Hi, my wife and I are on a United business class award ticket to China in May. Though I did a fair amount of research trying to pick a good flight, I'm afraid I did not pay enough attention to the close connection in YVR. We are inbound from San Francisco on United and will be connecting to Beijing on Air Canada:

Fri, 13MAY16

UA784 SAN FRANCISCO, CA (SFO) 8:30 AM
VANCOUVER, BC CANADA (YVR) 10:52 AM

AC29 VANCOUVER, BC CANADA (YVR) 12:10 PM
BEIJING, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (PEK) 2:10 PM (14MAY)
Flight operated by AIR CANADA

So, that is a 1 hour 18 minute connection, which would normally be fine for a simple domestic flight, but I am now concerned about being able to get through immigration formalities (if any), whether baggage must be picked up and re-checked (possibly involving Canada customs), plus the sheer amount of time it takes to get from wherever UA flights arrive (or wherever immigration/customs exits) to where AC flights board. Plus whether we have to go through a security check again.

One additional factor is that AC does not make seat selection available in advance for this flight, at least for UA customers on the UA site. So maybe we have to wait in line yet again at the gate for boarding passes, if they cannot be issued at SFO on check-in.

Add to this the frequent propensity for morning flights from SFO to be delayed due to weather (marine fog in spring and summer months).

Needless to say I am beginning to be sorry I booked this itinerary and am now in a mild state of panic about it. If we miss the connecting flight it might be difficult to get to Beijing to join a group tour which begins on May 15 (I did build in one extra day in case of airline woes, though).

Advice? Experience? Much thanks. Rebooking this will be painful but is probably better than missing the flight and being at the mercy of AC.