polarpacific

Hello

We are currently in YVR and going to SAN for a week. Upon return we will connect straight away to a separate long-haul flight to HKG.

The SEA-YVR leg on DL arrives around 11 pm and, and the YVR-HKG flight on CX leaves at 2 am.

For this type of USA >> International transit at YVR, do we need to go through immigration and customs upon arrival from SEA before check-in for HKG ?

A complication is that on the outbound to SAN we want to store some large bags with the Luggage Storage service at YVR, and collect the bags upon arrival from SEA.

I understand that the storage office is available in the International section and is open until 1 am, but can it be reached from Transit or only after Immigration/Customs?

Thank you

gglave

There is a wizard here that will walk you through the steps -

http://www.yvr.ca/en/navigating-yvr/...rough-yvr.aspx

At that hour the 'quasi sterile' transit is closed, so you'll need to enter Canada.

...however, as you need to pick up some stored baggage this would have been your only option either way. So you'll proceed to the Canada Border Services Agency check point, enter Canada, claim your bag at baggage storage, then head to International departures.

Be sure you check the baggage storage hours.

polarpacific

Thank you, gglave -- that wizard is very useful.

The baggage storage is open until 1 am, which is perfect for us.

mmack

I've been reading up on the complications of Border Control when flying from the US to Canada to take advantage of the great J fares to Europe.

Is there an easy, if time consuming, way to go SFO-YVR then board a UA flight Yvr to ORD to LHR? All in one connection? We have Global Entry and Nexxus.

Should I be conservative and just fly up to Vancouver the previous day and stay in a hotel the night before?

Thanx and a tip of the hat to those who know the score!

gglave

It wouldn't be that complex. You'd enter Canada from the USA, using Nexus, then go up one level on the escalator, head to US departures and pass security and US CBP for your flight to ORD and on to LHR.

I just did a dummy booking at United.com and it allowed me to do just that.

What's not clear to me is what would happen with your luggage - Would they transfer it or would you have to claim it and re-check it?

mmack

Right now, it seems that I can't book a SFO-YVR-ORD-LHR ticket without the fare becoming MUCH more expensive. So I am planning the RT SFO-YVR on a separate itinerary. Maybe we will do carry on only.

gglave

With SFO in the mix, there is always the risk of flight delays and missed connections. If you have separate itineraries you're not protected onto later flights. All of that is a long way of saying I'd go with your plan of arriving the night before.

polarpacific

There were a few unexpected hiccups along the way which gave pause for whether we would be able to collect the baggage from storage at YVR before the 1 am deadline and then check-in for the CX flight departing at 2 am.

First, the SEA-YVR leg on DL had a mechanical issue which delayed departure about 20 min -- although fortunately not the 1+ hour the gate staff cautioned at one point.

Second, after landing and waiting for the gate-checked stroller (already missing the wheel from SAN-SEA), we were the last to head towards immigration. But we needed an elevator and somehow followed a very long and isolated path that did not seem to be going to the right place ... At one point I thought we would end up straight outside, but we managed to take another elevator back to the original floor and strangely arrived at the front left corner of the immigration hall (which was slightly disorienting as I had always previously entered from the back).

Third, after sorting the paperwork for the damaged stroller we did manage to get to the stored luggage office with lots of time to spare, and also successfully check-in for the CX flight.