Ongoing Crisis in Canadian air travel

[timun]

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

You can only pre clear customs to the US in the airport your actually going to the US from, not from an original departure airport where you still have a connection. YVR, YYZ, wherever. You have to go through customs at the airport the US flight is departing from.

It’s not an YOW thing.

Fair enough, I'm obviously misremembering things (/don't know WTF I'm talking about w.r.t. US CBP ). It was admittedly some years ago now...

That said, the connections process at YOW was still a bunch of ####ery. YUL is easy-peasy, the only negative being that as a much bigger airport you might have to hoof it much further across the airport to catch your connecting flight.

[iggy_oi]

I know air travel can be a pain right now, had a bad experience myself last month. But am I the only one who every time this thread gets bumped reads the title and thinks to themselves that we’re throwing the word crisis around a little too liberally these days?

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

I havent checked luggage in over a decade. With all the lost luggage these days, I'd imagine it's a race to board to get bin space now more than ever.

I'm flying next month and will be interested to see the carry on luggage situation on my plane. Are airlines actually enforcing luggage size now?. I booked 1st class so I don't have to deal with any of that stress about worrying about carry on room.

From my experience last week, no. Not only size, but pushy people who got on first were allowed to take more than allowed (2-3 big bags plus personal item). They then tried to force people who came later to check their only carryon. People argued, bags were re-arranged throughout the plane, and some finally checked. It delayed both flights from taking off. I purposely chose seats at the back, so I could get on first. Going home, I’m just going to check it and hope to be re-united someday.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I know air travel can be a pain right now, had a bad experience myself last month. But am I the only one who every time this thread gets bumped reads the title and thinks to themselves that we’re throwing the word crisis around a little too liberally these days?

Fortunately, throwing the word crisis around has not yet reached crisis level.

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I know air travel can be a pain right now, had a bad experience myself last month. But am I the only one who every time this thread gets bumped reads the title and thinks to themselves that we’re throwing the word crisis around a little too liberally these days?

The 1st definition is:
a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.

I dunno. Seems to me like flying right now is intensely difficult and problematic to me. At least compared to the norm?

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

The 1st definition is:
a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.

I dunno. Seems to me like flying right now is intensely difficult and problematic to me. At least compared to the norm?

I’m just poking fun.

But I still wouldn’t label it a crisis

[chemgear]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...ight-1.6520458

What was supposed to be a two-hour flight ended up costing Michelle and Paul Barter a whole week of travel time. Their flight from Montreal to Deer Lake was cancelled not once, but four times in a row, and then delayed for another three days after that.



Michelle and Paul Barter saw scenes of chaos and disorganization during five days at at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. (Submitted by Michelle Barter)

They managed to get hotel rooms which cost them upwards of $300 per night. All expenses like hotel stays, meals and taxis landed on the couple's credit cards, totalling nearly $3,000 during the unexpected travel time.

After the fourth cancellation, Barter says they had enough. They booked a new flight from Montreal to Sydney, N.S., and then took the Marine Atlantic ferry to their home in Port aux Basques.

Barter says the booking to fly from Montreal to Deer Lake couldn't be cancelled, leaving the couple on the hook to pay for two different flights home each.

[Dentoman]

3 kids to YYZ from YYC on their own with WJ yesterday morning, one with a violin to carry on.No lineup at security but it was 6 AM. All 3 with carry on backpacks and 1 checked bag each. Flight delayed 45 mins due to crew restraints. All bags came out quickly in YYZ. Travelled with 2 other kids who checked bags and had carry on violins as well. No issues for them either except some rejigging of carry on space for one violin.
The kids stowed their carryons under the seat in front of them so their instruments weren’t taking up extra carry on space

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Dentoman

3 kids to YYZ from YYC on their own with WJ yesterday morning, one with a violin to carry on.No lineup at security but it was 6 AM. All 3 with carry on backpacks and 1 checked bag each. Flight delayed 45 mins due to crew restraints. All bags came out quickly in YYZ. Travelled with 2 other kids who checked bags and had carry on violins as well. No issues for them either except some rejigging of carry on space for one violin.
The kids stowed their carryons under the seat in front of them so their instruments weren’t taking up extra carry on space

One can only imagine the violins that would break out if one of those violins was lost.

[Nufy]

Off to Montreal next week for a work trip.
Checking 2 bags...Clothing and PPE. Too big to carry on.

Will eagerly await their arrival once I land...

[chemgear]

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...ounding-pilots

Members of the Canadian aviation industry say growing backlogs at Transport Canada are making it more difficult for new and existing pilots to get their licences, and the federal government has failed to address the issue.

“They’ve completely dropped the ball,” said Dario Matrundola, president of Canadian Flyers Aviation College — a flight school based at Buttonville Airport northeast of Toronto.

“They don’t answer the phone, they don’t call you back, and you’re lucky if they answer emails.”

While applicants normally receive their certificates between 30 and 40 days after submitting their paperwork, some of Matrundola’s students have been left waiting more than a year.

“They’re still working, we’re still working — its just Transport Canada and actual government employees who aren’t doing anything,” he said.

“My career and everything was put on hold for six months because they would not issue me a piece of paper that I already had,” he said.

