Air Canada? Anyone know anything?

[Bluenose Sandy]

Wow, that sounds great! Wish I didn't have reason to know all this stuff about Toronto and preclearance and AirCanada... with my home airport as Halifax, I don't have many options a lot of the time.

 

And you're on Tango Plus, so you can go right on the AirCanada website and do your advance seat assignments if you didn't already get them.

[parrotthead]

Oh, I was just reading the thread about the 'airlines messing up your plans'...thinkI'll stay off of that one, so I dont get cold feet:eek: ...of course Im going to Alaska, so ''cold feet'' may be unavoidable;) :p

I'm gonna go for it!!!

[M&A]

Wow, that sounds great! Wish I didn't have reason to know all this stuff about Toronto and preclearance and AirCanada... with my home airport as Halifax, I don't have many options a lot of the time.

 

And you're on Tango Plus, so you can go right on the AirCanada website and do your advance seat assignments if you didn't already get them.

 

Sandy,

 

We made the mistake last March break going through Toronto on Air Canada, they bussed us to the old terminal where the US customs are located, you have to pick up your bags and carry them through customs. There must have been thousands of people crowded in the US customs hall. Most flights to the US were delayed because of the long line ups in US customs. I try to fly out of Ottawa and use the US customs here, no crowds and I can fly to one of the hubs like Atlanta or Chicago.

 

We are flying West Jet to Fort Lauderdale in april to pick up our cruise, we have to go through Toronto but the US customs in that terminal is less crowded and newer and West Jet is a more efficient organized airline.

 

Mike

[parrotthead]

My flight into Canada goes to Tronato first...then to Vancouver...will I have to take my bags off the plane and then to the other terminal?? :eek: :confused: Or is that just on a flight OUT of Canada...On my return Flight I go from Vancouver to Denver...?????:confused:

[Bluenose Sandy]

Hi, Parrotthead. You'll have to get your bags off the first flight for sure, because you will be going through Customs and that means you and your luggage go through together. But I don't know if you have to take them yourself to the other terminal... we've always been in one terminal.

[Lynnees]

Parrotthead,

 

Have you checked which terminal you are landing at? A.C. has a terminal basically of it's own. You can also check out Pearson International Airport at http://www.gtaa.com/ to see where things are.

 

I know they are pulling down terminal 1 and I thought they had already started.

 

To be honest, when we fly to Vancouver we go one of two ways - Hamilton to Vancouver using Westjet or Buffalo to Seattle and then a commuter or take the train up to Vancouver. I'm partial to the train because the scenary is gorgeous.

 

You can fly Westjet from a lot of places in the U.S. but price wise they are about the same as Tango now. They also don't offer any meals but they do sell food onboard.

 

I would advise you to take something to eat with you, but as was previously mentioned don't take any fresh fruit. I don't know what other restrictions there are. (we're always going into the states).

[Schplinky]

My flight into Canada goes to Tronato first...then to Vancouver...will I have to take my bags off the plane and then to the other terminal?? :eek: :confused: Or is that just on a flight OUT of Canada...On my return Flight I go from Vancouver to Denver...?????:confused:

 

You'll be fine. You will land in Toronto and then proceed to Canadian Customs. You will have been given your customs form on the plane or you can pick them up at Customs, too. You will be asked a few questions and will have to show your passport or a birth certificate and photo i.d. issued by a government issuer. The Customs officer will stamp your Customs card and will direct you to the luggage carousels which are right behind him/her. Then, you will collect your bags to finish the customs process. This is necessary because they reserve the right to inspect your bags. They likely won't. After you have cleared the Customs hall, there will be an airport official and signs, directing you to a luggage belt that is only about 20 yards from the exit of customs. You will place your luggage on this belt and then you will not see it again until Vancouver. Likely, you will need to change terminals at this point and the shuttles work well. You may have to clear security again, as you will now be outsde the secure area.

 

When you are leaving Vancouver, you will clear US customs as part of the check-in and when you get back to the states, this will allow you to arrive, esssentially, as a domestic passenger. You will be able to cimply pick up your luggage and go.

