I don't know what could be more impressive than walking to the carousel and having your bags already there...

Try this on for size. I was flying USA-YYZ with a friend. She was in J; I was in Y. In the time it took her to get through immigration (using nexus), I had already finished up with the kiosk, gone down to baggage claim, and retrieved my bag.

Think about that for a second: she's at the front of the plane; I'm near the back. We both use nexus kiosks, and it takes me a few minutes longer to get there than it does her. I still beat her at it, even after waiting for my bags (which, fwiw, arrived with the first batch).

Ok Ok
My turn my turn

Got off 156 with friend... both of us in J

We walk to baggage claim and I say bye and take my limo back to my condo downtown, freshen up, then head to client.

After I sit down at my desk at the client office, I get a text from my friend saying that flight is still waiting for their luggage.

I think the tags are used when luggage is connecting to a different *A carrier. At least, my experience has been that my luggage has arrived much faster after AC-LH or LH-AC connections when it is tagged than when it is not tagged.

Air Canada is responsible for the loading and unloading of its aircraft. If AC does not have an appropriate number of staff ready and available, then there will be delays. AC blames the GTAA for its failings. Meanwhile airlines like BR, CX and KLM are able to deliver their bags in a prompt manner.

The GTAA is responsible for the transport of bags within the conveyor system. It is a state of the art system that works if the airline baggage people do their job.

It is responsibility of the airline at checkin to ensuring that bags meet the baggage handling requirements of the airports involved. When the AC desk agent accepts a backpack and does not bag it, place it in a plastic box, or have the straps tied off, that agent sets the bag up to delay baggage handling systems. Backpacks and bags with trailing straps are the major culprit in system delays in Toronto. The straps get caught in the conveyor belts or the bags get wedged, causing a shutdown.

AC has one of the worst baggage performances at YYZ because of:
1. Personnel and
2. Staffing and management of personnel. AC refuses to staff the positions properly.

Look closely at the baggage handling personnel the next time you are at the airport. Watch them move. Watch them unload and load bags. They don't give a sh*t. Is there any difference between SunWing and AC when it comes to bags?

Compare the results between airports in AMS, HKIA, SIN, and even BKK or CGK. The YYZ experience is a 3rd world experience with workers doing the bare minimum. Meanwhile at the developing world airports of CGK and BKK which have higher baggage volumes, one receives decent baggage handling.
I hope one day Calin and his team experience the low quality baggage service that is a defining characteristic of AC at YYZ.

I don't know what you lot are complaining about.

Last month I flew to Ottawa connecting though Toronto and my luggage was the first to hit the carousel at YYZ...

I usually go through T5 at LHR, and every time in the last dozen times I've been there my bag always beats me to the carousel, no matter if I'm in Y, J or F.
I use fast track everything and at worst if it's a bus gate it's about 15-20 min from deplaning through passport control to bag pickup. Last time was maybe 10 min, I basically didn't have to stop walking anywhere and my bag was there before me. It was an evening flight from MUC and the airport was quiet.

[QUOTE=cooleddie;24536734]You know YYZ luggage claim is really bad when... you've deplaned, walked to the lounge, had two servings full plates of hot breakfast, large glass of orange juice, chatted with Canadiancow, refreshed yourself in the mensroom, and walk to the luggage claim area expecting your bag to be the only ones left... but...

...people were STILL waiting for their bags to come out.

Oh YYZ slow luggage, so predictable.

IMHO, YUL is way worse than YYZ. Recently, had to wait one hour for bags to be delivered off a RSW flight at YUL, causing us to miss our connection to the west coast. Lamentable! And this occurred when there were not may other flights arriving.

Can't argue with you on that. YYZ domestic baggage is better than YUL. YUL international baggage is as bad or worse than YYZ. I don't wait as long with Westjet as I do with AC at YUL.

Exactly.

You hit on something - Are we actually allowed to go into an MLL upon arrival at the airport if we're not transferring to another flight? Neat if we are and good to know.

That said, more recently I have been amazed at how fast baggage is coming out at Pearson. I've almost waited 2 hours in my past, many a time on both AC and other airlines. More recently it's been max, 30 minutes.

If you are SE100K, E75K or E50K, you and a guest have access to domestic MLL upon arriving at airports in Canada.

And welcome to FlyerTalk ^

Well... sad data point is that YYC has sunk below YYZ in my experience.

YYZ: clear customs (no line) and have bag after washroom break.
YYC: head into lounge, have a cappucino, read a magazine, see the whole crowd move over from caroussel 9 to 10, wait another 10 minutes. Priority bag came out in the middle of the pack.

Not the first time. Last time around, I had to file a lost luggage claim because my bag, which had been scanned in YYC, did not show up on the belt...

Unless you have to go through domestic security to get airside to access the domestic MLL.

Side note: If you are SE100K, E75K and E50K....the way you wrote this it sounds like you have to be all three.