Well I can tell you that, on arriving into YVR from Las Vegas yesterday, I talked to three airport employees and one CBSA officer about the OSS on my boarding card, and not a single one of them had even heard of OSS there. They were saying "You MUST re-clear security no matter what". They have a weird system at YVR though where, if you're flying Air Canada (what they deem as "quick connect"), you walk down a hallway, go up an escalator, and get into a security line with all other connecting AC passengers. But you do still have to clear security, and rightfully so as the path to the quick connect takes you through the baggage carousels. Did I miss something at YVR or are they not even part of the OSS conversation yet?

Answering my own question, maybe this is a way of collecting time and motion metrics for this newly introduced process (at YUL)

This.

I came into YUL the other day on an overseas flight, and had OSS on my boarding pass. I came into the hall, and a ridiculous line. So I went out through regular Nexus, recreated security for domestic, and got to the gate for an earlier connection.

OSS without Nexus is like having a driver without a decent backswing. Pointless.

YYZ was a mess Friday afternoon (see my not-auto-rebook post).

But they did physically have about 6 new terminals installed up there with a couple of techs poking at them. I'm heading to Detroit now, maybe they will be up and running by Thursday.

The above could be made more concise by simply replacing the bolded phrase with the word golf.

I just flew Europe-YYZ-USA the other day, and my YYZ-USA BP had OSS on it. I compared this to my Canada-YYZ-USA boarding passes which do not.

Is this an error on AC's part? Or will this eventually be implemented for connections to the US?

Not for a long time I expect. As long as the US demands extra checks (i.e. no shoes), OSS is meaningless to them.

Going through it two days ago, the signage needs to be fixed. It is simply wrong. There is a big banner that says "Canadian connections" However the overhead sign says "International Connection".

The bus ride was interesting, I think there are the same buses they used for the infield terminal in years past. The airport must be the habit of just storing these and pulling them out from time to time as needed.

They could what Ireland does at preclearance and just have people remove their shoes and laptops for connecting pax.

Laptops? Don't you have to remove a laptop at every security point worldwide?

TSA Pre Check means no laptop removal for security.

Not from select middle eastern locations :p

Not in NZ, unless flying international.

Not in the US if you win the precheck lottery.

Maybe more.

In the land obsessed with not permitting laptops on flights into the US one can get on an aircraft going the other way with out having to remove a laptop at security.

Right right. Except the airlines that gate check them :p

Didn't know about pre-check. Or NZ actually. Not travelled with a laptop there! I do seem to recall them (or Australia?) allowing water thru in some cases.

Tbh it reminds me of China that had me open my backpack with camera stuff so the X-ray could see it all better. I decided a long argument (in China) was a bad idea but I may have muttered something :D

OSS at YOW?
 

Does anyone know if there's OSS when transiting from the US through YOW onward to another Canadian destination?

There is not. You're going upstairs and back through security.

The good news is that the YOW security lineups are usually very short :)

Thanks for the info! I asked because I had OSS on my BP, but didn't think that YOW had a corridor for that. Glad I wasn't on a wild goose hunt looking for an alternate path.

I would say that CATSA definitely needs to work on either signage or education for OSS. Couple recent experiences: Montreal, asked CATSA employee about OSS. Neither he nor his work colleague spoke english. (Or pretended not to.) So AC has to provide services in both official languages but CATSA doesn't? Fast forward to this week. Asked CATSA employee in Toronto about OSS. She had less than no idea what I was talking about. And resented me interrupting her personal phone call. (She was sitting at a work desk supposedly directing incoming pax traffic at YYZ.)

Same issue for me on a recent trip through YYZ. It's great that this 'program' exists, but it would be better if there was better information and training.

It's pretty sad when FT becomes the authoritative source for a government program. Not that you all aren't fine upstanding members of the realm, of course.

I don't think it's just CATSA. AC could be more proactive in letting pax know - I've gotten used to not filling out the CBSA forms the past few months, so didn't do it on the plane, only to find out no NEXUS kiosks at OSS.

First time I've actually had a chance to use OSS. It was a bit disappointing. If there has been a NEXUS kiosk and secure corddior to walk down, it would have been a massive improvement. But between having to talk to a CBSA officer and the long wait for and on the Cobus, it was a bit underwhelming. Probably still a win, but less clear-cut.

Flew ORD-YYZ-YQR today. At YYZ, the line was at least 30 persons, with only three CBSA officers. I just kept going through regular immigration (long line for the kiosks) and security, and 20 minutes later I was at the lounge. As it stands now, OSS at YYZ looks like a pointless exercise.

And the OSS area still is marked as "E gates"... At least there was an employee yelling at the entrance to guide passengers in.

