United streamlines checked baggage for SYD-SFO flights

It’s a tiresome routine that frequent visitors to the USA know all too well, especially those who transit at international airports like Los Angeles and San Francisco before catching another flight to their final destination.

After making your way through customs and immigration comes the interminable wait at the baggage carousel – just what you need after a 14-hour flight from Australia – until your luggage finally comes into view.

You haul it up, cart it through the terminal and the crowds, and then re-check the luggage for your onward flight.

That all changes this week, at least for passengers flying from Sydney to San Francisco and beyond on United Airlines.

Starting today, travellers on the popular SYD-SFO route who have an onward connection can skip re-checking their bags in the US, and simply collect them at their final destination.

Part of a new pilot program by U.S. Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) to streamline the connecting experience, it’s estimated to save up to 45 minutes and help take the stress out of that SFO transit.

United currently flies a Boeing 777 with seating for 276 passengers between Sydney and San Francisco, and says that on average, over half of those passengers continue to another destination – with NY-adjacent Newark, Seattle and Washington DC topping the list.

Jennifer Schwierzke, United’s Vice President of Customer Operations Strategy and Execution, says the airline and CBP “plan to expand to additional international routes in the months ahead.”

Also read: Aussie travellers get Global Entry fast-track at US airports