Aer Lingus flights that stopover in USo

eilsf87

Does anyone know about ESTA visa wavers when flying with Aer Lingus to Canada?? As the flights to Edmonton stopover in Chicago, I have been led to believe we need an ESTA visa waver. When filling in the online form it asks for an address in the US, but as I'm not actually going to be leaving the airport at any stage. I'm very confused, can anyone in the same boat or taken the same flight shed some light on the situation for me??! Please and thanks

COYVB

Just put the airport address

wendydoll

Do nationals or citizens of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program require travel authorization if they are only transiting the United States in route to another country?

Eligible nationals or citizens of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program require either a travel authorization or a visa to transit the United States. If a traveler is only planning to transit through the United States en route to another country, when he or she completes the travel authorization application in ESTA, the traveler should enter the words "In Transit" and his or her final destination location in the address lines in the Address While In The United States field on the application.

V8_man

I've been caught out by this too. The waiver that you get entering the US at a border crossing is NOT sufficient for transit through the USA. And you have to buy it online. Avoid travelling through the USA if you can. To save $100 on a plane ticket is not worth the hassle.

eilsf87

Thanks everyone, just did it online https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

Was pretty straight forward, $14 each. Valid for 2 years. Just stuck - In transit, O'hare International airport, Chicago, Illinois in the address boxes.

jockey joe

COYVB wrote: »

Just put the airport address

Hi I am flying to canada through chicago do I need a visa to enter the usa

ardmacha

i I am flying to canada through chicago do I need a visa to enter the usa

see this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056983923

eilsf87

ardmacha wrote: »

see this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056983923

Haha did you just link the thread in the thread. Duh. Gotta love a smartarse :P

NewsMeQuick

V8_man wrote: »

I've been caught out by this too. The waiver that you get entering the US at a border crossing is NOT sufficient for transit through the USA. And you have to buy it online. Avoid travelling through the USA if you can. To save $100 on a plane ticket is not worth the hassle.

I totally agree.

I found a flight on budget.air a while back which went through London, UK. I checked again recently and it's gone. All the sites, incl. skyscanner all list going through the US...how do we get past this?

COYVB

V8_man wrote: »

I've been caught out by this too. The waiver that you get entering the US at a border crossing is NOT sufficient for transit through the USA. And you have to buy it online. Avoid travelling through the USA if you can. To save $100 on a plane ticket is not worth the hassle.

Spending $14 filling out a 30 second form online that's good for 3 years isn't worth saving $100 on a flight? Really?

retalivity

coupled with the fingerprinting, retina scanning & general hassle with dealing with US immigration, i could see why people would skip the us altogether.

lovemytea

I wanted to skip US as didn't want the hassle at all. Wasn't sure if I had to go through American immigration if you are only on a connecting flight, found such a big move stressful enough.

I booked through e-travel.ie, they are based in Dublin. They had a flight options available that were not on skyscanner. I got a flight connecting through Toronto. I left lots of time in between the flights as I had to do the immigration at Toronto, collect bags and check them in again, and travelling alone I didn't want to be worrying about missing flights etc.

NewsMeQuick

Thanks I took a look at e-travel.ie Your flight wasn't €1,300 was it?

Even on that site, I cannot combine any options to avoid either a US stop or a 1300+ price. Yikes.

It's a bit late so I might have missed something with bedtime eyes but I think I found Dublin-London-Vancouver for €511 on eDreams.com
3hours 5 minutes wait in London (not bad at all) and total duration of 14 hours 25 minutes, the shortest I've seen yet. It's Aer Lingus and Air Canada.

lovemytea

my flight was to Edmonton. It was about €1200.
but then that was in July so maybe there are better options now?!

€500 is a great price! I'd go with that!

eilsf87

Was that $1200 flight ?!return?

I also found a flight that stopped in London on skyscanner and few days later it had disappeared?? very strange, kinda glad I didn't book it now! I got one way through Chicago with Aer Lingus during their 20% off sale for €478 one way to Edmonton. I got the esta visa online for $14 dollars, not that much hassle as far as I can tell, like it was said above just put in 'in transit' and the airport address as US address. Really cant imagine immigration in the US will be too bad as your not stepping outside the building and have proof you have a connecting flight - their not going to be too bothered with you - def worth saving the extra money!!!

lovemytea

eilsf87 wrote: »

Was that $1200 flight ?!return?

I also found a flight that stopped in London on skyscanner and few days later it had disappeared?? very strange, kinda glad I didn't book it now! I got one way through Chicago with Aer Lingus during their 20% off sale for €478 one way to Edmonton. I got the esta visa online for $14 dollars, not that much hassle as far as I can tell, like it was said above just put in 'in transit' and the airport address as US address. Really cant imagine immigration in the US will be too bad as your not stepping outside the building and have proof you have a connecting flight - their not going to be too bothered with you - def worth saving the extra money!!!

Yeah I got return as they were charging more for a single on the same route,

Prob not hassle for everyone, but I was travelling alone, very nervous, with heavy bags etc. was unsure about immigration in US and really didn't want the stress of having to worry about it. It's not that clear when you're booking... I'd rather know exactly what to do and what to expect! So it was worth it for me spending the extra money.

theirishhoser

Just seeing this now. I actually went to Edmonton through Chicago a few years ago and it wasn't so bad, provided your flight pre-clears US Customs in Dublin. We did it with a two-year-old and it was grand.

