HAve a 6:30 am flight out of Vancouver in Aug. on a Monday on Horizon Air to the East Coast. How early should we get there..wondering what time the desks will open?? I don't want to get there at 4:30 and wait for the desk to open.
Will it be a quick check-in that early?
Our flights were changed by NWA. This seems the best they can do for us. UGH!! I'm hoping some other flights will be added that will work out better and they would let us change it.

Vancouver, WA or Vancouver, Canada?

Bajaflash - YVR is Vancouver, BC (Canada).

Katy - one question? Your flight is a Horizon Air? All the way to the East Coast? I thought Horizon operated short distance flights, with Alaska Airlines taking the longer flights....just curious.

Is this an international flight (i.e., flying to the States) or national flight (staying in Canada the entire time). That will determine whether you need to be there 2 or 3 hours ahead of schedule.

If your flight is at 6:30, and it's a domestic flight, you need to be there 2 hours ahead therefore the desk has to be open at 4:30 a.m....if it's written in the rules of the airline, it will have to happen.

Ditto for 3 hours ahead for international flights. The might open exactly 2 or 3 hours ahead of departure...but no later than that.

To find out whether the airport will be busy I would check out the YVR website and check out the departure schedule for that day.

I've been to YVR in August, fairly early, catching an American carrier...and it was CRAZY!!! Vancouver in August is high time for cruise ships so there were tons of passengers coming, and going home. We got there 3 hours head (to fly to Phoenix) and the customs and security lines were beyond anything I had seen before.

http://www.yvr.ca/flightinfo/

Horizon is a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, so if you're going to the east coast it will entail a change of planes in Seattle, presumably to Northwest, since your ticket was changed by them.

There's good news and bad news about flying from YVR to SEA. The good news is that you won't have to clear US immigration and customs at Seattle, so you can go directly to your connecting gate, which if it's NW will be in the South Satellite, requiring a train ride from the gate where the Horizon flight arrives (although a few Horizon flights park at the South Satellite themselves, which would be even easier.) The other good news is that your bags will be transferred to your connecting flight, so no troubles there either.

The bad news is that the price you pay for this convenience is having to go through US immigration (passport control) and customs at Vancouver airport before your Horizon flight. Vancouver is one of several airports where the US authorities have "pre-clearance" facilities because so many US-bound passengers are continuing on to other destinations in the US once they leave YVR.

So bottom line, while I don't know if 4:30 is mandatory, I wouldn't cut it too short as the immigration and customs officers could care less if you miss your flight and consequently miss your onward connection in Seattle.

Just to respond to the poster above. You don't have to be at the airport 2-3 hours. That's just a recommandation folks.

You have to be checked in by certain time. It's usually 1/2 hour for domestic and no more than an hour, often less for international. CHECKED IN. How you accomplish that is your problem but as long as you show up with enough time before the check in cutoff time, you're fine. The airline doesn't care if you showed up 2 hours before or 45 minutes before as long as you're checked in 30 minutes before schedule departure.

Ok..for clarification this is our itinerary:
Departs YVR: Northwest 2162 as 2267 operated by Horizon Air
Departs Seattle : Northwest 210
Departs DTW: Northwest 1558 to SYR

This is on a Monday.
So I gather the desk will be open as early as 4:30am. ANother poster said they arrived 2 hrs. ahead [another airport]as recommended but the desk was not open...got me thinking!

Thanks for all the info on the ends and outs of the airport.
Is there anything else we should know about coming arriving on Horizon Air in Seattle and making the transfer to NWA? Seems like Gardyloo has covered it pretty much..Thanks! I've only been to Sea once and don't remember much about it. We have about 1 1/2 layover in Sea. I just hope we are awake enough to read the signs.

We had SUCH a nice flight scheduled leaving at 12:20 with one stop at DTW but now it seems they have eliminated out DTW flight to SYR.

If you have carry-on luggage be aware that many bags won't fit into the overhead on the commuter plane between YVR and SEA. Instead, Horizon will place a "Smart Cart" on the ramp next to the stairs to the plane. Put your carry-ons on the cart and they'll be hand-loaded onto the plane by the handlers. At Seattle, they'll be put back onto an identical cart as you get off the plane.

If you park at the usual Horizon gates (C and D concourses) look for the signs directing you to "S" gates and don't dawdle. 90 min. is plenty of time but Horizon isn't always the most punctual of carriers.

Ok...We'll remember about that about the carry-on luggage..good to know. Thanks!

I arrived at the Vancouver airport two hours before the flight and by the time I check-in, when through customs, etc., they were boarding the plane at the gate. So allow two hours.

Wally - What time a day? Our flight takes off at 6:30 am.
We plan to be there 2 hours early anyhow but curious.

My flight was at 7:30 a.m. and it was a busy place because you go through U.S. customs in Vancouver. Welcome to the United States! Two hours sounds good. Early August is the busy time in Vancouver.

It is Monday, Aug. 25..cruise ship season so I imagine it will be busy.

AAFF, remember that in this particular case, you not only have to check in when traveling from YVR on a US-bound flight, but also clear US immigration. It's the unpredictability of the length of time it will take to clear US Immigration that would cause me to favor an early check-in time.

<b>WillTravel</b>

I understand, but I was merely replying to <b>camelbak's</b> post

<i>If your flight is at 6:30, and it's a domestic flight, you need to be there 2 hours ahead therefore the desk has to be open at 4:30 a.m....if it's written in the rules of the airline, it will have to happen. </i>

That's simply not true. No such rules exist.

Picking up on the unpredictability theme: I recently flew from Toronto to Washington (DCA). Like a good little flyer I showed up almost 2 hours ahead of my departure time only to make it curb to gate in 20 minutes flat...this included US customs &amp; immigration as well as security. It's hard to know how long it will take at a given time.

Exactly - it is certainly hard to predict. For example, once I arrived at Madrid airport three hours early for an international flight, and we were through check-in and security in perhaps 5 minutes, but probably less. But yet I've read of people being held up for ages there.

On a Monday morning after a big cruise day, Vancouver airport can be quite full of people in the OP's situation - connecting to the eastern/midwestern US via Seattle or some other western US city.

<i>On a Monday morning after a big cruise day, Vancouver airport can be quite full of people in the OP's situation - connecting to the eastern/midwestern US via Seattle or some other western US city.</i>


.....and nobody said it won't be, but to state that you have to be there 3 hours before is totally incorrect.

In my earlier post I said that for international flight with checked in bags, you better be be holding a BP and a claim check for your luggage about an hour before the flight. That is a rule.

Showing up 3 hours before is recommended by the airlines, just so their jobs are easier, but totally not necessary, especially at that time in the morning.

I didn't say anything about 3 hours; nobody is suggesting that.

However YVR (like YYZ) requires US I&amp;C pre-clearance and the facility is easily overwhelmed on cruise days. And with east coast connections out of SEA (and with QX's lousy on-time performance) this is a case of safe v. sorry.

<i>nobody is suggesting that.</i>

I beg to differ....



<i>If your flight is at 6:30, and it's a domestic flight, you need to be there 2 hours ahead.....Ditto for 3 hours ahead for international flights.</i>

<b>camelbak</b>

and that is what I was replying to.