I am travelling on a CP operated Airbus to Laguardia on Sat Oct. 21 at 8:00am (Bound to be a RESIII disaster). Aside from RESIII how is check-in/US Immigration on Saturday mornings? (I can use Bus Class check-in if avail) What would be a recommended check in time (I fly in from YEG perevious day at 8:26 pm and want max time to visit friends). PS - any thoughts re: JFK check-in on BA for Sunday at 10pm?? Thanks in advance for any input.

Biggest problem with transborder processing at YYZ is not at the check-in counters, but on the other side of the wall, waiting for the long line at immigration inspection to move forward. The only "fast track" is reserved for those connecting from same day flights. At 8 am it is likely to be crowded since the Saturday morning tourist rush will be on. Give yourself at least an hour prior to flight time to check-in, though you may not need it, then go to the MLL: very nice hideaway. With the computer situation, give yourself 2-hours even with J-class check-in.

So unless you plan to stay up all night with your friends, you won't have much time getting in at 8 and leaving at 8.

As for BA at JFK, same advice. It is chaos at curbside, less so when you get to the J and F check-in counters. From there it is an escalator ride up to the Club World Lounge where, if you are flying Club, you can have pre-flight dinner. That will pretty much decide how early you want to arrive. (You can also eat on the plane, they don't stop you from diing twice...) When your flight is called, you go down a back escalator where there is a dedicated security check to speed things along. Then chaos again at the boarding gate because the space is so confined.

Did the US preclearance this past Saturday on my way to Atlanta ex YYZ. My flight was at 8h50 and I arrived at Pearson at 08h05. When I saw the lines my heart skipped a beat as I thought I might not make it. As it turned out I had lots of time. Got my boarding pass after a short wait since one of the J class agents was tied up with a pax for as long as I was in line. Hint, if you are late, "try" to use the automated kiosks. The agents who handle baggage for these users also handle J paxs when free so you can always go up to them and say you were unsuccessful with the kiosk. Shareholder is correct about the line for connecting passengers which is way shorter than the main line which was longggg! My agent suggested I use it (formerly it was for J paxs but US Customs nixed this preferential treatment) which I did and was through in minutes. Total time from check in to clearing was less than 15 minutes which left me with 30 minutes to spare. So if last Saturday was any indication you should be fine getting there an hour ahead.

Is that line for connecting passengers? I always thought it was for J and Elite passengers. I always use the short line and have never been challenged.

I went through this past Saturday morning for a 7:00am flight. There was nobody there. Was through in seconds. An hour later makes a huge difference when all pax heading south for cruise ships check in.

It used to be labelled with a standard Elite & SuperElite (&J?) passengers sign, with a small "& connecting passengers" underneath. But I haven't been through there since early June 1999. (I never noticed anyone actually checking credentials).

It was a huge shock when I started flying through YVR (in late June 1999) and discovered that not only was there no "Elite" line, there wasn't even a line for connectors!

andrew

Thanks for the advice. I will budget just over an hour to check-in and get to the plane. I checked ITN and the availability on later AC flights looks fairly open so standby should not be a problem if I miss my flight, thank goodness I have a paper ticket in advance of RESIII!!

Looks like you'll be ok. If you had an electronic ticket, you would have had to get it exchanged in advance.

FewMiles..