canadave

We're going to be flying WJ on Friday October 16 from YEG to YYZ, then connecting to LGA. The connection time between our flights is 1 hour and 5 minutes, which of course includes having to go through US Customs in YYZ. We booked the flights using WJ Rewards (I believe we selected Economy tickets, not Basic).

Do I need to worry about the short connection time? Is it too short? I'm just thinking that with the increase in air travellers, and the Covid test requirements to check for entry to the USA, it might take quite a while to get through Customs, let alone if the YEG to YYZ leg is late. Will WJ accommodate us if we're not able to make the YYZ to LGA leg if we were stuck in Customs?

YYCguy

I just started a dummy booking for that itinerary to see what the options are and the shortest connection time I could find is 3 hours.

canadave

Yeah In fact, our current 1 hour connection is only in existence because they originally changed our flight from a 2-hour connection to a 6-hour connection, so I called them a few weeks ago and asked for a shorter connection, and this was the best they could do.

I would probably be happier with a 3-hour connection at this point, but I'd have to call in to make it happen, and I'm not sure it's worth it. But if the 1 hour is too short, maybe I'll have to. I don't know....

YYCguy

Did you book/make changes directly with Westjet or through a travel agent/online travel website? One hour is technically an “illegal connection”. Do you fly direct from Edmonton to Toronto or is there a stop somewhere? I just can’t find any flight connection in Toronto with an hour between a domestic and a trans border flight!

canadave

It's actually 1 hour plus 5 minutes, not just 1 hour...not sure if that makes a difference in the legality of the connection....? We booked it through WJ directly (first we booked online on westjet.com using our WJ Rewards....then had to call in to change the flights because the original connection was like 6 hours or something like that).

It's direct from Edmonton to Toronto, then Toronto to LGA. WS0428, then DL5179 operated by WestJet.

rstruthe

I’m not sure about west jet, but air Canada lists the MCT for Canada to the US in Toronto at one hour and ten minutes.

YYCguy

I’m crossing fingers, toes, eyes, ears, and nose that you make your connection and enjoy your trip! Please give us a trip recap at a later date!

WJter

Bookable MCT on a Domestic-Transborder connection in YYZ for WS is 75 minutes. Though I'm confused as to why your YYZ-LGA leg is showing as a DL codeshare number if you booked directly through WJ.

Symmetre

A 1:05 US connection at YYZ is very tight. It's probably not impossible, but even the smallest delay will torpedo you.

Personally, I would make the call. If the only direct alternative involves that 6-hour connection, try re-routing with a stop in YYC or YWG .... or even YVR .... it's more of a hassle but could significantly reduce your overall travel time.

Good luck.

canadave

Yeah, I'm not sure why that is either.

Interesting about the 75-min MCT time. I wonder why WJ allowed that reservation to be made--I'm not knowledgeable about this, do airlines typically violate MCTs when making reservations?

canadave

Thanks. Yeah, I'm beginning to lean towards that. I guess I've hoping that they might change the flight again to something more favourable, but since they're not, I guess I need to look at addressing it. The issue is that when I look at flights from YEG to NYC on the WJ website, there's really not any options available at this point because we're less than a month away, and what few flights there are seem to be quite a bit more expensive than what we paid (using WJ rewards).

I wonder if I called WJ and pointed out that the connection is below the allowable MCT for domestic-transborder at YYZ, would they accommodate me somehow without me having to pay extra? This is all very new to me, I've never had to deal with this kind of thing before.

Symmetre

While the pandemic has changed a lot of things, Westjet's customer service is still pretty good once you actually get through to an agent. I had to ask them to correct a schedule change the other day and used the website call-back function instead of waiting on hold forever. I selected a call-back for the following afternoon, they called right on time, and we had everything sorted out in 10 minutes. The entire experience was quite painless.

Missed connections are a problem for airlines too, as they have to now shoehorn you and your group onto another flight. In my own experience, Westjet has generally been receptive to proactively dealing with what look like obviously tough connections providing you don't try and milk it, by adding extra stopovers and such. At the end of the day, dealing with it proactively is ultimately less hassle for them too.

canadave

Well, I wound up chatting with WJ support over their Twitter DMs (which seems to be a good way to contact them). There was only one other option, and that involved a 7am flight and a 4.5 hour layover. Ran it by "the boss" and she said she'd rather take our chances on the hour connection. So, that's what we'll do I guess.

tcook052

Really? I'd have been a tad nervous with a 65 min. transborder connection in YYZ pre-pandemic and personally wouldn't consider it given the current circumstances but please let us know how it goes.

Symmetre

Just out of curiosity, how long is your delay if you do miss the connection?