Originally Posted by
gratn
Hi all
i am planning an upcoming trip to Toronto and will need to fly home via Chicago for a commitment there. Looking at options ex AKL it appears I can travel north via Vancouver, San Francisco, LA, Houston or Chicago.
Most of these connections involve a long-ish second flight, which may need to be in Y (long haul will be in J) so I am leaning towards Chicago or Houston. Flight times are similar, so can anyone please share thoughts on which offers a better transit experience for border control, lounge access (*Gold) etc?
On an associated note, it looks like United and Air Canada will have the best connection times for me for the short haul legs to/from Toronto. Am I right to think I should avoid United and fly Air Canada if possible? My priority will be inflight experience then lounge options and APD/status points last, as I’m expecting them to be poor either way.
Thanks in advance.
If you are going from Auckland to Toronto, with Chicago coming later in the journey, then I would personally transit in Vancouver on the way there. That way you only deal with Canadian customs and immigration on the way to Toronto. The fewer times you have to go through American border patrol the better, in my opinion. It does add a few hours on a plane from Vancouver to Toronto, but going through border patrol in the USA will also add a few hours - so take your pick where you want to spend those few hours and how much added stress you want to have.