Flying Air Canada

[jhenry1]

We will be flying from Austin Texas on Air Canada with a  3 hour lay over in Toronto and then boarding an American flight to Athens .  Will we need a Covid test to fly to Canada ?

[Magicat]

At this moment, yes you need a negative PCR test.  Not sure if non Canadian citizens can enter with a positive PCR test between 11 and 180 days of arrival.  But depending on when you are flying, this requirement may change.  Best to check a couple of days before you leave.

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid

 

[Keata]

17 minutes ago, jhenry1 said:

We will be flying from Austin Texas on Air Canada with a  3 hour lay over in Toronto and then boarding an American flight to Athens .  Will we need a Covid test to fly to Canada ?

 

If you go to the Air Canada site and check "my booking" it will let you know exactly what your requirement  is.  They use a system called Sherpa that takes into account your vaccination status as well as your specific flight details.  This combined with the Government site listed above should provide your answer. 

[broberts]

23 minutes ago, jhenry1 said:

We will be flying from Austin Texas on Air Canada with a  3 hour lay over in Toronto and then boarding an American flight to Athens .  Will we need a Covid test to fly to Canada ?

 

According to https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/border as long as a couple of constraints are satisfied you will not need a negative COVID test. But check with AC as the airline might require a test to board regardless of GOC regulations.

[Fouremco]

Do you have a single ticket flight from Austin to Athens, with a change in carrier in Toronto, or do you have one booking Austin to Toronto and a separately ticketed booking Toronto to Athens? Do you check you bags from Austin through to Athens or do you have to collect them in Toronto and check them in for the onward flight? As @broberts indicates, depending on the nature of your flight arrangements, you might not need to be tested.

[RickT]

I’ve never heard of an American flight departing from Toronto to Europe.  I suspect you are on a codeshare flight with the plane from Toronto to Athens being an Air Canada plane.

[cdn_tbird]

AA is no longer a Star Alliance member. They codeshare with WestJet these days.

[Fairgarth]

6 hours ago, jhenry1 said:

We will be flying from Austin Texas on Air Canada with a  3 hour lay over in Toronto and then boarding an American flight to Athens .

 

American does not fly Toronto - Athens.  And as far as I know, there are no code shares between AC and AA anywhere.  They are members of two different airline alliances.  Check your booking for the actual flight number.

[Tango99]

9 hours ago, jhenry1 said:

We will be flying from Austin Texas on Air Canada with a  3 hour lay over in Toronto and then boarding an American flight to Athens .  Will we need a Covid test to fly to Canada ?

You will need a negative to board. 

[maryann2]

3 hours ago, RickT said:

I’ve never heard of an American flight departing from Toronto to Europe.  I suspect you are on a codeshare flight with the plane from Toronto to Athens being an Air Canada plane.

Possibly United Code share.

[dawnvip]

When is this flight? Quick search shows only one direct flight in the next few months operated by Air Canada (Lufthansa is codeshare operated by AC)

 

[jhenry1]

Sorry I made a mistake the flight is Air Canada from Austin a change planes and layover in Toronto and Air Canada to Athens. Bags will be checked through to Athens. Thanks for all the replies. We have never flown AC so didn’t know what to expect. I will monitor the websites.

[bookbabe]

19 hours ago, cdn_tbird said:

AA is no longer a Star Alliance member. They codeshare with WestJet these days.

Are you sure?  I thought WJ had partnered up with Delta…I know we can now use the Delta SkyClub lounges, which is a great perk.

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, jhenry1 said:

Sorry I made a mistake the flight is Air Canada from Austin a change planes and layover in Toronto and Air Canada to Athens. Bags will be checked through to Athens. Thanks for all the replies. We have never flown AC so didn’t know what to expect. I will monitor the websites.

"You are exempt from testing and quarantine requirements, as long as you remain in the secure transit area to complete your connection within 24 hours." As suggested in post #4, take a look at this website for details: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/border#transit-air, but also verify with Air Canada. Go to https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home.html and fill out the form on the splash page to review all of the requirements, not only for your transit through Canada but for your arrival in Greece. I did a dummy run and it confirms that you do not need to be tested for your transit through Canada.

 

  

[Fouremco]

I just realized that I gave the wrong url for Air Canada's review of requirements. This is the proper one:

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/book/travel-news-and-updates/2020/covid-19.html#/

[jhenry1]

Thank you Fouremco for the links.

