Kudos to YYC for improving the customs area in the new terminal. The last time I was there it was a bit of a mess (especially with all the people confused on what to do with connections) but now it's much better organized and easy to follow. It was nice to be able to fill out the declaration in advance on my phone too, but it still makes you go through the screens anyway, so I guess it's a small time saver.
WestJet applied for 14 slots at London-Heathrow for 2020, however they did not get any. That would have allowed them to operate one daily flight there. The assumption is that YYC-LGW would most likely have switched to LHR.
Not sure if this is the place to ask?
We had booked a direct flight on Westjet to Maui the week before Christmas and it has been changed to now connect through Vancouver.
Has anyone done this recently? Do we clear US customs in Vancouver?
There is an hour and a half between flights? Will we be good?
Yes, you clear customs in YVR. And yes, timing should be fine. Sorry you can’t go direct due to the Max grounding. But have an awesome time, I was just down there and always love it.
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Connection opportunities, bigger draw for the business class crowd, prestige, truly going head to head with Air Canada on the route.
Just booked return flights to Gatwick on WestJet yesterday on a killer deal. Now have the freedom to pick anywhere in Europe to head to so I listed out all the places with direct flights from Gatwick for my wife. No less than 50 direct destinations and almost always cheaper than the same destination from Heathrow. There was only about 6 locations that you had to use LHR to fly to (Warsaw, Brussels, Luxembourg, Zagreb, Guernsey, and A Coruna).
Now which one to pick...
Last edited by topfiverecords; 12-03-2019 at 06:58 PM.
Not sure if this is the place to ask?
We had booked a direct flight on Westjet to Maui the week before Christmas and it has been changed to now connect through Vancouver.
Has anyone done this recently? Do we clear US customs in Vancouver?
There is an hour and a half between flights? Will we be good?
Good luck. We did the same thing last year and were running to catch our flight. Vancouver requires so much walking and the custom lines take forever. You'll likely be cutting it close.
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We are leaving Calgary at 7:30am and the flight to Maui is at 9:45am. I’m assuming that Westjet knows what they are doing and will know we are coming for that flight to Maui. I’m sure there will be a few of us from Calgary.
I’m thinking there will be no time in Vancouver to pick up some sandwiches and water?
I've found connections in Vancouver to be tight; you'd be going through US Customs as well so theres time for that as well as potentially baggage. You might not have time to grab food especially if its busy in the airport. I would pack food/snacks or consider ordering on the plane just to be safe
We had a similar connection in February. We had to de-ice here and while my memory is muddy I think we were an hour late leaving YYC. We are trusted travellers but still had to rush through YVR, almost ran at one point, but made it as boarding was taking place. We had no time to grab anything but at that point you’re just happy you made the plane and will happily fork over $20 for plane food.
I hate tight winter connections and avoid them or try and overnight if it’s feasible. It adds to the trip but the cost is outweighed by a lower stress experience. You’ll likely have no issues and you’re unlikely to be the only ones on your flight with the same connection.
Be mindful of any snacks you bring, remember you’re limited in what can go across customs and if in doubt declare it or ask the customs guys.
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Good luck. We did the same thing last year and were running to catch our flight. Vancouver requires so much walking and the custom lines take forever. You'll likely be cutting it close.
With any luck a good majority of their YYC-YVR flight is connecting to the OGG flight so they'll hold it if there are any delays.
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Not sure if this is the place to ask?
We had booked a direct flight on Westjet to Maui the week before Christmas and it has been changed to now connect through Vancouver.
Has anyone done this recently? Do we clear US customs in Vancouver?
There is an hour and a half between flights? Will we be good?
If they changed the flight on you, you don't have to accept it. Is there an earlier Calgary-Vancouver flight you could switch to? That way, you have a little more time to make your connection. Last time I flew to Vancouver, it seemed like there was a flight every hour.
Looks like we are on the first flight of the day from Calgary to Vancouver. It will probably be ok if the weather is good but that is the big unknown. I might change the flight to the day before just for the peace of mind.
LHR's landing spots are so valuable that airlines buy them for tens of millions of dollars (highest prixe a slot pair apparently sold for was $75million) and airlines would rather fly planes empty than give up the slot:
__________________ "Calgary Flames is the best team in all the land" - My Brainwashed Son
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So, apparently it is impossible for them to change the flight to Vancouver.
It was booked as one trip and they can’t separate the legs because the flight to Maui is sold out. It seems to be beyond the capabilities of their computer system.
Anyone work for Westjet and can perform a miracle on their system? Lol
So, apparently it is impossible for them to change the flight to Vancouver.
It was booked as one trip and they can’t separate the legs because the flight to Maui is sold out. It seems to be beyond the capabilities of their computer system.
Anyone work for Westjet and can perform a miracle on their system? Lol
Weird. A couple years ago, I had a direct flight from New York to Calgary on Air Canada that was cancelled (they did away with the direct flight the day of the week I was travelling). They scheduled me on a connecting flight but I didn't like the new times. I called in and they offered me a variety of different combos and I could pick the one I preferred.
