Terminal 3 Arrival for Canadians

The report below seems to suggest that visitors from Canada will be standing in line for "longer than usual" due to too few customs agents in Terminal 3.

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/aug/22/too-few-customs-agents-mccarran-airport-means-long/

Has there been a change for Canadians lately as i normally clear the US customs before leaving Canada so i am confused as to how will this be affecting Canadians ?

In the old T2, we just deplane and head straight to baggage reclaim without any hassle. Also departing from T2 has been painless as i have hardly ran into long line ups to clear customs / security.

Any updates regarding above will be appreciated !!

 

I asked my preferred Airline Westjet that very question. They said we still clear customs as we always did in Canada before, if the canadian airport had it. And thinking of the layout of Pearson, they wouldn't change the procedure just to accomodate Las Vegas flights. This might affect some flights from smaller airports that dont have US customs preclearance, like London Ont.

I think the author of the article is likely ignorant to the fact that we have preclearance here in Canada.

 

This all depends on whether you clear US customs in Canada or not.

As an example, flying from Vancouver International I have a few different options for flights to Las Vegas.

If I fly on Westjet, because this flight starts in Canada and ends in the USA I have to go through customs at YVR, before I board the jet. This means when we land in Las Vegas I just grab my carry on, exit the plane and then can go get any checked baggage I have and go to the cab line.

On the other hand, if I flight Philippines Airlines to Las Vegas their flights originate in the Philippines and only load more passengers in Vancouver, that means that to get on the flight I don't go through US customs... but it does mean that when we land in Las Vegas I can't just exit the jet, grab my luggage and go, but instead I have to exit the jet and then go stand in line at customs.


So in the end, if you haven't been going through customs on the USA end then the article doesn't apply to you because you will still do customs at your airport and then when you get to Las Vegas be able to just grab your luggage and go.

 

Thanks for posting that skye88, it may make a difference in who we choose to fly with.

We always fly through Seattle or Vancouver and go through US customs there. For a couple months every winter though, we can get direct flights from our town which would require us to go through customs in Vegas. I'll think twice about doing that this winter though. Sometimes the quicker flight isn't worth it in the end. Thanks for the heads up!

On a positive note, when we came back from Vegas in August, we went through the new terminal. There were approximately 10, YES 10!! people in line at 8 am to go through the security clearance. We couldn't believe how empty it was.

 

I wonder if there are NEXUS or Global Entry kiosks in the new terminal. Would speed things up if you were a member of the program (which I am and it's the best $50 I've ever spent). Thankfully we pre-clear here at YYZ.

 

I was actually concerned when I heard Westjet was going to Terminal 3. Terminal 2 is where Air Canada went and I didn't realize it when planning a group trip with some newbies. The main terminal is a much more exciting place to be because of the lights, machines and people so it hypes the start of the trip up, expecially when coming in at around 8pm.

Is Terminal 3 full of action as well? or dull like T2?