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Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

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Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#191

Post by CaptainZapp »

As others have pointed out it seems expensive. Very expensive. But I wonder how you justify the following:

Arrival services in Zurich, 1 person : 645$ ?

I specifically wonder how customers are fast tracked through immmigration, given that Emirates complained that the airport does _not_ offer any fast track immigation counters for their first - and business class customers.

As a matter of fact: There are two types of passport counters: Swiss - and EU countries (including Norway and Iceland) & All others. So how is a "fast track" offering justified and what is contained in such an offer?

Also: Whisking customers through customs at that airport seems a tad, well, marketingish. Given that you usually don't deal with customs at all. You just leave through the green entrance (if you have nothing to declare) and usually just walk out. Sure, a customs agent may check on you, but in that case your helpful solver isn't of much help.

Sorry, but charging 645$ for your services at an airport where your maximum exit time - from the plane to public transport - from a Schengen country is 20 minutes and from a non-Schengen country 40 minutes (add 15 minutes for luggage retrieval) seems breathtakingly expensive. Even for an expensive city like Zurich.

How can you justify such prices?

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#192

Post by kasey_junk »

tptacek wrote: post #190
jrbancel wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I see no mechanism for expediting immigration/customs inbound to the US Global Entry [0], if you are a US citizen or permanent resident. It is life changing. Immigration takes under a minute at a kiosk and there is a priority lane at Customs. [0] https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-...

I don't fly internationally all that often, but I do sometimes and just did this week, and I have never had an immigration experience that took longer than the baggage claim did. Is this a problem that only occurs at airports other than O'Hare, or am I just lucky?

I've had immigration experiences at O'Hare that have taken 2 hours.

Even with Global Entry I've had immigration take 25 minutes at O'Hare.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#193

Post by cushychicken »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #147
cushychicken wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great idea. I still haven't figured out a surefire way to do this for China travel.

Huh? They have a booth selling China mobile SIMs, but they might offer Unicom also (important if you have a GSM phone) inside customs, I believe it is 24 hours, for most international airports. The SIM is pay as you go, you can refill it at most newspaper stands.

The problem generally isn't the SIM itself - it's the form factor. Granted I haven't traveled to China in two years now, but MicroSIM form factor was nonexistent there on my last trip. Many vendors used cheap, shitty handheld punches to get the excess plastic off of normal SIM cards to get them into SIM form factor. This worked about one time out of five - most of the time it just destroyed the SIM card.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#194

Post by patio11 »

tptacek wrote: post #190
jrbancel wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I see no mechanism for expediting immigration/customs inbound to the US Global Entry [0], if you are a US citizen or permanent resident. It is life changing. Immigration takes under a minute at a kiosk and there is a priority lane at Customs. [0] https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-...

I don't fly internationally all that often, but I do sometimes and just did this week, and I have never had an immigration experience that took longer than the baggage claim did. Is this a problem that only occurs at airports other than O'Hare, or am I just lucky?

The big variables are (rough order) entry airport, the mix of passengers on the exact aircraft you're on relative to your own citizenship/immigration status, the general business (or lack thereof) when the flight you're on gets in [+], and conditions at the airport on the day of your arrival.

If one very consistently flies exactly Delta 6 and is a US citizen, one will very rarely wait more than 15 minutes in Detroit.

It is, unfortunately, very, very easy to spend hours in line. (4th quartile for me is probably 2 hours; max was close to 5.) If one is selected for secondary screening, throw all estimates out window; you've transitioned from routine travel into an adversarial proceeding with the USFG.

[+] Since most airlines operate on schedules which do not change much on a week-to-week basis it is fairly predictable that e.g. 10 AM on a Tuesday, and hence $BAR Flight $BAZ's scheduled arrival window, will be busy, given that N flights from abroad arrive near that window.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#195

Post by tptacek »

kasey_junk wrote: post #192
tptacek wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't fly internationally all that often, but I do sometimes and just did this week, and I have never had an immigration experience that took longer than the baggage claim did. Is this a problem that only occurs at airports other than O'Hare, or am I just lucky?

I've had immigration experiences at O'Hare that have taken 2 hours. Even with Global Entry I've had immigration take 25 minutes at O'Hare.

What part of the process did you end up waiting 2 hours at? (I'm just curious, and I guess feeling lucky).

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#196

Post by kasey_junk »

tptacek wrote: post #195
kasey_junk wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had immigration experiences at O'Hare that have taken 2 hours. Even with Global Entry I've had immigration take 25 minutes at O'Hare.

What part of the process did you end up waiting 2 hours at? (I'm just curious, and I guess feeling lucky).

The line.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#199

Post by nuna »

hayksaakian wrote: post #51

Super cool! Dubai airport has a service called 'marhaba' which basically does this but only in Dubai. It's great for helping someone who is older or disabled figure out their connecting flights through an airport. Smart to bring this to more places. Your pricing is pretty spot on too, it's a bit less expensive than marhaba btw.

yes I've used Marhaba, they were pretty good.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#200

Post by kasey_junk »

tptacek wrote: post #197
kasey_junk wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The line.

Before or after bag pickup?

Its been a few months since I've cleared at O'Hare vs Midway. But my memory is "long ass immigration line that is bad for US citizens without Global Entry and terrible for non US citizens" followed by baggage claim and "basically a cursory scan by customs".

The last time I did this I had Global Entry and 5 of the 10ish kiosks were broken so that took a fair bit of time as well (you skip immigration but not customs in that case).

[edit] the time I had a truly miserable experience the line for immigration stretched long down the hallway to the immigration hall. It took more than an hour to see where the citizens vs non-citizens lanes began.

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