Vancouver/Ottawa/Fort Lauderdale

[Sprocket]

We are booked on Porter Air out of Vancouver for our cruise in December.  We normally fly Alaska Air out of Washington state or occasionally Alaska  out of Vancouver with a connection in Seattle.  Could not be easier.  But flights with luggage etc priced out more than Porter’s Reserve flights and based on reviews we decided to give them a try.

I did call the airline after booking to ask if they will check our luggage through to Fort Lauderdale and was told yes they would.  From what I can tell when we land in Ottawa we will have to clear customs there before boarding our flight to Fort Lauderdale which is new to us as we have always done it in Vancouver but because it’s domestic I am afraid we will need to retrieve our bags and recheck them.

 

Can anyone confirm the procedure for flights originating in provinces outside of Ottawa transferring there and continuing on to Fort Lauderdale? We do have a approximately 90 minute connection so hope that’s long enough.

 

 

[broberts]

23 minutes ago, Sprocket said:

We are booked on Porter Air out of Vancouver for our cruise in December.  We normally fly Alaska Air out of Washington state or occasionally Alaska  out of Vancouver with a connection in Seattle.  Could not be easier.  But flights with luggage etc priced out more than Porter’s Reserve flights and based on reviews we decided to give them a try.

I did call the airline after booking to ask if they will check our luggage through to Fort Lauderdale and was told yes they would.  From what I can tell when we land in Ottawa we will have to clear customs there before boarding our flight to Fort Lauderdale which is new to us as we have always done it in Vancouver but because it’s domestic I am afraid we will need to retrieve our bags and recheck them.

 

Can anyone confirm the procedure for flights originating in provinces outside of Ottawa transferring there and continuing on to Fort Lauderdale? We do have a approximately 90 minute connection so hope that’s long enough.

 

 

 

This page suggests that you will not need to claim your luggage if it has been checked through, https://yow.ca/en/travel-planning/travelling-to-yow.

[everbeentoseabilly]

We have been flying Porter lately and really like it! 

[Sprocket]

27 minutes ago, everbeentoseabilly said:

We have been flying Porter lately and really like it! 

Thank you!  Bit nervous I’ve used Alaska for more than 25 years but with all the extra fees and Canadian exchange I decided to give them a try.  
 

We are cruising a total of 33 days so the 2 free checked bags is a nice perk.  But really looking forward to the no middle seat on their planes.

[Sprocket]

40 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

This page suggests that you will not need to claim your luggage if it has been checked through, https://yow.ca/en/travel-planning/travelling-to-yow.

 

Thank you for the link, will try to check it through so much easier.

[everbeentoseabilly]

2 hours ago, Sprocket said:

Thank you!  Bit nervous I’ve used Alaska for more than 25 years but with all the extra fees and Canadian exchange I decided to give them a try.  
 

We are cruising a total of 33 days so the 2 free checked bags is a nice perk.  But really looking forward to the no middle seat on their planes.

We love the 2 seat rows and the drinks and snacks are good too. The cookies come from a bakery near our home, but I like the almonds better. The only problem with Porter is sometimes it is hard to get a direct flight to where we want to go. 

[Canada_eh58]

Porter is my favourite airline, however, your question does not relate specifically to Porter. It would be the same process regardless of airline if it was a connecting flight.

[Fouremco]

@Sprocket, this Porter link seems quite clear:

 

https://www.flyporter.com/en-ca/travel-information/at-the-airport/connecting-flights

[SoloAlaska]

Porter reserve has incredible meals included. It’s equivalent to flying premium economy on other lines but with better food and snacks. You will not need to collect your luggage. If US customs want to go through your luggage they will pull it. I’ve never had my luggage pulled however. Ottawa is a nice small airport with some great spots on the domestic side. Unfortunately I never fly trans border out of Ottawa so I’m not familiar with that side. If anyone in your party is a chocolate lover I highly recommend picking up a bar of Hummingbird Chocolate at one of the gift shops in the airport. It’s an award winning locally made chocolate and absolutely heavenly.

[Sprocket]

Thanks I think we should get a meal on both legs, I did find a menu somewhere and the options available looked awesome.  Glad we won't have to worry about the luggage, I think it was probably overseas flights coming through Toronto I saw that had to collect their bags check in again and go through customs.  Very happy not to have to deal with all of that.

 

Will definitely be on the lookout for the chocolate!

[Canada_eh58]

Oh yes…..the cookies on Porter are the best. I fly Porter often and look forward to them…..so much in fact that I ordered 9 bags (discount once I got to a certain price point😂) of them online to have at home.