Travel plans for this year
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Has anyone flown out of the Ottawa airport latetly, we have a flight this Saturday, just curious.
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Honestly, I have been at over 10 airports in June alone (sadly, multiple connections required on most trips). It is an absolute hit or miss. Only airport that was reliably a **** show is Toronto.
About to check 3 other airports today, but not in Ottawa, For what it's worth, at major Canadian airports, about 50% of flights were delayed or cancelled last week. So you got 50/50 shot at making it unscathed.
One thing I have seen people do that seems completely pointless is showing up at airports 4-5h before flight. Add 30min to what you would usually do and you should be good to go - no need to go to extremes. Problems are mostly with delays/cancellations, immigration lines, less so with security lines at the check-in
About to check 3 other airports today, but not in Ottawa, For what it's worth, at major Canadian airports, about 50% of flights were delayed or cancelled last week. So you got 50/50 shot at making it unscathed.
One thing I have seen people do that seems completely pointless is showing up at airports 4-5h before flight. Add 30min to what you would usually do and you should be good to go - no need to go to extremes. Problems are mostly with delays/cancellations, immigration lines, less so with security lines at the check-in
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X2 It’s very difficult there.
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What we noticed on our flights was that fewer people than usual seemed to be prepared to go through security and this resulted in unnecessary line delays.
Those who did not have their ID or boarding pass in the hand and had to search. Those who had not bothered to place liquids in a convenient place and had to search in their bags for these items. Incredibly...the same for laptops. Some security staff seemed to be frustrated by this.
Our AC flight home was delayed 2 hours. Why...security issue on the previous incoming flight. The staff had to put two people off the plane because they refused to wear masks.
Those who did not have their ID or boarding pass in the hand and had to search. Those who had not bothered to place liquids in a convenient place and had to search in their bags for these items. Incredibly...the same for laptops. Some security staff seemed to be frustrated by this.
Our AC flight home was delayed 2 hours. Why...security issue on the previous incoming flight. The staff had to put two people off the plane because they refused to wear masks.
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Is it possible that we have more novice flyers these days?
Apparently a big reason for passport delays is also that many first time (new) passport applications are coming in. These require a lot more manual work than routine renewals on previous passport holders.
Apparently a big reason for passport delays is also that many first time (new) passport applications are coming in. These require a lot more manual work than routine renewals on previous passport holders.
Do not know. We are not flying anywhere at the moment. Hoping to get away mid Sept but this will depend on whether airline and airport issues here and in Europe get resolved. Certainly we are not booking anything.
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2/3 flights delayed yesterday.
Both to and out of Calgary. On the flight board I estimate around 65% of the flights were either cancelled or delayed. My coworker got taken for random testing (thought they were supposed to be gone until July 1, he was taken June 30 at 10:30pm) and the test took so long that he missed his next flight, even though the flight got delayed by 1h10m
It is an absolute mess out there
Both to and out of Calgary. On the flight board I estimate around 65% of the flights were either cancelled or delayed. My coworker got taken for random testing (thought they were supposed to be gone until July 1, he was taken June 30 at 10:30pm) and the test took so long that he missed his next flight, even though the flight got delayed by 1h10m
It is an absolute mess out there
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Air Canada is starting to cancel some major routes. One of my friends just had her Vancouver/Toronto flight cancelled.
Does anyone know if getting a seat assignment makes it less likely for a flight to get cancelled? I know grabbing a seat helps prevent getting bumped off a flight, but can it help prevent cancellations?
Does anyone know if getting a seat assignment makes it less likely for a flight to get cancelled? I know grabbing a seat helps prevent getting bumped off a flight, but can it help prevent cancellations?
