Chicago or Toronto airport for connection from Vancouver to Nashville

I am planning on traveling from Vancouver, Canada to Nashville this summer. I am trying to find the easiest, least stressful, airport to go through the security and customs process. My choices are AirCanada, connecting in Toronto with a 2 hour layover or American, connecting in Chicago with a 5 hour layover. Prices are about the same. I read that with AirCanada you do not have to recheck your luggage in Toronto through customs. I also posted this on Cruiseair board so hopefully I can get some suggestions please.

For a flight from Vancouver to Chicago, you will "pre-clear" US Immigration and Customs at Vancouver, so you won't have to reclaim your bags at Chicago. They will continue on to Nashville. The flight from Vancouver to Chicago will be treated as a domestic flight.

Both are very big, very busy airports. No way around that. Pretty sure you will have to claim bags at Toronto, and do the "pre-clear" there. Then your flight from Toronto to Nashville will be treated as a domestic flight.

I would avoid Chicago O'Hare if at all possible.

Vancouver to Toronto is a domestic flight. You will have to claim baggage and go through US border control in Toronto.

I would avoid Chicago

Last time through Toronto in October to the US we did clear US Customs BUT we did not have to claim our bags (as was done in the past) and drag them through US Immigration and Customs, since they now x-ray and sniff and probably search everything. In Vancouver you usually have to identfy your bags on screen when going through a US connection, can’t remember if we did this in TO! There was a VERY long line in Toronto so I would check your connection times. You will also have to go through security again.

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Last time I went through Toronto, I did not have to claim luggage, but TSA broke open my unlocked luggage to search it.

Most important IMO is what time your FIRST leg is in Vancouver with each option. If they're both before 11am then DEFINITELY do the trip via YYZ to avoid preclearance in Vancouver. If you're nervous travelers, bump that time limit up to noon or even 1pm - depending on how many ships also dock in Vancovuer with you it can take 3 hours at YVR to get through all the queues, so offloading the US preclearance to later can make the difference between getting on your first flight or not!

If you have GE/NEXUS, and can self-disembark then personally I'd be comfortable with a flight as early as 10:30am from YVR - you will speed through all the queues, and as one of the first batch of people off the ship taxis should be a short wait.

Assuming that the beginning of the trip isn't the defining factor, I'd still favour going via YYZ. 2 hours should be more than enough to deal with preclearance even if there's an enhanced security level/something happens that means you need to collect bags and recheck - and if your inbound flight is running late, just be sure to tell everyone you see who is guiding folks through the security/immigration lines that you have a connection in X minutes. They can and do prioritise folks running late - nobody wants folks hanging around the airport for later flights, possibly needing meals/hotels etc.

Plus, worst case you are closer to home and with 3 hours in hand already compared to Chicago, might even be able to get a later/indirect flight home and still arrive about the same time you would have if you'd chosen the Chicago flight.

I am planning on traveling from Vancouver, Canada to Nashville this summer. I am trying to find the easiest, least stressful, airport to go through the security and customs process. My choices are AirCanada, connecting in Toronto with a 2 hour layover or American, connecting in Chicago with a 5 hour layover. Prices are about the same. I read that with AirCanada you do not have to recheck your luggage in Toronto through customs. I also posted this on Cruiseair board so hopefully I can get some suggestions please.

There are nice connections on Westjet thru Alberta to Nashville.

Plan B - don't know what part of TN you live in, but I live in Nashville. I've found it easier and less stressful and less expensive to shuttle from Vancouver down to Seattle and then take SW into Nashville. Your mileage may vary.

Roz

P.S. I flew from Nashville to Toronto last year to connect to a flight to Frankfurt. One of the worst airport experiences of my life, and I almost missed the flight. I paid Air Canada $30 to pick my seat and they gave it away and then scolded me for not being at the gate on time. It was their flippin' flight from Nashville that was delayed an hour but then it became my fault and problem.

Both are good options.

Keith

i would avoid chicago

+1!

There is nothing wrong with Chicago. You would have a nice 5 hr layover. This will give you a nice break and allow you to get a good meal, avoid any stress from late flights and just be able to relax while waiting for your short flight to Nashville.

Thank you for all the suggestions. Since I am traveling alone; I want to find the easiest, less stressful way of getting home. I know I will have to go through customs in Canada and then again in the U.S. Since I will have to recheck my baggage going through customs if I connect in Chicago, I am leaning towards the Toronto connection. Catching the shuttle to go to Seattle, then flying SW to Nashville is a great idea but flying directly out of Vancouver is more convenient for me.

Thank you for all the suggestions. Since I am traveling alone; I want to find the easiest, less stressful way of getting home. I know I will have to go through customs in Canada and then again in the U.S. Since I will have to recheck my baggage going through customs if I connect in Chicago, I am leaning towards the Toronto connection. Catching the shuttle to go to Seattle, then flying SW to Nashville is a great idea but flying directly out of Vancouver is more convenient for me.

If you go through Chicago you will clear US customs in Vancouver and should be able to check baggage through to Nashville.

If you go through Toronto you will clear US customs in Toronto.

With either choice you will not clear US customs in the US. Both flight segments to the US will be considered US domestic flights.

Thank you for all the suggestions. Since I am traveling alone; I want to find the easiest, less stressful way of getting home. I know I will have to go through customs in Canada and then again in the U.S. Since I will have to recheck my baggage going through customs if I connect in Chicago, I am leaning towards the Toronto connection. Catching the shuttle to go to Seattle, then flying SW to Nashville is a great idea but flying directly out of Vancouver is more convenient for me.

