Having been to YUL (and YYZ) a few times over the past decade, I really should know this, but ...

How far in advance should I arrive at YUL for a flight back to the US? I'm guessing it doesn't require the full cushion (2.5-3 hours) for TATL/TPAC travel, but I'm wary of needing to pre-clear US immigration as well as the usual checkin and security. For a 6pm departure on a Friday, would 2 hours be enough?

As long as I'm asking dumb questions, what about the outbound (DCA-PHL-YUL)? I'm thinking it will require only slightly longer than for domestic travel, so 90 minutes prior to departure?

Will be checking bags each way, but in theory that shouldn't add much time since I have *A status.

Thanks for any and all input.

Friday pm and Monday am are usually quite busy at US CBP for all major Canadian airport. Those are rush hour for the weekly consultants going to assignments or going home.

Most frequent US/CDN flyers use NEXUS, so many would not have a good lead of how long it will take. At YYZ >2hrs is not unheard of for Friday afternoon.

I'm normally the type of guy that doesn't recommend arriving at the airport 3 hours in advance, however, Friday evenings are extremely busy times for US preclearance. You should be there at least 2 hours away if your a non-NEXUS traveler.

OP: for your outbound from DCA, treat it like a domestic flight. Early Monday or Friday PM will require additional time.
--
13F

Anyone with experience of doing the same ex-YUL on Sunday evenings (around 6pm)? THanks.

The setup ex-yul has changed in the past few years as they have built a new US departures terminal at the west end of the airport.

First up is check-in and bag tagging. Then you drop off your bag (if any) at the bag drop station.

Next is security and then CBP pre-clearance (this is now reversed from past setup).

Off hand I'd say 2 hrs with no bags is plenty of time. As a NEXUS user I don't pay too much attention to the regular line for CBP but can't imagine it would add more then 30 mins to your wait even at a busy time.

My normal setup is to arrive at 70mins out when checking bags (60 minute cut-off). I'm usually curb-to-lounge in 15 mins.

Two tips - 1) keep your boarding pass handy. YUL likes to barcode scan your boarding pass at every step of the way. 2) sign up for NEXUS

I'm on a 5:40 pm UA flight tomorrow and would like to know if Sundays are a zoo leaving YUL. Any advice? TIA.