librarychica85

Hi all,

I'm currently researching flight options for flights to Copenhagen in June. Air Canada has decent prices and is another plus since it's not an American airline. I would be traveling from Pittsburgh to Copenhagen and connect in Toronto, all of the flights would be on Air Canada. I do have a couple of questions-

-Would I have to stand in line in immigration/customs at Toronto's airport?
-Do I need to get my baggage only to recheck it to board my second flight (like the US makes you do)?
-Is a 2.5 hour connection enough time coming back from Europe?
-Would I have to redo security at Toronto? (I ask this because coming home from Montreal I connected in Toronto and I had to stand in a horrendously long security line at Toronto).

I've found some information regarding my questions but it's a a couple of years old and I'd prefer to have more recent information to go on. Thanks in advance!

Jeff_Costa_Rica

The answer to your first and last questions is yes. On the way to Europe, you will go through Canadian immigration (CBSA). On the way back home, you will disembark from your flight at Toronto and go directly to US Immigration and Customs.

The airport website outlines the procedure:

www.torontopearson.com

Click on the purple CONNECTING link and fill in your information. It tells you what you will do.

DonTopaz

Going to Europe, you do not go thru Canadian immigration -- international connections have a quick passport check and then go directly to the departure area.

On the way home, again there is no Canadian immigration, but you will clear US customs/immigration in Toronto

Southam

So the answer to question #2 is that, flying east, you won't see your checked luggage until arriving in Copenhagen. Coming back west, you will retrieve your luggage to pass through US immigration and customs in Toronto and then immediately hand the bags back to the airline to continue home.
Toronto Pearson is a big airport but efficient. Same description applies to Air Canada. That's a comfortable amount of time to make your transfer. Just be sure to pick the correct line to stand in for clearance, since there are three choices: You want the non-Canadian connection to the US.

Citylghts

Upon your return, you also won't actually claim your luggage. The CPB agent will scan your baggage claim and retrieve an image of your bag. You just confirm that it's yours and you're done. (<i>Of course, the dark roller bag in that grainy b&w picture is mine. How many of them could there be in the world?</i>)

librarychica85

Thanks all for your help! I greatly appreciate it as it gives me much more to go on.

doug_stallings

Have you checked Norwegian Air flights from JFK? They are so cheap that you may be tempted even if you have to buy a separate ticket to get from Pittsburgh to JFK.

rkkwan

Please lower your expectations. On several recent Trans-Pacifc flights, their service and food were worse than UA.

DonTopaz

> On several recent Trans-Pacifc flights,
> [Air Canada's] service and food were worse than UA.

How is that even possible?

rkkwan

It is entirely possible. And I am not even talking about 3-4-3 on their 77W. They are inferior in both hardware AND software when compared to UA.