Finally had a chance to use the new international terminal over spring break. I have to say after hearing all the negatives I had pretty low expectations but was pleasantly surprised. We left on a Sunday morning at 9am, there were a total of about 14 other international flights going out in the time we were there plus all the transborder stuff so a pretty decent amount of traffic. We departed out of gate 80 so just into the east finger of the terminal, and returned at D73 I believe.
Despite my general dislike of the call to gate system I didn't find the lack of amenities near the gates a big deal as the shops etc. were pretty close anyhow. Functionally things seemed to work pretty well overall so I'll give it a passing grade. My overall thoughts:
Security.
A bit of a fail here as they only had one checkpoint open initially (opened a second one when the line got pretty big). On the plus side it was staffed well enough that they had a guy initially directing people into the appropriate line and another guy instructing people as they got closer to the actual screening. This made the actual screening go much quicker as people were actually ready (belts off, laptops out etc.) when it was their turn. Given spring break and the large number of families travelling I thought this really helped move things along.
Call to gate/seating at gates:
As mentioned before I am not a fan of the whole call to gate concept (and how the terminal is now layed out despite YYC backing away from the process a little). Given that they did seem to have a decent number of seats near the gates or at least close enough that you could keep tabs on what was happening. The east finger is set up well enough that you care close to the shops/seats anyhow so not too bad. The south finger is however pretty isolated and seemed a little sterile. One thing I did not like was it seems some airlines made PA announcements that could be heard throughout the terminal and others only in the immediate vicinity of the gate. Not sure why this would be the case but this could lead to issues of people missing calls.
Aircraft Ops:
Things stood out here. First is the clear evidence that a central de-ice facility is needed. Deicing at the gate really slows down everything and needs to be centralized. Second thing (I think Acey had mentioned this) is it seems like the airside space between the C gates and D/E was poorly set up. On our return we gated at D73 (I think) and there was a single AC A319 pushing off the C side, and we had to wait for this to finish before we could get in. Seems pretty inefficient when the only two aircraft in the whole area cannot simultaneously move.
Arrival/Customs:
Yeah it's a pretty long walk but that's how it goes, it didn't find it so bad. Bright and airy and pretty well marked so it was easy to find your way to Customs but I think they are missing a great opportunity here by not showcasing Alberta more with pictures, murals etc. It's pretty sterile and could certainly use some color. Arriving at Customs there were plenty of people to direct you to the appropriate lines. I loved the automated scanners although they are set up a little strange in that you need to backtrack out the way you came in when you are finished rather than continuing ahead to the next line. This causes a bit of a traffic jam with people entering and exiting the machine area at the same place. The whole Customs process is pretty slick and moved along well but perhaps not surprising as there were only three flights arriving at this time so not a lot of people. Still, I counted a total of 10 CBSA agents and things move along quickly so the process certainly appears to be better than last time I came through.
Overall the terminal is very bright and open I thought which makes for a pretty pleasant experience. A few items certainly could be improved but overall I'll give it a passing grade, at least for international travel.
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