You have misunderstood a couple of things. First, you will NOT have to go through any Immigration or Customs in the US. In both of your options, you will be complying with all US Immigration and Customs requirements in Canada, either at Vancouver or Toronto. If you do the Vancouver-Chicago flight, you will NOT be claiming your bags in Chicago. They will be checked through to Nashville.

Thank you for the clarification on going through Customs. Usually how much time do you need to allowed for connecting flights if flying from Vancouver, B.C. and connecting in the U.S.?

Thank you for the clarification on going through Customs. Usually how much time do you need to allowed for connecting flights if flying from Vancouver, B.C. and connecting in the U.S.?

Since the transfers will always be Domestic after flying to a US airport from YVR, you can treat them the same as you would if you were flying from any US airport via any other. It's impossible to give an accurate generalization, as the time required to transfer is very airport dependent - we've had scheduled connections as short as 36mins, several under 50mins, from YVR to eastern US destinations. Those were mostly smaller airports - Minneapolis and Salt Lake City for example - rather than monsters like O'Hare or LAX where it can take ages to get between terminals even if you don't have to worry about going back through Security.

In general any combo of flights that you book from your airline should not have a connection time so short that you can't make it the vast majority of the time - no airline wants to have the hassle of rebooking you on a later flight! - but there's 'doable' and 'comfortable' and only you know how much padding you need to push you into the latter category...

So if you're talking about your Chicago option from above, 5 hours is total overkill for safety (though as mentioned above there are worse airports to kill time in - several good food options, we usually hit Rick Bayless' Torta place if we have time) - personally I'd like to have 2 hours at O'Hare unless you know your in- and out-bound gates are close together; if memory serves, American does not fly their own metal YVR-CHI so that means you'll be on a code share with Air Canada - and need to change terminals - but with 5 hours that's not an issue.

Since the transfers will always be Domestic after flying to a US airport from YVR, you can treat them the same as you would if you were flying from any US airport via any other. It's impossible to give an accurate generalization, as the time required to transfer is very airport dependent - we've had scheduled connections as short as 36mins, several under 50mins, from YVR to eastern US destinations. Those were mostly smaller airports - Minneapolis and Salt Lake City for example - rather than monsters like O'Hare or LAX where it can take ages to get between terminals even if you don't have to worry about going back through Security.

 

 

In general any combo of flights that you book from your airline should not have a connection time so short that you can't make it the vast majority of the time - no airline wants to have the hassle of rebooking you on a later flight! - but there's 'doable' and 'comfortable' and only you know how much padding you need to push you into the latter category...

 

 

So if you're talking about your Chicago option from above, 5 hours is total overkill for safety (though as mentioned above there are worse airports to kill time in - several good food options, we usually hit Rick Bayless' Torta place if we have time) - personally I'd like to have 2 hours at O'Hare unless you know your in- and out-bound gates are close together; if memory serves, American does not fly their own metal YVR-CHI so that means you'll be on a code share with Air Canada - and need to change terminals - but with 5 hours that's not an issue.

Doubt AA will codeshare with AC. AC is part of the Star Alliance, so probably AC to Chicago, then UA to Nashville. Or possibly UA the whole way.

Doubt AA will codeshare with AC. AC is part of the Star Alliance, so probably AC to Chicago, then UA to Nashville. Or possibly UA the whole way.

Thanks for catching that error Bruce - I'm prone to conflating United & American ever since USAir folded into the latter. I think OP specified she was flying on American, so I guess it'd be a WJ codeshare if a Canadian plane was involved!

Thank you for the clarification on going through Customs. Usually how much time do you need to allowed for connecting flights if flying from Vancouver, B.C. and connecting in the U.S.?

The consensus for O'Hare is at least 45 minutes is required to connect. This presumes luggage is checked through. However, one must take into account the possibility of a late arrival from Vancouver. One can query the internet for on time performance of particular flights.

Air Canada suggests at least 1h10 when connecting through Toronto to US destinations. Again, querying on time performance of the particular flight would be a good idea.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record - take Quick Shuttle from Vancouver to Seattle. They will pick you up inside Canada Place. Go thru customs and immigration at the border. Quick Shuttle will take you to SeaTac where, depending on timing, you can either board SW to Nashville or stay overnight at a nearby airport hotel and fly out early the next morning. SW has nonstop flights to Nashville. If you don't get a nonstop, SW doesn't fly thru hellish airports such as Chicago and Toronto.

I've done this several times. It works.

Roz

I don't see any non-stops by Southwest SEA-BNA, at least through May. Summer only?

The schedule may have changed, but I've taken non-stops in the past. Even if a flight isn't nonstop, I still stand by my assertion that a connecting flight at Midway is better than O'Hare. SW is less expensive than an international flight from Vancouver.

Just trying to throw an alternative into the mix based on my personal experience.

Roz

I hope I never have to go through Toronto's airport again. Flew AMS to ORD via Toronto on Air Canada and without going through all the details, it was a chore.

I would check with flyertalk.com

As I understand it, Chicago and Toronto are major hubs undergoing construction. And they've never had good reputations before any construction. Then you've got Air Canada and American. Based on what I see on FlyerTalk, AC is awful. I consider American to be the worst airline out of the big 3 US legacy airlines (Delta easily the best, with United just being a bit better than American at the far bottom).

They can help you find alternatives.