Good afternoon fellow travellers and airline staff!

Can someone enlighten me on how inbound connections in YUL work?

In this case it'll be an inbound flight from somewhere in the EU on *A (may be Air Canada, may be a Lufthansa Group airline, doesn't really matter) landing in YUL. Onward flight is to YTZ.

Bags (unless otherwise occur) will be checked straight through to YTZ, per the airline.

Once the plane lands at YUL, how does the entire connections and customs/CBSA process work? If goods need to be declared, is there a special "connections customs line" that this can be done at? How long will it take?

Finally, the boneheaded move is that the connection time is only 80 mins. Is this enough time?

Lastly, is there enough time to snag a quick drink in the AC lounge before boarding the YTZ leg? (I will have lounge access).

As this is a YUL question rather than Air Canada specific question it's been relocated to the FT Canada destination forum for further input.

tcook052
Air Canada forum moderator

I'll fly FRA-YUL-YOW (on LH/AC) on Monday with checked bag but nothing to declare and can report afterwards.

Sidenote, if already bothered by the 80min connection, why ask for lounge? (70min for me).

Because if I can manage to clear everything in time and have 5 minutes to pop in and pour me a shot of vodka or gin, I`ll be good to go!

Will have an airside look; usually I pop out at YUL and take VIArail to YOW ;-)

I asked AC about the process if the preceding flight was LX and they said check with LX. LX said they check the bags all the way through to the final destination.

No meat or fish, no fruits/ vegs... just chocolate, cookies, maybe coffee... but depending on how spendy I feel like, I may exceed the $800 exemption thus needing to pay. Sunny weather = more open to spending. Rain = miserable and cheap lol.

I don't think you asked LX the right question. What I think you want to know is whether your bags will be automatically forwarded to the final destination in Canada (I don't think they will). They'll always be checked to the final, though.

So for example, putting a baggage tag / label on there that shows ZRH-YUL + YUL-YTZ is not enough?

I've done the LX-AC combo from ATH before where the baggage tags would show ATH-ZRH + ZRH-YYZ. Why would it be any different in YUL?

I've seen the signs at YYZ after customs that display "if passenger is arriving from EU country and travelling onwards in Canada, bags do not have to be picked up and are automatically transferred". What makes YUL different?

JiminOhio is correct. If you fly LX to YUL, and then have a domestic connection in Canada, you will have to reclaim your checked luggage in YUL, take it through customs , and then drop it on the connecting baggage belt on the other side. Your bagage tags printed in Europe will say ZRH-YUL-YTZ, so you don't have to get a new tag in YUL. The process resembles that of intl-domestic connections in the US.

There is a trial in YYZ with AC which allows bags from certain inbound intl. flights to be transfered directly to domestic connections. AFAIK, this trial has not been extended to YUL yet. And it definitely hasn't been extended to LX.

If you need to declare goods, you will be sent into secondary inspection in YUL to do so. The LX flight arrives in a busy bank of European arrivals. I have waited as much as 45min in line at secondary around that time, but also as little as 5min when LX was amongst the first flights to land.

Yikes! What if I don't have to declare any goods, but am over the duty limit and wish to go pay the tariff/sales tax? Do I still go through secondary and do a full lengthy process or do they just add up my receipts, calculate the CAD equivalent, and then write down the amount I need to go pay and send me to the payment booth?

The trial with AC has been extended to YUL in the form of OSS, but it definitely has not been extended to LX. If one has an originating flight with an airline besides AC (UA and LX included) and connects to AC, this One-Stop Security Measure does NOT apply.

Oh, meh, thanks for the head's up on that. I'll actually fly LH(HAM-FRA-YUL)-AC(YUL-YOW); I am curious if they'll tell me in HAM at check-in :-)

Kicker: how about the r/t?

Being over the duty-free limit (CAD60 for non-residents) is declaring goods. You will go to secondary and wait your turn.

Bags go straigtht through on domestic Canada-Intl. connections. There is no customs exit inspection.

I did YYZ to YQM last week and was Star alliance in coming and joining AC for the domestic sector. Bags were thru checked for YQM and I had a night layover I had to go to immigration and customs and also collect my bag and come back the next morning and put it on the automatic belts. Then go thru security for my domestic flight. I also did hear something about AC sending the bags directly to some destinations on the domestic route but since I do not fly AC on the international route now I do not know about it.