Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - YVR Minimum Connecting Times

I'm flying JFK-DFW-YVR-HKG in December. My AA flt from DFW to Vancouver has been re-scheduled, allowing just 1:12 to transfer to CX. Is this a legal connection, and is this sufficient?

No. You have to go through YVR customs and retrieve your checked bag in order to go through to the International section for CX's gate. It will take you 1:12 to do that.

I recommend you force AA to re-book your JFK-DFW-YVR connection that they rescheduled on you. They supposedly have 2 flights. CX leaves YVR in the afternoon and at 2:10 during the overnight. CX also goes JFK-YVR directly.

SHADO

[This message has been edited by SHADO (edited 08-05-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SHADO:
No. You have to go through YVR customs and retrieve your checked bag in order to go through to the International section for CX's gate. It will take you 1:12 to do that.

[This message has been edited by SHADO (edited 08-05-2003).]</font>

Huh? I thought all I have to do in Vancouver is pass through the transit check point to the Cathay gate. My bags are transferred automatically, are they not? AA told me the 1:12 still constitutes a legal connection in YVR.

Actually YVR is the first airport in Canada to offer sterile transit. YUL and YYZ will be doing so in the future. But according to the YVR website:

Connecting from U.S.A. Arrivals to International Departures

Option 1:
If you are in possession of a boarding pass and your baggage is checked through to your International destination,

1. Follow the International Connections signs to Departures Level 3 of the International Terminal. Do not go down to the Canada Customs hall.
2. Follow signs to the escalator above the connection point (a single baggage carousel).
3. Proceed to the designated departure gate.

Option 2:
If you do not possess a boarding pass and your baggage is not checked through to your International destination,

* Follow procedures for U.S.A. Arrivals followed by International Departures.

So just make sure that AA checks you bag right through to HKG, and that they give you a boarding pass for your CX flight. They should be able to do both as part of oneworld's seemless service. You might just print off the page from the YVR website and bring it along if the AA check-in agent tries to tell you otherwise.

http://www.yvr.com/guide/around/connecting.asp?id=usa2int

If you are returning through YVR, you will have to clear Canadian immigration and customs, collect your checked bags, and take them upstairs to the USA Departures area. Here you will preclear US Customs and Homeland Security as do all travellers to the USA. But once that's done, it's like being in the 'States. That, however, will take a good hour to two hours, but your connection should allow for it.

I assume you're picking up the day flight YVR-HKG. But just in case...

When I was doing a mad mileage run earlier this year all of the international airside transit routes were closed at the time the CX JFK-YVR flight came in, so even though I was doing an international transit (US-US http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) I had to enter Canada.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by christep:
I assume you're picking up the day flight YVR-HKG. But just in case...

When I was doing a mad mileage run earlier this year all of the international airside transit routes were closed at the time the CX JFK-YVR flight came in, so even though I was doing an international transit (US-US http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) I had to enter Canada.</font>

You're right...I am catching the day flight. American tells me an hour and twelve minutes is legal in YVR, so, I'll hope for the best http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Christep: You would not have been allowed to do a US-US transit at YVR because you are required to preclear US INS/Customs before leaving Canada on your return flight. So once you had disembarked from your inbound US flight, you were in Canada. You would have to be admitted to Canada, as you were, then pre-cleared and be admitted back into the US.

As I noted, on the return, there is no sterile transit because one must pre-clear the same US INS/Customs or whatever the agency is now called.

" American tells me an hour and twelve minutes is legal in YVR, so, I'll hope for the best."

And given what I have posted off the YVR site, why would you think this is not correct? Unless your flight is late getting in, you should have lots of time.

1:12 is plenty of time. You get off your DFW-YVR flight, follow the connection signs to international flights. There are two Canada customs booth set up just before you enter the international departure area to do a quick check on your passport. (So yes, you will need to fill in a Canada customs form)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Shareholder:
Christep: You would not have been allowed to do a US-US transit at YVR because you are required to preclear US INS/Customs before leaving Canada on your return flight. </font>

Since I didn't try it at that time I can't be sure. But on my way to the immigration counter I passed the signage directing me to transit to the USA which I believe would have led me directly to the outbound US Customs area without having to pass through the Canadian immigration. The only problem was that the door was locked, with a sign saying that it was closed at this hour.

I certainly got the impression that during the day I could have gone directly to US customs.

Yes, it's doable when it's open during the day. It just takes you down to a seperate set of INS counters for connecting passengers, you'll go through immigration, pick up your bags then join back the regular crowd for security screening. If you don't have bags, then it would be really easy.