airline scheduling tools, and they all show this as 
a valid connection. I suspect a database somewhere is loaded with the 
wrong value for US-bound connections in Ottawa.  HOWEVER, there are 
plenty of connections that are technically legal but physically 
impossible (arriving at LHR at 7 am and changing terminals in theory 
takes 75 minutes - only those with much faith and stamina would 
accept such a booking) - no travel agent should argue about wanting 
more time in any given situation - aside from situations like this, 
they know nothing about your age or physical condition.

Alan

At 05/06/2007 01:18 PM, Thompson, Darlene wrote:
>To back up Evan's comments below - I was the one that they allowed 35
>minutes as a switch over in Ottawa.
>
>The reason *why* was that I was coming in on an airline that was
>unaffiliated to the two that Amex uses (sorry, the Canadian biggies just
>don't come to where I live).  The Amex sales rep told me that "the
>airlines wouldn't have allowed that timing if it weren't possible", so
>it had to be right.  I had to stand pretty much toe to toe with her and
>insist that she double check.  She *finally* came back and said, "Oh,
>will you have luggage with you?"  Grrrrrr...
>
>I definitely second the thought that you should double check what Amex
>has you doing.
>
>D
>
>Darlene A. Thompson
>Community Access Program Administrator
>Nunavut Department of Education/N-CAP
>c/o P.O. Box 1000, Station 910
>Iqaluit, NU  X0A 0H0
>Phone:  (867) 975-6531
>Fax:  (867) 979-8870
>dthompson at gov.nu.ca
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: na-discuss-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org
>[mailto:na-discuss-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of Evan
>Leibovitch
>Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 1:05 PM
>To: 'NA Discuss'
>Subject: [NA-Discuss] Travel arrangements to SJ
>
>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
>
>
>
>
>
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