“I had to get my lawyer after them to get it.”

After the temporary 90-day certifications expire, newly purchased aircraft are essentially grounded until the permanent paperwork from Transport Canada arrives.

Students are enduring long delays getting their licence booklets, often long after their temporary permits have expired.

“They can’t write exams, they can’t get renewed, they can’t get their booklets,” he said.

“It’s endless.”

[Ironhorse]

So essentially similar problems as the passport office. I get the distinct impression that most government workers did sfa (or the absolute minimum) of work during the past two years of restrictions and wfh mandates.

[BlackArcher101]

Wait, you mean WFH decreases overall company/entity productivity? Shocking!

[Amethyst]

Return from Portugal. I had booked this flight awhile ago, so it was Porto-Lisbon-Toronto-Calgary. If I was booking again, I would never book so many connections.

Air Canada said be there 4 hours early (although flight was operated by TAP). That seemed excessive, but in the end, I did it, because I thought I'd rather sit for a couple hours than experience problems. I don't know if it was my timing, but I got through security in Porto really fast. And then waited....

Flight from Porto to Lisbon was an hour late, because Lisbon air traffic is nuts right now and the incoming flight was late. Got there and had to take a bus from the plane to the terminal and run to the far end of the airport to catch my connecting AC flight. I had about 40 minutes until the departure of my flight and made it before boarding closed. My seat mate had 20 minutes to connect to an AC Montreal flight and she did not get there before boarding closed.

Flight to Toronto was delayed boarding but we finally did. Then we sat on the plane, ready to go, for an hour, waiting for air traffic control to give us a slot. The way we were parked, our plane basically backed right onto the taxi way, so we were told to stay in our seats, with seatbelts fastened, because when we got the word, we had to leave immediately.

Landed in Toronto and couldn't park, because someone was at our gate. Kept being told they were pushing back at any minute, but we sat for an hour. This time, people were allowed to get up to use the washroom though. At one point, we were told that a plane had broken down and was in our way to get to the gate. Finally got parked and off the plane after an hour (so overall two hours late now). People were told to stay seated if they were finishing in Toronto and let those with connections off first. You had to show an onward boarding pass to leave the plane, so they were enforcing, but most of the plane had connections.

Customs was super fast. I had filled out Arrive Can with both my vaccination status and duty free claim online, so I just showed my slip to the customs agent and was told to go ahead. There were only 3 stations opened, which seemed like a small number, but they processed people quickly and the line moved fast. You don't have to pick up luggage after customs anymore, which helped.

I had a four hour layover originally, which was cut down to two. It would have been just the right amount of time to connect, but then my final flight to Calgary was also delayed two hours. So I ended up going to a restaurant for a meal and a drink.

Way too many hours of travelling and I was exhausted, but overall, nothing horrible. I met a couple from the UK, who were supposed to go London-Montreal-Quebec City, but London-Montreal was cancelled, so they were routed through Lisbon and Toronto instead, and due to that delay, likely missed their Quebec City flight. And the woman on the Porto-Lisbon flight didn't get on her connection to Montreal, so I consider myself pretty fortunate that I did end up on the flights I was supposed to.

I checked a bag in Porto, because the fight for overhead bin space is ten times worse than before covid. I was pleasantly surprised to be reunited with my bag in Calgary (I was prepared for it to follow me home eventually).

[Azure]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Wait, you mean WFH decreases overall company/entity productivity? Shocking!

Interesting talking to a friend that worked for CIBC at Banker's Hall. When COVID hit they were all sent home for 'WFH.' Easy enough, right? He said in theory it should have worked, except it took 6 months to get the network up to par so they could actually do their work, and then another 6 months to get people used to a different process flow for the actual work. Basically from his perspective it was a complete #### show and he left to work elsewhere in the industry as a result.

I'd imagine a lot of the push back we are seeing from big companies on mandating that people come back to work is a direct result of what those companies saw in terms of productivity and results. I'd even go so far as to say that we can contribute a lot of the lost productivity and dismal performance to having helped contribute to inflation, because there is no way things were being done as efficiently.

I'm sure that is what is happening here with all the travel issues, passport issues, etc.

[jammies]

Alternately, attrition, subsequent understaffing, and inability to attract and train competent replacement workers could be contributing to the issue. I don't know, but I think I'll authoritatively claim anyway that this is the entirety of the problem and it's all the fault of bloated plutocrats and out-of-touch upper bureaucrats who preferred cutting costs to carrying payroll.

[Monahammer]

Baseless attacking government employees and their working habits with not even an anecdote to rely on! This thread is going well.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Baseless attacking government employees and their working habits with not even an anecdote to rely on! This thread is going well.

Are you suggesting you are at fault? Get 'em, boys! Pew pew pew!

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

Are airlines actually enforcing luggage size now?..

No they are not, at least when I flew to Toronto in late May they were not. I'm off to Montreal tomorrow so I'll let you know then.

The airlines need to start using their carry on baggage sizing device again.

[Robbob]

I don't understand why they just don't have the required size limitation on the xray machine. Your bag doesn't fit through, well then it isn't carry on. Easy enough to make it a plastic flap that can flip up for strollers etc.