Who blocks and confirms the BP of people who know how to airport. Bored CBSA agents. A pair of Pearson staff processing parties one at a time, conferencing between themselves to confirm access, right after the guys with guns, blocking access for people who know how to airport. And then a third airport goon, blocking access to the escelators, scanning boarding passes, while dressed less professionally then an undercover retail loss prevention guy, blocking access for people who know how to airport. And then the bus cosplaying as a sardine can.

This manages to be superior to the traditional process, however.

I know how to airport, and I support this message.

[MENTION=759220]Adam Smith[/MENTION]

Bolding mine. Right.

On recent multiple AC 4s, crew went around with Canadian and U.S. forms but asked if you had Nexus and if yes, they said you don't need a form.

On my recent AC 6, FA handing out forms was told by another pax that we don't need them. She disagreed....and then went and asked another crew member.

When she got to me and the person in front of me, we told her no need for the form and I mentioned I had not used them on other recent inbounds.

I know it was posted here

Canada to Dump the Paper CBSA Declaration Card for Passengers Arriving by Air ..

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trus...iving-air.html

but I recall it also being mentioned on the AC forum.

It would be nice if AC cabin crew were all on the same page.
If we don't need the form, then crew should know.

Crew handed out forms on SFO-YYZ Thur night red eye. I did not fill it as I know I do not need it it but the entire cabin was dutifully filling out.

I know that NEXUS holders do not need the paper in YYZ, but doesn't everyone else?

I saw a bunch of forms collected at the baggage hall exit.

Not in Terminal 3. Although that is kind of irrelevant since Air Canada uses T1 exclusively...

AFAIK, going form free is currently only for Nexus holders, except Ottawa and Vancouver where you can use the new e-app

I'm guessing when that starts in YYZ, no one will need the form anymore (thank g-d)

I believe you fill the declaration at the newly installed machines and then print and hand to the CBSA officer who decides if you keep walking or if they have more questions. Not completely sure since I use Nexus. But I do know that on my previous flight from SFO-YYZ a couple of weeks prior, they did not hand out the forms.
I just googled it and for some airports incl YYZ, there is now primary inspection kiosks where you no longer need to fill out the paper declaration handed out on the plane.
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-vo...k-bip-eng.html
The video on this link specifically says no paper declaration required. You can also complete the declaration on a beta app before arriving at customs.
EDIT : I know the link says YOW, YVR and YYZ Term 3 but I thought that I saw somewhere that they had installed in YYZ, Term 1 too but I could be wrong. Perhaps someone who used the regular line can comment

The kiosks are now installed in YYZ T1, upstairs, obviously with the intended use of connecting PAX. (I've not been downstairs since the mandraulic OSS started).

They are not turned on.

Adam, have you tried the Canada Customs eDeclaration app?

Agreed with the above. With the infuriatingly slow bus ride in YYZ, I honestly doubt the new OSS process is quicker than the old process of going through the baggage hall, taking the elevator to D gates and going through security.

The only positive thing I see with the new process is the views of the apron during the bus ride.

​​​​​​​No, CATSA agents, individually, do not have to be bilingual (other than the courtesy BONJOUR/ HELLO). You mention YUL, however, what was the language capability of the YYZ CATSA agent in speaking (or pretending not to speak) French?

I assume that your BP needs to have the OSS designation to use the OSS area for a cnx to domestic? Is that correct?

I recently flew HND-YYZ-YOW. My BP did not say OSS. A Concierge met me and escorted me through for a tight cnx, but we went through the regular immigration lines and back through Security.

Her fluency in anything other than IDGAF was minimal.

But CBSA Agents have to be able to understand either language, no? They are required to be bilingual at QC ports of entry, correct?

Most of the time I fill out the French side of the landing card. It has happened to me quite often, especially in YYZ but occasionnally in YUL, to prefer doing the interview in English to save some time instead of having to wait for the next available French-speaking officer.

But yeah, most officers in YUL (and certainly every officer in YQB) are native French speakers or have a good mastery of the French language.

I went through the OSS area in YYZ yesterday, while doing US-YYZ-YOW flights.

There seems to be better signage now with a 'Connections' sign there. As other have mentioned, it is very close to the area where you proceed down the escalators to the Immigration Hall.

A couple of notes:

1) I did not fill out a declaration form as I have Nexus. I saw there was no line up at the OSS area, so I went in. I then had to fill out the declaration form because you must use a Nexus machine to be exempt from filling it it. There are no Nexus machines at OSS...though the Officer did say that they new regular machines will be operational soon.

2) The bus is a pain- they wait until it is pretty full before departing- I think I waited 15 minutes. I guess it could be longer or shorter depending on the number of people there.

Considering I have gotten from door to door (though Immigration/customs and back though security in as little as 15 minutes, the OSS option seems very slow to me. I may not use it again.

It may be "slow", but it sounds like way less hassle.