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Seat selection does not do anything to prevent cancellation. Seat sales are the only thing that I am aware of that impacts cancellation in regards to purchases. The airlines are fairly opaque in explaining when there are delays reroutes and cancellations. It is disappointing and annoying. I have a few friends that work for the airports and they say usually the grounds are reasonable weather, regulations etc. As of late the delays and cancellations are more logistical. Staffing, scheduling, parts, planes etc. Most flights are fully booked so it is not about occupancy at all which was the cause of reduced flights over the past couple years.
I looked into booking a flight to Spain this afternoon via Westjet for October. The attempt was futile as I could select dates but not book a return fare for any of the available dates. It would allow me to select a date but not choose between economy, economy plus etc. The return fare was set a $0.00 and I could not seIect any options. Perhaps it was an IT issue. I will try again tomorrow but suspect it may be part of their recent announcement of reduced flights and a greater focus on domestic routes. I already let some companion flights expire in June and may be letting the August fare lapse if I cannot book at a reasonable cost that works within my vacation window. I guess I could be optimistic and be grateful for the forced savings.
🤷♂️
I looked into booking a flight to Spain this afternoon via Westjet for October. The attempt was futile as I could select dates but not book a return fare for any of the available dates. It would allow me to select a date but not choose between economy, economy plus etc. The return fare was set a $0.00 and I could not seIect any options. Perhaps it was an IT issue. I will try again tomorrow but suspect it may be part of their recent announcement of reduced flights and a greater focus on domestic routes. I already let some companion flights expire in June and may be letting the August fare lapse if I cannot book at a reasonable cost that works within my vacation window. I guess I could be optimistic and be grateful for the forced savings.
🤷♂️I think that it is an IT issue. We have been pricing flights to Greece in Sept by various Canadian and European gateways. As of two days ago lots of options and prices were coming up as bookable. Same for a SE Asia flight in January.Seat selection does not do anything to prevent cancellation. Seat sales are the only thing that I am aware of that impacts cancellation in regards to purchases. The airlines are fairly opaque in explaining when there are delays reroutes and cancellations. It is disappointing and annoying. I have a few friends that work for the airports and they say usually the grounds are reasonable weather, regulations etc. As of late the delays and cancellations are more logistical. Staffing, scheduling, parts, planes etc. Most flights are fully booked so it is not about occupancy at all which was the cause of reduced flights over the past couple years.
I looked into booking a flight to Spain this afternoon via Westjet for October. The attempt was futile as I could select dates but not book a return fare for any of the available dates. It would allow me to select a date but not choose between economy, economy plus etc. The return fare was set a $0.00 and I could not seIect any options. Perhaps it was an IT issue. I will try again tomorrow but suspect it may be part of their recent announcement of reduced flights and a greater focus on domestic routes. I already let some companion flights expire in June and may be letting the August fare lapse if I cannot book at a reasonable cost that works within my vacation window. I guess I could be optimistic and be grateful for the forced savings.
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We booked our return flights on Westjet to PV this week. It took and hour on hold because:
1) We have an animal in cabin
2) We wanted to spend our Westjet dollars
3) We had unused companion vouchers and needed to know how to use them
4) We needed seat selection on premium economy.
It was 30 minutes to get that all done. This was for PV leaving in November and returning in May.
1) We have an animal in cabin
2) We wanted to spend our Westjet dollars
3) We had unused companion vouchers and needed to know how to use them
4) We needed seat selection on premium economy.
It was 30 minutes to get that all done. This was for PV leaving in November and returning in May.
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We started our 2 week vacation yesterday flying from Ottawa to Halifax on on to St. John's, Nfld. Drive to Ottawa very easy and quiet. Ottawa airport was dead quiet and we got through check in and customs in no time at all. Arrived Halifax on time and this where things slowed up a bit, not due to Halifax but a crew shortage coming our of Toronto. Not too bad as we just got delayed 2 hrs. Arrived in St. John's and we got our one checked in bag. No idea what Pearson was like but this worked out well for us. Our apartment Airbnb is really nice and setup with everything we need. Big added bounus our reserved rent a car with Budget at $2,400.00 for two weeks is not needed now as my brother got is Rav 4 out of the shop and repaired, so rent a car is cancelled.
