sorry - it is LONG, and this is the short versiion. the question dog asked was: how was customs and the flight. just note to leave more time thru TSA than it used to take, even domestic flights. here is my story:
customs in & out was about the same. no real probs, but now you have to pull out any liquids or gels on carry-ons, and are limited to the amount of oz's. like my lip gel or eyedrops, etc. so, pack all shampoo, toothpaste and so on in your checked luggage. dont forget to double ziploc anything that will mess up your clothes.
the air trouble was with american air. trip down was fine. back, hydrolic prob delayed us in san jose (and it took us 4 hrs to drive there). then, they wanted to take the plane for a 'test spin' with all our luggage on it. they kept telling us to check back in 10 minutes, so we kept running downstairs to the bar the running back up. no plane. it was a few hrs b4 it came back, and by then taca was at the gate. they decided to move all 300 of us to another gate, then shuttle us one bus at a time to the plane with walk up stairs. that took over an hour. by the time we got to miami, EVERYONE had missed their connections. we were supposed to get in there at 4:45, and got in around 10pm. THEN, we learned the pilot flew in by computer, and no one at AA knew we landed. after waiting by baggage claim for another hour, we heard there were no handlers on site. there was almost a riot. we were all SO tired. finally, i think some other handlers volunteered, and another 30 min later we got our bags. we couldnt find an AA rep. finally bruce hunted one down, and she was very bothered by the fact we wanted to interrupt her conversation with her friend to try to get info on how to go home. then we were all herded upstairs to go to re-routing agents. that line took at least another hour, and by 1 am, we were shuttled to the airport motel, with a meal voucher for the restaurant that was already closed. we got up for breakfast - had $10 voucher for a $30 meal. when we got to the airport for the AM flight, they told us we missed the allotted time to check our baggage, and would not let us on the flight (shed to take off an hr later). i frickin' lost it all over the agent and told him he better get me home whatever it takes, made quite a little scene. they couldnt, so i told him to find a carrier who could. so, 2 hrs later, we flew to orlando to get US air home. then, our car ride home i scheduled 2 months ago couldnt come, had another client, so we had to hire a car when we got to PHL.
all in all, 40 hours for an 8 hour flight. i was totally kicked in the ass by the time we got home. good times.