Originally Posted by
edi_local
You'll be fine with 80 minutes at DUB for pre-clear. They wouldn't sell it if it wasn't doable. They don't like to have loads of misconnecting passengers to deal with and as DUB frequently advertises itself as a transit point to the USA specifically because of pre-clear, it's safe to say they know what they are doing.
I did it with about 90 minutes, EDI-ORD, a few days before thanksgiving 2016, on a staff ticket and was held up for at least 20 minutes at the transfer desk waiting for them to issue me a boarding pass for the ORD flight and I still had time to have a snack before boarding my ORD flight. After you clear transfer security you join the pre-clear line. If you've previously entered the USA on an ESTA with the same passport you are directed to self service kiosks. If not then you join a line. It moved a little slow, but they regularly go around shouting out the flights that are due to close soon and take those people to the front of the line. I only waited in this area for about 30-40 minutes, even with my delay and my wait for security, I still made it through pre-clear before the ORD flight was being shouted out. It's then a short walk to the gates. The USCBP staff in DUB are actually pretty polite too.
If DUB offers good value and suits your needs then I'd strongly suggest going that way. Knowing you've got it all behind you and all you have to do is pick up your bag and leave the terminal in NY will help you feel more relaxed on the flight.
All true but as someone else points out your inbound has to be on time. There's no real margin for error built in for that. Having had a serious bag delay on a short connection flight before I tend towards the conservative.