Tedgrrrr

On Saturday I'm flying from Regina to Montreal, and then Montreal to Newark, with only 1 hour layover. This is the last (and possibly only) flight from Montreal to Newark that day.

The following morning at 8 a.m., I'm flying internationally with US Airways. If Air Canada decides to go on strike, or my Regina to Montreal flight is late and I miss the Newark one, or I get held up at customs or something, is Air Canada responsible for the fact that I missed my US Airways flight and will they put me on one of their flights to my international destination at no cost? Or, am I out of luck?

The Air Canada ticket and the US Airways tickets are completely separate.

In a sense this is completely academic, because if I miss the Newark flight, I can just hop on a flight to Toronto and fly to Newark from there, but I'm still curious.

Thanks!!

UK_Canuck

I've done this before and luckily never had a problem. But I've asked the same question and the answer is that you are out of luck. Even if they were both AC flights they are separate tickets and AC has no obligation to get you to your second ticket.

Here is my thread on the same problem.

payam81

You don't need to start separate threads for essentially the same or similar questions. It's against FT's TOS.

AC8598

Tedgrrrr

Thanks - I had called Air Canada two days after booking it and seeing the Montreal flight "stops" in Ottawa, thereby giving rise to an increase probability of delay, and seeing if they'd let me change to a Toronto flight with a bigger "window" and the lady refused (absent my paying a hefty fee), but stated that if I miss it due to Air Canada's fault, that I should buy a new US Airways ticket and that Air Canada would refund me for the second ticket if I submitted a refund claim, but I somehow doubt that they would actually do so

Tedgrrrr

sorry i'm new here - but I thought the questions were completely different... first was odds of catching a second air canada flight (ie. montreal connection times), second thread was about being compensated for a flight on a completely different airline on another day - so I thought it best to break it up.

wolvie007

Call back and tell AC that you're uncomfortable with such a tight connection as you're typically a slow walker and have bad luck at customs. I've been told on a few occasions by AC Reservations agents that this is a valid reason to move you to an earlier outbound flight

arf04

If you miss your Newark flight, AC will get you on the next available flight. Surely, that will get you to NY in time for your 8 a.m.? In a case like yours, it wouldn't hurt to have a look at alternate flights to get you to Newark from YUL and YOW in case of delay (possibly through YYZ), or even to another NY airport if necessary. I often find that if I've got new flights to suggest in a rebooking situation that the agents are happy to take the suggestion. Keep an eye on the inbound on Friday evening as that may affect the flight the next morning as it will be the same aircraft. I'm not sure if it's the same crew, but if it is a delayed inbound may impact the outbound due to crew rest issues. I'm on the YQR-YUL flight on Saturday as well, but as I only need to get to YUL it isn't a big deal if we're delayed.

payam81

No problem at all. Don't get it the wrong way, I was merely making an observation.

I thought since the routes were similar they were related.

Tedgrrrr

I appreciate all the suggestions.

My real concern isn't just that it's the last flight from Montreal to Newark, but the bigger issue is this nightmare which I just experienced in YYZ recently... where I missed the last flight of the day to Philly, and had to go pick up my bag in US customs pre-clearance area, only to find out that I had to go through Canadian customs as I had entered the magic doors which led to the transfer baggage belt. (even though I hadn't gone through US customs yet)

I'm worried same thing will happen here, and that it'll further delay me + increased chance of lost baggage, especially if they only show us a picture in US customs. arghhh.

Tedgrrrr

Just spoke to Jay @ SE Desk in Montreal for 20 minutes. Very nice guy - seemed like he really wanted to help me but help desk wouldn't let him switch me to a Toronto flight because 1 hour is plenty of time to catch a flight and that if I miss it they will make sure I get to Newark, but they can't do anything pro-actively even though the flights to YYZ and from YYZ to Newark are half empty. This is exactly why I booked my international flight with US Airways (not to mention J was less than economy on AC)

arf04

You're doing all the right things. I don't know about transit times in YUL, but a couple of weeks ago we did YQR-YVR-SEA and only had 65 minutes to transit. Our YVR flight was 20 minutes late so we thought it would be tight as the walk from domestic to US is quite far but everything was so quick that we ended up having to wait at the gate for our SEA flight. I'm sure all will be fine!

Have you flown J on US before? I've done UA because it was cheaper than AC on a TATL and was quite happy. I'm doing lowest price these days and swallowing the loss of status.

Tedgrrrr

I've flown J on US several times and to be honest I prefer it to AC. The biggest downside is that there is no IFE, but the 20 year old seats are a lot more comfortable and have a lot of recline options. The food isn't quite as good as AC, but I've always enjoyed my meals and FA's have always been great - flying from PHL to PHX recently, the flight attendant gave me lemon slices from her own personal stash for my gin and tonic when US didn't put any on board.

ludocdoc

So, OP, what are you actually doing? US does not fly internationally from any of the New York airports. Only from PHL and CLT. Maybe I'm forgetting a Bermuda flight out of LGA?

What time are you arriving in YUL? Barely in time to make the 7:55 flight?
It's about a 6 hour drive from YUL to EWR... longer to PHL if thats where your US flight actually leaves from.

Tedgrrrr

I'm flying to CLT early the following morning, then off to PLS. I'm stuck in Regina this week, and for some reason it's impossible to book from Regina with US and so I decided to fly separately to EWR because AC had all in for C$190 to EWR for $190 or so. I get in to YUL at 13:00 and the flight to EWR leaves at 14:00.