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That's great to hear, thanks. Doing similar routes in a couple days myself.
It's best to just travel with carry-ons and not check any baggage.
When we were in Portugal last month there were daily reports of a 3 hour wait to clear immigration at Lisbon airport.
BUT...this apparently only occurred during the 11AM-12:30PM window when most of the transatlantic flights arrived. There were one or two TA flights that arrived early in the AM...6:30. Their passengers went through security very quickly.
BUT...this apparently only occurred during the 11AM-12:30PM window when most of the transatlantic flights arrived. There were one or two TA flights that arrived early in the AM...6:30. Their passengers went through security very quickly.
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Just went through a couple large Canadian airports. It really wasn't too bad mid week. Pretty busy at security but not too chaotic otherwise.
But there sure are a lot of coughing passengers around. I was in a Maple Leaf lounge, which was pretty nice, but the various coughing / unmasked people make me nervous. Same with the flights themselves, totally packed of course. Kind of amazing how many wet coughs I'm hearing on these flights, including a guy in the row behind me that was just blasting away (hopefully into a firmly-fitting mask) with a brutal wet cough plus a woman sitting next to me, connecting from Europe, occasionally coughing.
You'll want to wear a KN95 or CAN95 mask for sure. I also see many Asians wearing KF94 style masks. Domestically you could also buy a CAN99.
But there sure are a lot of coughing passengers around. I was in a Maple Leaf lounge, which was pretty nice, but the various coughing / unmasked people make me nervous. Same with the flights themselves, totally packed of course. Kind of amazing how many wet coughs I'm hearing on these flights, including a guy in the row behind me that was just blasting away (hopefully into a firmly-fitting mask) with a brutal wet cough plus a woman sitting next to me, connecting from Europe, occasionally coughing.
You'll want to wear a KN95 or CAN95 mask for sure. I also see many Asians wearing KF94 style masks. Domestically you could also buy a CAN99.
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I'm flying to Italy from Wpg-Toronto-Rome in Mid August for a few weeks. Taking carry on only, just like I've always done for the last decade.
My mom had a horrific experience going Halifax-Toronto-Winnipeg a week ago. That worst part was that Air Canada was continually lying to passengers at every turn.
"Don't worry, you will be automatically rebooked for missed connections in the air" - lol!
"A group of employees will be waiting to help you just off the plane" - said group of employees when approached "no way, it's not our job!"
"our plane is delayed getting here for reasons that change every 20 minutes when we give you new updates, but trust us, we are telling you the truth!"
Just don't lie all the time. People appreciate it more when their told the truth. I understand the front line employees try to deflect people's anger, but it's not helping.
My mom had a horrific experience going Halifax-Toronto-Winnipeg a week ago. That worst part was that Air Canada was continually lying to passengers at every turn.
"Don't worry, you will be automatically rebooked for missed connections in the air" - lol!
"A group of employees will be waiting to help you just off the plane" - said group of employees when approached "no way, it's not our job!"
"our plane is delayed getting here for reasons that change every 20 minutes when we give you new updates, but trust us, we are telling you the truth!"
Just don't lie all the time. People appreciate it more when their told the truth. I understand the front line employees try to deflect people's anger, but it's not helping.
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Has anyone flown to/from the US recently? What is currently involved in either direction?
As I understand it, the US no longer requires any test on entry. I think you just need to carry proof of vaccination (the federal document with details on your 2 doses). And you still need to use ArriveCan to get back into Canada, again confirming vaccination, but no testing is required.
Do I have this right?
As I understand it, the US no longer requires any test on entry. I think you just need to carry proof of vaccination (the federal document with details on your 2 doses). And you still need to use ArriveCan to get back into Canada, again confirming vaccination, but no testing is required.
Do I have this right?
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