Minneapolis to Tokyo question for the experts
 

Hello - US resident here. Planning Minneapolis to Vancouver on Delta, then a few hours after that flight we plan to use Japan Airlines to Tokyo. I understand baggage will need to be picked up and checked into Japan Airlines. This will be the same route on the way home to Minneapolis.

1. Will we go through customs in Canada before we can check into Japan Airlines flight?
2. When arriving back to Canada from Tokyo do we clear US customs in Canada or will we need to clear both Canadian and US customs on our way home?

Thank you for any advice you can provide!
Pat

Djpatrick Welcome to FT

Are the 2 flights on 1 ticket or are they 2 separate tickets? (DL & JL are in different alliances).
With separate tickets some airlines will not interline bags. So you need to pickup and then checkin with the next airline landside
If you need to pick up bags you will be processing immigration and customs for USA & Canada

https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/nav...nd-immigration

Edit
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/canada-462/
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/sear...uery=%22YVR%22

The Vancouver airport website has a helpful step by step guide. For a connection, the guide assumes you are truly connecting and will only work if Delta/JAL checks your bags all the way through. Otherwise, you are basically going to be acting like an arriving passenger in Canada through the process, then a departing passenger again after you pick up and recheck your luggage. Unfortunately this is the price of booking separate tickets. (While Delta has an interline agreement with Japan Airlines, it will only check luggage through if your reservation is on a single ticket. Not sure what JAL will do.)
https://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/nav...ssenger-guides

You won’t notice the customs aspect of this unless you are importing items into Canada. Canadian immigration, however, may take some time.

Since you appear to be on separate tickets, you should know that, if you do not check in, or board, your JL flight on time, the entire ticket will auto-cancel, with no further rights to you at all. Keep this in mind in case your first flight is significantly delayed or cancelled. It could be an expensive lesson.

Thank you all for the great advice.

What is the price difference between a non-stop on Delta vs. separate ticket "connection"? If they are close, go with Delta. Otherwise, build in as much time between flights. Overnight if possible.

Why? DL operates a very convenient daily nonstop from MSP to HND.

BTW, your OP says USA resident (not citizen), so double check visa requirement for your Canada transit.

If you really want JAL, IMO it would be better to take one of their nonstop routes from the USA, such as perhaps ORD or DFW. Anything further east might not be a legal routing to do on a single ticket. Another suggestion is to use JAL's partner AA for any domestic connecting flights, which should make it easier to check luggage through, assuming that you have a single ticket/PNR, as well as providing more protection and ease fo rebooking during IROPs.