US Preclearance At Dublin Airport - Worth it?

ChrisNI

I will be flying to the US later this year and am weighing up my options for flights and connections. It is working out a couple of hundred pounds more expensive to fly from Dublin vs Heathrow however Dublin has the benefit of US preclearance. I'm keen to hear other peoples views on whether it's worth paying a bit extra for this privilege or does it make little difference in reality.

guiriman

In my experience it is worth paying a bit extra, particularly if you are connecting onwards as you don't have to re-check your bags and reduce the risk of missing your connection due to border delays. I found the US agents in Dublin significantly more friendly then the ones in the States and also much less time queueing. Is it worth an extra 200 quid though? Not in my opinion, however if you are also saving time from having to travel to Heathrow and then connect that might make a difference for you

qwert_yuiop

Yes, although £200 seems an extreme difference.
Immigration at USA entry points can be very slow. I went to Washington a few years ago via Paris as it was a bit cheaper. Clearing at Dulles took three hours. After queuing for the first hour, I just wanted to go home.
Any time since I’ve gone via Dublin - precleared in about 5 minutes, stroll through at the other side.
Many English people from anywhere north of Birmingham are going to the states via Dublin these days. Ryanair to Dublin and onwards.

melanzana

I’m a big fan of pre clearance in Dublin. Stride through at your US destination!

OP depending on where you are in NI you can get the air coach from Belfast to Dublin airport express for about £20 return.

I would honestly pay a bit more for the ex Dublin flight for convenience of arriving in US without having to queue for immigration, plus the hassle (and cost) of having to fly Belfast to Heathrow. It balances out I think.

lost1

I flew to Newark a few years ago and went to the shortest queue and was cleared in about 10 mins. I would use Dublin if going again. Why is it taking so long for Belfast International Airport to attract a carrier to fly direct to the states?

qwert_yuiop

melanzana wrote: »

I’m a big fan of pre clearance in Dublin. Stride through at your US destination!

OP depending on where you are in NI you can get the air coach from Belfast to Dublin airport express for about £20 return.

I would honestly pay a bit more for the ex Dublin flight for convenience of arriving in US without having to queue for immigration, plus the hassle (and cost) of having to fly Belfast to Heathrow. It balances out I think.

Would you pay £200? I probably wouldn’t, although after a couple of hours in a queue I’d probably regret it.

ChrisNI

Thanks for all your replies. I reckon I will probably end up choosing the Dublin route as I'll have a child in tow and the thought of being stuck in long immigration queues with a young child helps make the decision more straightforward and the extra cost a bit easier to swallow

spo2

I went to US recently and didn't even consider going through England. Dublin is (for us) a two hour drive, and when you get there is is a far superior airport than either Belfast one, plus the preclearing of immigration is invaluable, as you arrive at your destination and just bypass the queues.

Unless the difference was massive, I would definitely go via Dublin

qwert_yuiop

spo2 wrote: »

I went to US recently and didn't even consider going through England. Dublin is (for us) a two hour drive, and when you get there is is a far superior airport than either Belfast one, plus the preclearing of immigration is invaluable, as you arrive at your destination and just bypass the queues.

Unless the difference was massive, I would definitely go via Dublin

Parking is a nuisance though.

spo2

qwert_yuiop wrote: »

Parking is a nuisance though.

Not at all, I got recommendations on here as well as from a friend, and we parked in one of the airport carparks and got a shuttle (which was there waiting for us about 10m away) to the airport.
On the way home we arrived in the early hours and when we got to the busstop there was a shuttle bus waiting as well.

Definitely preferable to flying through Heathrow in my opinion

jetboy

Dub preclearance would be my weapon of choice. I've regularly got stuck in immigration queues at the other side for well over an hour. If you shop around it can often been cheaper to fly via Dub than the UK although I think the cat is creeping out of that bag now. Theres no APD on Dub departures so it really should be cheaper.