YYZ Transborder Question
 

So the last time I flew from YYZ T3 transborder was in the mid 1990s. Next month I'm flying YYZ-LAS (first time ever on WS). For a flight departing at 10:00 what time do I realistically need to get to the airport, given:

- neither myself nor my friend have WS status nor do we have NEXUS
- we are flying WS Premium

I would suggest two or even two and a half hours before the flight to give you enough time to check in, clear security, and customs.

All depends on your 1) Citizenship 2) Country of birth

Both Canadian citizens. I was born in the UK. Friend born in Canada.

Travel to the United States – Electronic Travel Systems Authorization (ESTA)
 

Please read and follow instructions "Travel to, from or over the U.S."

Bonne voayes!

Thanks. I'm well aware of travel doc requirements - travel to US several times per year. No ESTA required for either of us. We are both Canadian citizens, as I mentioned in the post you quoted. What I didn't mention is that we're both traveling on Canadian passports. My UK passport will remain at my home in Canada - no need for it when traveling to the US.

Get there at 700 hrs. Premium expedites security but not to NEXUS levels and means nothing with preclearance. Luckily the hordes ex-YYZ in the a.m. leave on flights in the 600-800 hrs block so they will be through before you and it is a lot more sane.

Great, thanks

I don't honestly know why people try to otherwise cut it close when you can take your time, have a drink or sandwich, stroll a bit etc., vs. panic. Same on people who choose 45 minute "legal" connections vs. 2 hour ones then write here about the risks of their choice of that same 45 minute connection. If you are there at 0700 and through formalities at 0715 it is better to me than getting there at 0830 and missing your trip.

As for the have a drink or sandwich, do that because the premium food on YYZ LAS is miserly to say the least.

Remember also they will board at 915 or a bit later so you are not 3 hours "early".

Busiest times in Security & USCBP in YYZ is between 0800-0900. That's around the time the majority of IB CNX are passing through to connect to the bank of flights between 0900-1000. I just being there for 0730.

Try flying for the 6:00 a.m flights on all of AA/DL/WS and the queues from hell from 415 am on.

Agreed. I don’t get why WestJet allows such little time for it to be a bookable, “legal” connection. It’s incredibly tight, and therefore really risky.

A 45 minute connection can be do-able (still no guarantees) at a good, reliable US hub airport (ATL, DEN or MSP. Not anything in NY, and not SFO) on a domestic connection. But I’d never do a connection that tight with WestJet, or ever with any international connection, or frankly at any Canadian airport between November and March.

My guess is that airlines shave their legal connection time to be as tight as possible to give them more product to sell — even though they take on the risk of having to handle pax who miss those connections. (But if the missed connection was due to a weather delay, or a delay in customs, or long security lines, etc, WestJet has absolutely no liability other than to try to get you on another flight... sometime.)

Agreed ... build in more time, relax at the connecting airport for a bit (if you end up having some time to spare). The risk and the stress of tight connections isn’t worth it.

I don't think that connecting passengers arriving at 8 a.m. amount to an issue as a comment to a previous point.

I have flown T3 at 8 a.m. and it was dead as a donut there vs 4:15 with queues up the wazoo for non NEXUS/GE passengers.

I get to airports for international or US travel three hours before the flight and enjoy the low stress and lounge instead of doing nothing at home so I can arrive one hour before. Ditto connections. Even with GE in the USA I allow three hours (more in MIA).