eTA confirmation with airlines
 

Hello,

On my recent flight to Canada (through United), the check-in people didn't inquire about my eTA and later before we boarded, the person at the gate said if anyone has an eTA they should show her proof of it. I showed her the confirmation email I got from 2016 and that was enough, and she said it's a new policy that got implemented, stating showing my green card wasn't enough anymore, but didn't specify which entity implemented it. So I'm not sure if it's a United thing or a directive from the Canadian government. It certainly wasn't a thing last August when I last flew to Canada.

Has anyone else had any recent experience with needing to show proof of eTA before boarding?

At check-in in HAM arlier this month (LH) I was just asked if I have a valid eTA - no proof required.
Boarding the actual FRA-YUL flight, noone asked at all.

Canadian Government explicitly says you don't have to prove it, just bring the passport

Do I have to print anything to prove that I have an eTA?

I have a valid ETA but Air Canada is not allowing me to check in online on the basis that I do not have a valid ETA. I checked my ETA with the ETA checking tool and my ETA is valid till 2020. Has anyone encountered the same situation before?

Are you certain that you're entering the correct passport details? The ETA is linked to the passport number.

I can never check-in for flights myself, as I cannot have an eTA as a permanent resident. It's a frickin' nightmare.
Last month I was staying at CDG airport and tried to show my PR card before showing up for the actual check in with my luggage and was sent over the entire terminal. The horror, the horror.

I usually fly AF/KL.
I try to avoid AC like the plague due to their horrible track record in recognizing passenger rights. I generally fly EU carriers for EC261/2004 coverage. Within North America, I try Delta (SkyMiles Silver) and making the jump back to WestJet for domestic in Canada (closer ties with SkyTeam now).