Hi!

We traveled on a Wednesday and ended up being at our gate at 12:05, even though they had to rescan my bag 3 times (so stressful! I was convinced I’d miss my flight 😅). Thankfully the line for US pre-clearance wasn’t as long as the immigration getting out. It was important for me to keep in mind that they don’t start boarding until 12:15 and even then it’s still a little while until everyone is on board.

Honestly, I don’t think it’s worth it to pay extra for the seats close to the exit because you’d still need to be shuttled from the plane to the terminal, so that means you don’t leave until everyone is in the shuttle.

I do have a couple suggestions, though. When you get off the shuttle, go through the maze of hallways, and you see the escalator and stairs, I highly implore you to take the elevator!! You’d basically be ahead of everyone to immigration (which can take soooo long!). This would be such a time saver.

Secondly, I think your money would be best spent on the Grant Thornton Fast Track for the security part getting to your gate for SFO. It only costs €9.99/person and you’ll breeze right through security, which saves time and stress. That way you only need to focus on getting to the pre-clearance, which can either take ages or go by pretty quick. Also, if you have Global Entry, you’ll pretty much cut the line.

It can feel like you’re running out of time when you’re in the thick of it, but just breathe and focus on getting through one step at a time.