[Oceangoer2]

On 2/10/2022 at 11:02 AM, Fouremco said:

"You are exempt from testing and quarantine requirements, as long as you remain in the secure transit area to complete your connection within 24 hours." As suggested in post #4, take a look at this website for details: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/border#transit-air, but also verify with Air Canada. Go to https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home.html and fill out the form on the splash page to review all of the requirements, not only for your transit through Canada but for your arrival in Greece. I did a dummy run and it confirms that you do not need to be tested for your transit through Canada.

 

  

Off topic and from another thread but did you know you have a new title here on CC??

 

"Fouremco is Canada Cruise “travel adviser” and he will be coming online soon"

 

However, when queried ,the poster thought you deserved the title because you are 'so knowledgeable'....to which I concurred...LOL....

 

BTW...your hockey team is coming around...

Edited February 11, 2022 by Oceangoer2

[Magicat]

On 2/10/2022 at 8:31 AM, bookbabe said:

Are you sure?  I thought WJ had partnered up with Delta…I know we can now use the Delta SkyClub lounges, which is a great perk.

I thought they were.  Had flights from Birmingham AL with a transfer in JFK on to WestJet.  With 6 flights on WestJet only 1 had no issues.  It's a discount airline and you get what you pay for.

[bookbabe]

14 hours ago, Magicat said:

I thought they were.  Had flights from Birmingham AL with a transfer in JFK on to WestJet.  With 6 flights on WestJet only 1 had no issues.  It's a discount airline and you get what you pay for.

Weird.  I have Platinum status on WJ, and I’ve rarely had a problem with a flight.  Our nightmare flights always seem to be AC…

[jhenry1]

Ugh

That doesn’t sound good.  We have never flown AC but they had the best flight to Athens we could find from Austin Texas.  Hope all works out.  We are in business class.

We usually fly American, United, or BA which now has a direct flight once a day from Austin. 
Anything we need to know about AC?

[Magicat]

44 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Weird.  I have Platinum status on WJ, and I’ve rarely had a problem with a flight.  Our nightmare flights always seem to be AC…

I believe our issue is that we purchase seats or upgrades with WJ.  Then if they make even a small change to the flight (leaving/arriving 5 mins or if the tail # changes) all those go away.   One instance I purchased whatever their premier seats at the front of the plane are called.  They changed the plane,  so the row #4 I was in was no longer in that premier section. Short flight to JFK but still annoying.  Calling the get my refund, the CSR was very nice and offered me twice the amount in credit.  From what happened on the next flight I should have taken the $50.  But as I said, you get what you paid for.

 

I suppose like with anything, you find fault with the things you don't like and forgive indiscretions with those that you like. 

[bookbabe]

14 minutes ago, Magicat said:

I believe our issue is that we purchase seats or upgrades with WJ.  Then if they make even a small change to the flight (leaving/arriving 5 mins or if the tail # changes) all those go away.   One instance I purchased whatever their premier seats at the front of the plane are called.  They changed the plane,  so the row #4 I was in was no longer in that premier section. Short flight to JFK but still annoying.  Calling the get my refund, the CSR was very nice and offered me twice the amount in credit.  From what happened on the next flight I should have taken the $50.  But as I said, you get what you paid for.

 

I suppose like with anything, you find fault with the things you don't like and forgive indiscretions with those that you like. 

Sadly, in my experience, all their actual WJ planes only have three rows of Premium, so if you were originally on a codeshare flight with a bigger “upgraded” section you’ll get bounced on the new one..  We’ve had that happen a few times with plane changes where we had the exit row and then didn’t on the new flight.  With all the airlines lately, I’ve gotten used to quickly checking my flights every day or two to make sure there’s no changes.  I’m hoping eventually air travel gets back to a bit more like it was in the Before Times.  

Edited February 13, 2022 by bookbabe

[broberts]

1 hour ago, jhenry1 said:

Ugh

That doesn’t sound good.  We have never flown AC but they had the best flight to Athens we could find from Austin Texas.  Hope all works out.  We are in business class.

We usually fly American, United, or BA which now has a direct flight once a day from Austin. 
Anything we need to know about AC?

 

AC is like any major carrier. For the most part service is decent on nice aircraft. Every once in a while the experience is not so nice.

[Keata]

2 hours ago, jhenry1 said:

Ugh

That doesn’t sound good.  We have never flown AC but they had the best flight to Athens we could find from Austin Texas.  Hope all works out.  We are in business class.

We usually fly American, United, or BA which now has a direct flight once a day from Austin. 
Anything we need to know about AC?

Depending on the aircraft, your Business Class may include lie flat beds.  That class of services is great with fine wines and chef inspired food selection.  If you go to "My Booking" on the air canada site you will see the type of aircraft.

[Magicat]

The Boeing aircraft business class is better than the Airbus business class seats.  Except maybe on the A380.