Vancouver flight connection dilemna!

[gilliansp]

We are flying  London - Vancouver - Anchorage with Air Canada in September. It was a great deal with only one change but now Air Canada has changed our flight times giving us only  40 minutes between flights. Is this possible - according to the airline it is , but I am doubtful - and there are no later direct flights. If we miss it we would have to wait till the following day. It is a dilemna and unsure what to do. We can cancel the outbound flight, penalty-free,  but not the inbound flight. Anyone had challenging experiences with Air Canada and Vancouver airport?

[Globaliser]

29 minutes ago, gilliansp said:

We are flying  London - Vancouver - Anchorage with Air Canada in September. It was a great deal with only one change but now Air Canada has changed our flight times giving us only  40 minutes between flights. Is this possible - according to the airline it is , but I am doubtful - and there are no later direct flights. If we miss it we would have to wait till the following day.

 

Have you actually asked AC about whether it's legal? As far as I can see, from what you say:

• You're booked to fly London-Vancouver on AC861, arriving at 1125.
• You're then booked to fly Vancouver-Anchorage on AC539, departing at 1205 on the same day.
• This is not a legal connection, as it is not published or available to book anywhere.

 

If I'm right about that, my guess is that AC's systems will catch up to that fact sooner or later. What you can do in the meantime is to work out whether you want to fly from London a day earlier, or arrive in Anchorage a day later, or whether and what alternative route you want to take to get to Anchorage. You don't give your travel date, so it's hard to do any further digging, but it looks like there ,may well be some 2-stop same-day-arrival routings.

[gilliansp]

13 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

Have you actually asked AC about whether it's legal? As far as I can see, from what you say:

• You're booked to fly London-Vancouver on AC861, arriving at 1125.
• You're then booked to fly Vancouver-Anchorage on AC539, departing at 1205 on the same day.
• This is not a legal connection, as it is not published or available to book anywhere.

 

If I'm right about that, my guess is that AC's systems will catch up to that fact sooner or later. What you can do in the meantime is to work out whether you want to fly from London a day earlier, or arrive in Anchorage a day later, or whether and what alternative route you want to take to get to Anchorage. You don't give your travel date, so it's hard to do any further digging, but it looks like there ,may well be some 2-stop same-day-arrival routings.

Hi, We are supposed to travel on September 5th. I guess if its not legal then Air Canada are duty bound to amend the flight. Will see what I can do. Many thanks for your advice.

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, gilliansp said:

We are supposed to travel on September 5th.

 

On a quick search for 2-stop alternatives, there are a couple that would keep you on your booked AC861 from London to Vancouver (arriving 1125), both taking you on to Anchorage via San Francisco.

 

- AC566 from Vancouver to San Francisco, departing 1325, arriving 1556.

- AC3555 from San Francisco to Anchorage, departing 1830, arriving 2218.

 

- AC4568 from Vancouver to San Francisco, departing 1446, arriving 1714.

- AC3555 from San Francisco to Anchorage, departing 1830, arriving 2218.

 

Other alternatives that came up:

 

- AC867 from London to Montreal, departing 0930, arriving 1140.

- AC8695 from Montreal to Chicago O’Hare, departing 1330, arriving 1456.

- AC4372 from Chicago O’Hare to Anchorage, departing 1610, arriving 1956.

 

- AC851 from London to Calgary, departing 1105, arriving 1255.

- AC8647 from Calgary to San Francisco, departing 1500, arriving 1651.

- AC3555 from San Francisco to Anchorage, departing 1830, arriving 2218.

 

You will have noticed that three out of these four alternatives have you ending up on the same flight to Anchorage (which is operated by United Airlines - some of the other flights are codeshares/similar too). I see that the Air Canada website also has suggestions via Denver that haven’t shown up on the quick searches that I did elsewhere.

 

As I understand it, whichever of these routes you take, you will still clear inbound US immigration and customs at the Canadian connection port. The second connection (whether Chicago, Denver or San Francisco) would be a domestic-domestic connection.

[gilliansp]

On 4/1/2022 at 11:35 AM, Globaliser said:

 

On a quick search for 2-stop alternatives, there are a couple that would keep you on your booked AC861 from London to Vancouver (arriving 1125), both taking you on to Anchorage via San Francisco.

 

- AC566 from Vancouver to San Francisco, departing 1325, arriving 1556.

- AC3555 from San Francisco to Anchorage, departing 1830, arriving 2218.

 

- AC4568 from Vancouver to San Francisco, departing 1446, arriving 1714.

- AC3555 from San Francisco to Anchorage, departing 1830, arriving 2218.

 

Other alternatives that came up:

 

- AC867 from London to Montreal, departing 0930, arriving 1140.

- AC8695 from Montreal to Chicago O’Hare, departing 1330, arriving 1456.

- AC4372 from Chicago O’Hare to Anchorage, departing 1610, arriving 1956.

 

- AC851 from London to Calgary, departing 1105, arriving 1255.

- AC8647 from Calgary to San Francisco, departing 1500, arriving 1651.

- AC3555 from San Francisco to Anchorage, departing 1830, arriving 2218.

 

You will have noticed that three out of these four alternatives have you ending up on the same flight to Anchorage (which is operated by United Airlines - some of the other flights are codeshares/similar too). I see that the Air Canada website also has suggestions via Denver that haven’t shown up on the quick searches that I did elsewhere.

 

As I understand it, whichever of these routes you take, you will still clear inbound US immigration and customs at the Canadian connection port. The second connection (whether Chicago, Denver or San Francisco) would be a domestic-domestic connection.

Thanks for this. After a lengthy discussion with Air Canada I opted for the option via Montreal. Does this mean we have to collect our luggage in Montreal, to go through US customs and immigration, and then not have to collect our luggage again in Chicago - just a domestic flight change? Hopefully our luggage will then arrive in Anchorage with us.

[BOB999]

3 hours ago, gilliansp said:

Thanks for this. After a lengthy discussion with Air Canada I opted for the option via Montreal. Does this mean we have to collect our luggage in Montreal, to go through US customs and immigration, and then not have to collect our luggage again in Chicago - just a domestic flight change? Hopefully our luggage will then arrive in Anchorage with us.

 

When I've flown out of Montreal heading to the US I haven't had to claim my luggage going through US Customs/Immigration, the officer was able to pull up a picture of the luggage.

 

In Chicago you will arrive in T2 as if you were on a domestic flight and your luggage would be checked through.  Depending on gate assignment it's a 5 to 20 minute walk to your next flight in probably T1.

[gilliansp]

16 hours ago, BOB999 said:

 

When I've flown out of Montreal heading to the US I haven't had to claim my luggage going through US Customs/Immigration, the officer was able to pull up a picture of the luggage.

 

In Chicago you will arrive in T2 as if you were on a domestic flight and your luggage would be checked through.  Depending on gate assignment it's a 5 to 20 minute walk to your next flight in probably T1.

How wonderful and modern -  if we don't have to collect our luggage - makes everything so much easier. Thanks for the info.