diburning

Hello, I just booked a ticket on Air Canada that involves two connections in Canada both ways. I am a US citizen and passport holder. This is what I booked:

All flights are in Business Class.

June 2022:
AC751 - BOS-YUL
1hr25m connection
AC309 - YUL-YVR
1hr33m connection
AC33 YVR-SYD

July 2022:
AC34 - SYD-YVR
2hr0m connection
AC108 - YVR-YYZ
2hr20m connection
AC8700 - YYZ-BOS (Air Canada Jazz)

My questions are:

1. Since the middle segment is a domestic Canadian flight, am I correct in assuming that I will need to formally enter (as opposed to transiting) Canada at YUL on the outbound, and YVR on the return?
2. If the answer to question #1 is yes, am I going to be screwed if I'm randomly selected for COVID testing? (assuming the policy will continue to be in place then)
3. If the answer to question #1 is yes, Do I need to pick up my bags to enter Canada and then recheck them? (This is all on one ticket)
4. Are my connections long enough to do this safely? I don't have NEXUS.
5. On the return, I know that I will have to clear US customs and immigration at YYZ. Will I need to pick up my bags to clear US customs and immigration at YYZ?
6. If the answer to question #5 is no, will I have time to visit the Maple Leaf Lounge at YYZ before going to clear US customs and immigration? I'd assume that YVR-YYZ would arrive as a domestic flight. I am aware that the post-preclearance area is loungeless. I have Global Entry.

Adam Smith

Since this is fundamentally a question about Canadian customs issues, rather than Air Canada, I'm moving it to the Canada forum

Adam Smith
AC Forum Co-Moderator

Yes.

Please see this thread for information on arrival testing.

No.

Should be.

No, although you may need to wait in a holding area at CBP until your bags are there.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​You're incorrect that there's no lounge after US pre-clearance. AC actually has two lounges in the transborder area. Just go to the US side right away and use the TB lounge that you'll see right after you exit immigration.

diburning

Awesome! Thank you!

diburning

I have additional baggage questions.

Just to confirm, when I fly BOS-YUL-YVR-SYD, I will check my bags at BOS, and won't have to pick them up until I arrive in SYD, despite having to go through Canadian border control and customs at YUL (to be able to take the domestic YUL-YVR hop), right?

When going through Canadian customs at YUL, do I declare anything in my checked bag that may require declaration even though I won't have the bag in my possession? Do Canadian customs regulations apply?

aacharya

Bumping the OPs question about baggage.

diburning

Wow, this was last year. I forgot to come back to answer my own question.

Yes, the bags were checked all the way through both ways with a tag that said something along the lines of "DO NOT ALLOW PASSENGER TO TAKE POSSESSION OF BAG UNLESS AT CUSTOMS AREA"

Declarations at entry are for bags in posession at the time of declaration.