Toddcan

Flying to SFO tomorrow at 8am which leaves from the T1 Int'l gates (F-gates), but that lounge doesn't open until 6am. We're the type of people who like to be as earlier as we can to the airport and wait in the lounges, and with all the airport mess, the times through security and US customs are an unknown.

I *think* these times are correct:

1. AC Status/Business class check-in counter opens at 4am (can anyone confirm this??)
2. Security opens at 4:15am
3. US Customs opens at 4:30

So, in the event that we experience minimal delays through all of this, we could be heading to an ML lounge early.
The transborder lounger opens at 4:30
The international one opens at 6:00

Can we check into the transborder lounge and then into the international one later on?
We don't travel as much as most here, so if I remember, the international lounge was quite a bit nicer - more open, and updated (can anyone chime in here too?)

Thx in advance!

ChrisA330

The Transborder lounge is your only option.

Toddcan

At 4:30am, I agree. But at 6am the international one opens - are there are restrictions on visiting multiple lounges on the same boarding pass?

FinsToTheLeft

Your flight leaves from the trans border area, not international. You can’t leave the area once you have gone through pre-clearance, so the trans-border lounge is your only option. International is everything except US and domestic departures.

canadiancow

That's irrelevant. No one's letting you into the international (or domestic) are with a TB boarding pass, regardless of where you are or what time of day it is.

Toddcan

Oh, gotcha. My confusion was E vs F gates in the INTL area, and where exactly the INTL area starts.

Thanks all.

BR787

Some of the E gates can be switched to F gates and the reverse -- F gates switched to E gates -- is also true. Another way of saying this is the secured transborder area (F gates) can be expanded by shrinking and taking over parts of the secured international area and the converse, the secured international area can be expanded by shrinking parts of the secured trans-border area. Think of a moving impermeable wall between transborder and international. There's a similar "moving wall" between D (domestic) and F (transborder) gates.

The respective lounges (i.e. transborder Maple Leaf Lounge, international Signature Suite) however area in areas that can't be "taken over."

Academic

Is this really the case? I'm sure I've dropped into the Domestic MLL from a connecting domestic flight before heading to the Int'l area. But I've not been flying recently and I'm misremembering.

yyzgigi

the lounge agents won’t stop you it is CATSA. If you’re already in the domestic area from a connecting flight you can stay as long as you want and use the domestic lounges if you want. However, starting in Toronto a transborder BP isn’t getting you into the domestic or international area.

18wheeler_vanrekt

Connecting is different, you're "dropped" into the secure Domestic area of the terminal in that case. So you can visit the domestic MLL and Air Canada Cafe BEFORE clearing US immigration w/ your connecting TB boarding pass

My understanding is that if you originate in YYZ, you cannot pass thru domestic security w/ a TB boarding pass, there's a special security line for TB / US Customs. That's the difference between your situation and theirs

canadiancow

You didn't enter the domestic area with a TB BP. You entered by getting off a domestic flight.

Correct.

Academic

Thanks for setting me straight.