UC Benefits

I know that as an UC passenger I board and exit the plane first but does my luggage also make it to the carousel before other passengers?

I am hoping to whiz through security at MCO this Thursday.

Yes your luggage is off first. However we arrived last week and it took nearly 2 hours to clear immigration and collect our bags!

damn, I am hoping to be in a cab an hour after landing

[Nottingham Nick]

I wouldn't book anything that depended on that time frame.
VS have no control at any airport with the planes that land in front of theirs.

It is a long time since I flew into MCO, but I know that you just need a couple of European or South American 747s to land at any US airport in front of the VS plane to make the queues go back through the doors. n(

Other days - you will be first off the plane and - if you walk fast - right at the front of the non-existent queues. 8D

Nick

From previous experiences, I think that the VS flight has to battle with a BA, Lufthansa and VS Man flight on the way in to MCO. Our pilot was making a joke of racing them y)
We lost n( n(

Good luck and happy holidays for Thursday

last time i flew to MCO it was just for a week, so cabin baggage only, i was through the airport fast

colleagues with baggage got caught up with the following arrivals and were hours in the airport, i delighted in mocking them when they, eventually, got to the hotel

I flew into MCO yesterday on the VS15 we arrived about 30 mins late and raced against the BA flight to land first, however when we arrived the crew told us we would have to stay on the plane for about 30 mins due to the immigration hall being full.

We were finally let off after the 30 mins (but the crew didn't hold the economy passengers back and the upper class and PE passengers ended up getting off with everyone else) and and the hall was still packed. We were behind the Lufthansa and the VS from MAN

Even with the new electronic passport machines it still took an hour. Before you use the machines you still have to join the big queue then you get a printout and then you have to join another queue to see a CBP officer. The queues got so long they suspended people using the machines.

Hopefully this,will be the last time of queueing as we have our GOES appointment this week, so the next time should be quick.

Overall it was just over two hours from landing to being in the hire car.

hmmmm not filling me with hope.

I am flying from MAN this Thursday. Is there anywhere I can see scheduled arrivals at MCO? I tried their website but it just sent me to a spreadsheet showing ALL arrivals, there are a lot of domestic flights into there!!

UC and PE bags off first.
In Feb we went PE to MCO and were in row 19 so literally first off and fortunately no plane in front so straight through immigration.
Same on the way back.
Dick D

hmmmm not filling me with hope.

I am flying from MAN this Thursday. Is there anywhere I can see scheduled arrivals at MCO? I tried their website but it just sent me to a spreadsheet showing ALL arrivals, there are a lot of domestic flights into there!!

It doesn't look too bad for a Thursday.

Virgins VS075 747 arrives 15.00
Virgins VS015 747 arrives 17.10
Thomas Cooks A330 arrives 14.35
Lufthansa 747 arrives 17.50
BAs 777 arrives 17.55

so, unless there are delays, it might be OK (unless I have missed some)

David

We were in 19 A/C so where the first off the aircraft, but whilst stood at the door waiting to get off there was no control over the economy passengers so as the crew let us off it was a real scramble. We were also at the furthest gate from the immigration hall so a bit of a hike. That said we were the first from our plane to the hall, but still had an hours wait.

By the time we got through all the bags from the flight were off so no benefit to having priority baggage.

I did feel sorry for those that had been right down the back on the aircraft, I could see them having had probably a 2-3 hour wait in line, it wasn't moving very fast.

Hopefully this was down t our late arrival, its never been that bad before.

It doesn't look too bad for a Thursday.

Virgins VS075 747 arrives 15.00
Virgins VS015 747 arrives 17.10
Thomas Cooks A330 arrives 14.35
Lufthansa 747 arrives 17.50
BAs 777 arrives 17.55

so, unless there are delays, it might be OK (unless I have missed some)

David

Problem is, of course, flights very rarely stick exactly to the timetable.

So all it takes is for the VS15 to arrive at 1720, the LH at 1730 and the BA at 1740 and you've potentially got in excess of 1,000 passengers descending on a not overly huge immigration hall within a half hour window. Not fun.

Hi

If you are on the vs75, then you'll probably be ok, the earlier the better. We took off after the Thomas Cook flight but beat it into MCO and were through and in the hire car in less than an hour. It helps that you are flying midweek as it is busier on the weekends.

Good luck

I am on VS75. Hopefully we will land early or on time and before the Thomas Cook flight.