NewsMeQuick

theirishhoser wrote: »

Just seeing this now. I actually went to Edmonton through Chicago a few years ago and it wasn't so bad, provided your flight pre-clears US Customs in Dublin. We did it with a two-year-old and it was grand.

Can you tell us a bit about it?

Is there anything different about the pre-clearance in Dublin to usual search? In the US what happens, meet a few people, flash the passport etc?

Captain_Generic

NewsMeQuick wrote: »

Can you tell us a bit about it?

Is there anything different about the pre-clearance in Dublin to usual search? In the US what happens, meet a few people, flash the passport etc?

Did it a few days ago. You just fill out a card saying you don't have commercial merchandise etc., and the address of where you're going in the US. I put 'IN TRANSIT' and Chicago, Illinois. After that its just fingerprints on a screen, and a picture. When you're leaving the preclearance area you put you're bag through a scanner again but you don't walk through a metal detector, so shoes etc. can stay on.

All-in-all took about 20 minutes.

NewsMeQuick

Thanks man, I appreciate that. I think a fair few people here who haven't done it before were wondering how invasive it might be.

As a process, it does look very straight forward which is good.

If I'm being honest I think I'll still try to avoid it, take the London route. I don't fancy adding those details to the NSA's list.

Captain_Generic

NewsMeQuick wrote: »

I don't fancy adding those details to the NSA's list.

Also the TSA didn't subject me to a full cavity search, which meant my clean boxers were wasted

kitchenchair

I would try avoid flying via the states if at all possible. Having to go through US immigration does not always run smoothly all the time, depending on how busy the airport is you could be queuing for a while. And you don't always get to go through the US immigration in Dublin, just depends on the day. I know many people (myself included) who weren't given the option to go through immigration in Dublin and had to do it in Chicago, one of my mates missed their connection flight because the queue was so big, and had to wait 14 hours to get a detour flight to Edmonton via Denver. Nightmare! I also know other people who's baggage was lost (one suitcase lost forever). Obviously it doesn't always end up in a disaster, 8 times out of 10 it will be fine, but if you have another option for around about the same price then I would advise avoiding flying through Chicago. Unfortunately the Air Canada flight to Edmonton via London is stopping in Jan 2014.

NewsMeQuick

That's a lot of good information ^^ good lessons to be learned.

Having checked the prices today, if you book on either Air Canada or British Airways you can get a flight to London then straight to Vancouver or Toronto, whichever your flavour and the price between that option and the Aer Lingus to Chicago is quite thin now - about €50-70 depending on which airline you choose. That's tiny given the possible difference in route and hassle. I checked seatguru.com and the Aer Lingus partner airline United Airways doesn't appear to have the best amenities on the planes either. BA and Air C seem to win many consumer awards.

kitchenchair

@NewsMeQuick Yes for the sake of 50-70 euro I personally would go with the AC or BA flight via London. The downside is that Aer Lingus regularly have sales on, which you cant avail of if you are trying to avoid Chicago. However I have heard that in 2014 Aer Lingus will be flying to Canada via Toronto, and not through Chicago anymore. I have heard a lot of people complain about the United flight from Chicago to Edmonton saying the plane is small and cramped etc.

NewsMeQuick

Yeah I think Aer Lingus will operate that route from mid-April. If I read correctly Air Canada will operate various Ireland-Canada routes from early May. I'll be gone late Feb hopefully but that might be useful to others. I'd Google it over Winter to find updates if it were relevant.

Captain_Generic

Captain_Generic wrote: »

Did it a few days ago. You just fill out a card saying you don't have commercial merchandise etc., and the address of where you're going in the US. I put 'IN TRANSIT' and Chicago, Illinois. After that its just fingerprints on a screen, and a picture. When you're leaving the preclearance area you put you're bag through a scanner again but you don't walk through a metal detector, so shoes etc. can stay on.

All-in-all took about 20 minutes.

Niggling, but no, shoes can't unless <13 or >75 years old, though I'm sure if there's a medical reason to keep them on, there's an alternative (they're required to have it I think)

armadillo86

Just read this on the Aer Lingus website:

"From 27 October 2013 all flights to the US pre-clear US Customs and Immigration in Terminal 2 (Dublin) or Shannon airport before departure."

Great news for me as I will be flying to Vancouver via Chicago in February... It'll definitely take away a lot of the time pressure for catching connecting flights!

eilsf87

Hi guys,

Did the Chicago-Edmonton flight last week. Clearing customs in Dublin is great but means your bags are checked all the way through - slightly scary. All 3 arrived safe and sound on the other end though so happy days! The connecting flight to Edmonton is a bit bumpy- very small plane and was delayed by 1 hour. Unless there is a massive increase in flights via London I would fly home that way to avoid the crappy United flight. Altough saying that no flights were going through London the day we flew because of the massive UK storm!! I think go woth the USA flight if you're tight on money otherwise fly through London for the minimal delay/hassle.

NewsMeQuick

eilsf87 wrote: »

Hi guys,

Did the Chicago-Edmonton flight last week. Clearing customs in Dublin is great but means your bags are checked all the way through - slightly scary. All 3 arrived safe and sound on the other end though so happy days! The connecting flight to Edmonton is a bit bumpy- very small plane and was delayed by 1 hour. Unless there is a massive increase in flights via London I would fly home that way to avoid the crappy United flight. Altough saying that no flights were going through London the day we flew because of the massive UK storm!! I think go woth the USA flight if you're tight on money otherwise fly through London for the minimal delay/hassle.

That's really helpful, people can make better decisions with first-hand help like that, thanks.