Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[lambeburger]

Went to renew my passport in person last week. The person said that right now it's an 80% chance of getting the old passport design issued instead of the new one. Finger's crossed!

[TheIronMaiden]

How long do you have to wait for a passport these days?

[lambeburger]

I decided to drop off my paperwork in person without an appointment Friday last week. Showed up an hour before the office opened and took 2.5 hours total. They said I should expect it in the mail around Sept 30th. I think the standard time is 20 business days plus mailing time for a non-expedited renewal. It seems like the covid backlog has been pretty much dealt with.

[Wormius]

We dropped off an application for a child’s passport on July 27, with no immediate travel plans, and it arrived today.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

How long do you have to wait for a passport these days?

For quite a while now, it seems like a lot of people applying for a typical passport renewal have been receiving their passport in less than 2-3 weeks.

My own experience this August was about 12 days.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by chemgear

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadi...ling-1.6537878

The new Canadian passports are sensitive to heat and humidity due to the way they've been manufactured, which could result in the curling of the covers, a spokesperson from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CTVNews.ca in an email.

Although IRCC said a curled passport is still valid, Lapensee, who works at the European Space Agency representing Canada, said he feels it is not acceptable for an official document.

“I find it a bit shameful that I have to present this type of passport to officials or if I go to companies and so on,” he said.

While some may wonder whether the issue with the passport cover could lead to those documents being recalled, in Canada at least, "as there are no defects, there are no plans to recall the new passports," IRCC said.

Those look embarrassing. I'm glad they have 8 years to fix the design flaw before mine expires.

[alexle]

According to the r/aircanada reddit thread, Air Canada is suspending some flights out of YYC this winter.

We are suspending our non-stop flights between Calgary and Cancun, Frankfurt, Halifax, Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Ottawa effective Oct. 30.

https://www.reddit.com/r/aircanada/c...eb2x&context=3

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by alexle

According to the r/aircanada reddit thread, Air Canada is suspending some flights out of YYC this winter.

https://www.reddit.com/r/aircanada/c...eb2x&context=3

Memo is legit, I confirmed with a couple of AC staff yesterday. Only international route out of Calgary direct will be LHR going forward until AC can fix the 30% drop in route capacity compared to pre-pandemic levels.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by chemgear

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadi...ling-1.6537878

The new Canadian passports are sensitive to heat and humidity due to the way they've been manufactured, which could result in the curling of the covers, a spokesperson from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CTVNews.ca in an email.

Although IRCC said a curled passport is still valid, Lapensee, who works at the European Space Agency representing Canada, said he feels it is not acceptable for an official document.

“I find it a bit shameful that I have to present this type of passport to officials or if I go to companies and so on,” he said.

While some may wonder whether the issue with the passport cover could lead to those documents being recalled, in Canada at least, "as there are no defects, there are no plans to recall the new passports," IRCC said.

Plus they look dumb. Either go with the coat of arms, or a stylized maple leaf. Doing both looks dumb - especially with the coat of arms scooted over to the edge like that.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Anyone getting their infants covid vaccines before traveling?
I haven't really thought too much of covid lately (thankfully) but going to Europe in 2 weeks and our 15 month son hasn't been vaccinated.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Wormius

We dropped off an application for a child’s passport on July 27, with no immediate travel plans, and it arrived today.

As an fyi, we received the old passport design. So looks like they’re still being distributed.

[marsplasticeraser]

I’m trying to use aeroplane points for business class to europe. It used to be 85k points return, but now it seems to be 200k return. Has ac really inflated the cost that much, or are there secrets to finding low-point business flights.

[Azure]

Flying to Europe in a couple weeks. Flights are with Air Canada and were booked by someone else, but I have option to upgrade. I have a ton of CIBC rewards points. Is it possible to use those for the upgrades?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by marsplasticeraser

I’m trying to use aeroplane points for business class to europe. It used to be 85k points return, but now it seems to be 200k return. Has ac really inflated the cost that much, or are there secrets to finding low-point business flights.

The pricing is "dynamic" now on AC airplanes. If you can find partner flights (ie United, Lufthansa) it'll be cheaper. But from Calgary even partners awards to Europe (which will be severely date limited) will generally be 140k-180k return in business class, as it's based on distance.

Tl;Dr yes, they have inflated the cost of tickets dramatically.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

I find this site is good for finding value award tickets (though if you're bound to Aeroplan, it'll be tougher of course):

https://roame.travel/

[sureLoss]

Anyone care to comment if the free MPC app for US customs actually saves time at YYC US Preclearance?

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Anyone care to comment if the free MPC app for US customs actually saves time at YYC US Preclearance?

Can’t speak for YYC but my father used it with me in YYZ and was quicker then myself in the Nexus line.

[Bluestu]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Anyone care to comment if the free MPC app for US customs actually saves time at YYC US Preclearance?

I did it a couple weeks ago and it saved us about half an hour. There was a decent regular line up & no one in the MPC line, we were pretty much straight through.

[Ferarri]

Anybody know why Vancouver is so expensive hotel wise the week of Sept 18? Staying downtown in a decent four star is showing crazy prices of $700 plus a night.

[Bankai]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

Anybody know why Vancouver is so expensive hotel wise the week of Sept 18? Staying downtown in a decent four star is showing crazy prices of $700 plus a night.

New normal.

Hotels are absolutely crazy. Non peak 4/5 star in YVR are around $400/night(Pan Pacific/Fairmont).

They can charge because people will pay.