Frequentlander

My post had nothing to do with US pre-clearance. I arrived on a domestic flight and had to wait for someone else who came in on a different domestic flight. That's why I could have really used a Domestic lounge.

FlyerTalker70

I can understand your perspective on this and am torn. Look, if you've got Nexus/GE then yes, the advantages of pre-clearance are somewhat limited. However, consider that US Immigration checkpoints at many airports can be a real clusterf**k (I'm looking at you EWR!) even for those with GE/Nexus. In addition, you are forced to re-clear and re-check bags when entering the US from abroad adding considerable time to many connections and making many of the transborder connecting flights we take for granted today impossible (i.e. could you imagine a 45 min layover at ORD if you had to do all this rigmarole? On the other hand, you are right, the splitting of these gates is dumb. If everything was together as one terminal then the whole airport experience would be a lot easier.

And this is something AC has figured out and executed quite well if you ask me. While they aren't the fanciest lounges I've been to, many of them offer a lot of the business conveniences you need (i.e. computer with printer to print out documents or private meeting room). Heck, just this Sunday I was at the YYZ Domestic MLL and it had 2 shower stalls available. Imagine my joy after coming off a red eye flight from YSJ to take a well needed shower! Food is also decent - breakfasts at AC lounges usually include fruits, yogurt, granola, oatmeal in addition to various drinks. Speaking specifically of your situation at YUL. Well I've flown through there a couple of times and can tell you that while the lounge isn't as nice as their International lounge @ YUL or any of the lounges at YYZ, it still offers a decent selection of food, a business centre and a few other amenities to help keep you productive on the go.

The other reason I avoid WS is they don't take care of IRROP passengers well. Whereas AC will get me a hotel and food if I'm forced to overnight (largely due to my Gold status with UA), WS has given me the usual spiel of, this was outside our control, yada yada yada.

Safe Travels,

James

mj188

Even when you're making a connecting flight in the US?

I don't like preclearance at YYZ, but that's because if I connect there I have to go through customs mid-journey. If i was originating in Toronto, and particularly if it involved a further connecting flight in the US, my view would be different.

Symmetre

I'm not entirely sure I consider YUL to still be a major airport. It doesn't have anywhere near the international traffic volume of YYZ or YVR ... and as far as a facility goes, those two as well as YYC, YEG, YHZ and YWG simply crush it.