I've got a flight out west, first in a long time. (I've been avoiding AC....SE now, but so far this year, only 12k miles.) I've noticed those signs that direct YVR/Asia passengers to the end of T2. What's the reason for this? The darn flights don't actually depart from that end, do they? Don't they go from the usual domestic departures area?

Passenger and baggage volumes from YYZ to YVR are so high that segregation, however inconvenient in terms of walking distance in the terminal, makes sense in the greater scope. For instance, when your baggage is checked in that area, it goes down to a YVR-only chute, and YVR (and connections)-only sorting area. This keeps it out of YYZ's labyrinth of baggage chutes and carousels minimizing the possibility of a misroute. Also, this area was once the groups check-in and a high percentage of Asia-bound passengers travel in large organized tour groups, making the extra space in the area a godsend for checkin agents. Additionally, there is space for tour buses to park at that end of the terminal without congesting traffic too much. These are just a few of the reasons I can think of... I'm sure there are more optimizations that I'm not aware of.

If you are entitled to J check in (E, SE, P, J pax), you can still use the J check in area on the domestic side even if you are on a YVR/Asia flight.

Also, last time I checked in there (a while back) there was no J class checkin (just a very rude Y class one - but that's another story...)

I really don't understand what AC is doing at YYZ. While I follow their desire to relieve congestion from the domestic end of T2, they alienate their elite flyers and high-yield pax who pay for J by making them walk the whole length of T2 after coming across the a check-in area with no priority counter. Thus, I ask AC: CAN'T YOU PUT UP A NOTICE UNDER THE EXISTING 'YVR/ASIA FLIGHTS GO HERE' SIGN, INFORMING WHERE ELITES AND J-PAX SHOULD GO TO AVOID A HEADACHE? A simple move for a little goodwill.