[parrotthead]

I LOVE YOU CANADIANS!!!! All the info I am getting is so wonderful..it is so reassuring to hear all this from people who know first hand how everything works! :D I hope everyone I encounter is a nice as all of you here on CC:)

-kandy

oh, I think I go into term D and have to change to term B...but thats just what I surmised, from looking at the Toranto Airport website.

[GOALIEMOM30]

Good luck finding a flight! We are flying out on the 13th of May with WestJet, because Air Canada had nothing. We checked everything 2 weeks ahead and two week earlier. The nice thing with Westjet, it's a direct flight.

[readyforcruising]

Hi

 

We are from Toronto and have flown Air Canada numerous times. We have never really had any problems. Any airline can have changes, but my husband flies with them for business (Not business class though) and has never encountered any problems. Last year we were flying to Phoenix and it was air canada to Denver and then United (Ted) to Phoenix. It was all a ok. Accually given a choice I would fly Air Canada over any charter for sure!!

 

Hope it helps.

[numbersca]

Living close to Toronto we have used AC on several occasions with no problems at all. Our last trip was this past December on the Navigator. As for the food, my daughter just loved the pizza, had more on the return trip. They take $Cdn.’s and if I can remember correctly, accept $US’s at par. As for service, a few years ago, as we boarded the plane, our girls, 8 & 10 at the time were given a log book and got the Pilot to sign it as we got off. In December the girls had journal and during the flight, asked the stewardess if she would ask the pilot to sign them. She gladly did this during the flight and then asked if we were willing to wait when we got to Miami, the girls could visit the pilot in the cockpit. We now have some great pics with the girls wearing the captain’s hat. First class all the way. OK, now for Pearson (Toronto) International. They are in the process of replacing 2 older terminals with one new and larger terminal. As of December 2005, AC International flights were still out of the old Terminal 2 and domestic flights out of the new Terminal.

All this said, our next trip south will include a drive to Buffalo. We will drive directly past the Toronto airport to get there. As Toronto is an expensive airport to fly through it will be worth the trip to Buffalo in savings. I read a post on another board were a family of 4 from Toronto is driving to Buffalo, flying to Seattle, and taking the train up to Vancouver for an overall savings of about $1,000. Many Canadians will drive over the boarder to find cheaper flights to the sunny south. I would fly AC in a second except for the cost.

[Lynnees]

We leave in the Niagara Peninsula and are about 12 miles from the U.S, border. We are actually closer to the Buffalo airport than Pearson. We very seldom fly out of Pearson because of the added charges. One any domestic ticket the feds add $105.00 for their various charges. It's ridiculous.

 

The pitfall with flying out of Buffalo is that invariably we have to change planes. However, given the 2 choices we choose to change planes for a much cheaper flight.

 

We will be leaving on March 16 for our Tahitian Princess cruise. We will fly from Buffalo to Chicago to LAX. We'll overnight in LA and fly on to Tahiti on Friday. We will arrive in LA early enough to have most of a day there which is fine as we've been there several times before.

 

The savings in air fare for the 2 of us is well over $1,000.00. More than pays for our hotel in LA plus a day of touring around.

[cmich068]

Okay, as a torontonian, i'll clear some things up.

 

Your flight from the US will come into Pearson Terminal 2, the Transborder terminal shared by Air Canada, United, and Westjet. You will get off your flight, go through Canadian Customs, and arrive in the Luggage area. you will need to pick up your luggage from the carousel.

 

If the agent at your home airport checked you and your baggage in right through to Vancouver (Make sure they do, i think Air Canada runs their own counters there, if they don't then you go to the United Counter), then you will take your luggage off this carousel, and walk all of 50 meters to right before the exit of the luggage area, where you will stick your luggage onto the "Connecting Luggage" carousel, walk out, and catch the shuttle bus to Terminal 1 domestic.

 

 

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/airport/usa.html (That applys to Toronto Airport ONLY).

 

Are both flights on your way home United, or only the 2nd one?