Air Canada : Montreal airport
 

Do we have enough time to get through customs and immigration on our flight originating from SF to UK with a connection in Montreal that is 1:44 minutes? Time of day: 6:16 pm arriving at terminal 1. Departing for London at 8pm. I have read elsewhere that Montreal is a difficult airport to get through because they require you to go through customs and immigration even for a connecting flight. We don't need to check in our luggage as we travel light. Does that help or hinder?

A friend of mine just went through the Montreal airport on Saturday and had 55 minutes to make her connection. She had to go through customs and check her luggage. She did make the flight, but barely. She was the last one to board and had to literally run through the airport.

I suggest that when you get there, find out immediately where you need to be and go directly there, whether it be customs or the gate of your next departure.

1:44 should be enough time if you don't doddle.
Good Luck!

I've been through Montreal Airport twice in the past couple of months and it is a zoo right now largely because almost all the flights that used to us Mirabel now use Dorval. They are frantically building a new international terminal but until then it's horrible

In order to transfer luggage from the customs area to a connecting flight you have to pick up your luggage from the carrousel, (after immigration), and take it to a crowded elevator where you go to the departures floor to recheck your luggage. Even if you bypass the carrousel and don't have to recheck it's still sometimes a ten minute wait at the elevator because they're so crowded. Then you go through security, (the longest lineups in Canada but they do move fast), before you can get to your gate.

I do find it amazing that you're travelling to Europe with just hand luggage. I assume you are sure it will be accepted by the airline as such because they have gotten a lot stricter about hand luggage lately and I regularly see people even in First Class having their 'hand' luggage taken away to be checked in. But even if you don't have to worry about collected and rechecking your luggage, (add about 15-20 minutes)I'm pretty sure you have to go through immigration and back through security again and that could eat up an hour if a lot of international flights are arriving at the same time

I think have enough time as long as your incoming flight is not seriously late. Asuming that you are on Air Canada if you miss the connection it it is their problem. AC also has a flight to LHR at 10:30. You will have to pass through Canadian customs and immigration. This includes collecting any checked bags walking through customs and dropping them on a belt. The AC agent in SFO will have tagged bags through to LHR so no need to line up to deal with an agent. I have never had any really long lines at Canadian customs/immigration when coming home.

On your return trip (assuming there is one) you will clear both Canadian and US customs/immigration at the Canadian airport. The bonus is that on arrival back at SFO it as if it is a domestic arrival.

As others have written, Montreal airport (Dorval) is a real zoo and will be until the international terminal and other upgrades are finished. (long story, but most flights using the "new" Mirabel airport were transferred back to Dorval a few years ago).

That said, you should easily have enough time to make your transfer, unless your flight is seriously delayed. As others have noted, you will have to clear Canadian Customs and Immigration on arrival, but since you won't have checked bagged, you can proceed to the international departures area without waiting for baggage.

Air Canada gives a minimum time of 50 minutes for connections between flights US arrivals and international departures at Montreal (Dorval), or Pierre Eliott Trudeau International Airport as it is now known.

Thanks for your kind advice and reassurances. I'm very glad to know there is a 10:30 PM flight in the event we get delayed and miss our connection. It's AC all the way, so you are right, it's their responsibility to get us there. I won't count on my carryon making it with us. It will pass the size requirement but probably not the weight requirement.
You are all great. Obviously, you've done this a few times.

Wait.. are you saying there is only an elevator to the departure floor? No escalator?

There are two elevators. I'm sure they're are staircases for fire reasons but that wasn't an option for us so I didn't look.

I would not worry too much about the weight of your carry-on. I have never seen an Air Canada agent check the weight of any carry-on and I fly AC fairly often. As long as it looks like the right size you will be OK. We are not talking about about lead bricks are we?

ummm.. no lead bricks. But I can squeeze alot of air out of those plastic bags I use. :) Thanks for all your helpful observations. There is ALWAYS the worry about delayed flights. But, on vacation, I plan NOT to worry. Pack and go with the flow.. and my latest book loaded on my fully charged ipod! thanks again