Anyone fly to U.S. thru Pearson?

[FigmentSpark]

I'm wondering if they have any restaurants on the plane side of security/customs? We'll be coming right from work and hoping to get a bite to eat before boarding, but I wondered if we have to find something on the Canadian side or if we can wait until we've gone through customs/security.

Thanks.

 

[bookbabe626]

Which terminal? Terminal one (Air Canada) has a number of costly but good restaurants, but terminal three only has two. All are shown on the terminal maps on the website - http://www.torontopearson.com/foodanddrink/#

 

[FigmentSpark]

Sorry, Air Canada. I'm really looking for an Extreme Pita or A&W or Tim Hortons type of thing.

 

[MainStreetMouse]

We just booked flights to Orlando on Air Canada from Windsor to Pearson to Orlando. Normally we fly out of Detroit but I was able to take advantage of an aeroplan deal for free tickets.

What is the procedure once we arrive in Toronto? Do we have to pick up our luggage and head to a different terminal or is our luggage transferred automatically? First time traveling this way.

 

[bookbabe626]

Sorry, Air Canada. I'm really looking for an Extreme Pita or A&W or Tim Hortons type of thing.

Double check on the map, but I think it's only Starbucks in the US section of terminal one. There's a not-bad pizza and passable sandwich place, but the rest is all sit-down/table service and exorbitant grab-and-go. None are the type of familiar chain places you mention above.

If you absolutely need chain fast food, my recommendation would be buy to outside security (that's where all the chains are) or even run through a drive-thru on the way (no drinks) and just eat at the gate once you get there. As long as you don't have liquids (ie soup or soft drinks) and you don't mind running your burger through the X-ray machine, they usually don't care if you bring food with you. I've brought subs for the plane a few times, although not recently.

 

[allybabba98]

Hmmm...not sure if I am in the right terminal but from Terminal 1 there was a Tim Horton's and a Wahlburgers. I also saw some other restaurants as well. We just opted for Tim's.

 

[bookbabe626]

Hmmm...not sure if I am in the right terminal but from Terminal 1 there was a Tim Horton's and a Wahlburgers. I also saw some other restaurants as well. We just opted for Tim's.

There might be, it's a big terminal, and our flights are usually all down the one aisle, so my info on what's down the other end is vague. Terminal one does have a much better selection of restaurants than terminal three, so your chances of finding something suitable are much better there. The Tim's will have okay pricing, but I'd bet the Walhburgers isn't cheap. Then again, at Pearson, nothing's cheap...

 

[MotherKnowsBest]

Hmmm...not sure if I am in the right terminal but from Terminal 1 there was a Tim Horton's and a Wahlburgers. I also saw some other restaurants as well. We just opted for Tim's.

I think it depends on if you are flying to the US or to elsewhere in Canada. The US side has limited options as far as I can recall.

 

[hardis5]

There is a large Tim's (even with an express line for just coffee purchases) when I last flew to the US through Terminal 1 in April.

 

[SaraMc]

I remember there being a starbucks too.. It was early in the morning...

 

[cslittle999]

There are both Tims and Starbucks after security for US flights in terminal 1. They can be a walk back to some of the gates.

 

[vincent00]

What is the procedure once we arrive in Toronto? Do we have to pick up our luggage and head to a different terminal or is our luggage transferred automatically? First time traveling this way.

You have to pick up your luggage before going through US customs. There's a luggage carousel near the customs entry point and a drop point just afterwards. Not a big deal, just don't forget else you'll find yourself having an awkward conversation with the (always?) grumpy US staff when you tell them you need to backtrack to the Canadian side of the terminal to grab your bags. ...Not that I'm speaking from the experience of travelling with an absent-minded mother-in-law or anything.

 

[bankr63]

You have to pick up your luggage before going through US customs. There's a luggage carousel near the customs entry point and a drop point just afterwards. Not a big deal, just don't forget else you'll find yourself having an awkward conversation with the (always?) grumpy US staff when you tell them you need to backtrack to the Canadian side of the terminal to grab your bags. ...Not that I'm speaking from the experience of travelling with an absent-minded mother-in-law or anything.

Disagree with this. Pearson terminal 1 has had check through luggage for several months now. Your bag will check through from Windsor all the way to Orlando. You will need to wait before being allowed to clear US customs while the bags from your domestic flight are processed. Once called forward, US Customs will show you a photo of your bag taken as it cleared through elsewhere in the terminal and ask you to identify it. Presumably if their baggage scanners note something of interest there will be further processing, otherwise you will proceed to boarding. This is only applicable to AC at T1, other airlines out of T3 still use the old baggage claim and clear procedure.

There is a guide to the procedure on the Pearson site. http://www.torontopearson.com/Connecting.aspx#

 

[Sue M]

Disagree with this. Pearson terminal 1 has had check through luggage for several months now. Your bag will check through from Windsor all the way to Orlando. You will need to wait before being allowed to clear US customs while the bags from your domestic flight are processed. Once called forward, US Customs will show you a photo of your bag taken as it cleared through elsewhere in the terminal and ask you to identify it. Presumably if their baggage scanners note something of interest there will be further processing, otherwise you will proceed to boarding. This is only applicable to AC at T1, other airlines out of T3 still use the old baggage claim and clear procedure.

There is a guide to the procedure on the Pearson site. http://www.torontopearson.com/Connecting.aspx#

This is good news, I hate having to pick up luggage and re check. One of the reasons I avoid flying AC, I prefer to do my connections in the US to avoid this hassle. Last time I had connections in Toronto I broke my toe putting my luggage back on conveyor belt. I stepped forward not realizing the overhang of the belt was very shallow, the cement underneath was painted black. Employee was just standing there watching me juggle suitcases for me & daughter.

I now fly Alaska, check luggage & customs in YVR, transfer in Seattle, and don't see my luggage until we land.

 

[vincent00]

Disagree with this. Pearson terminal 1 has had check through luggage for several months now. Your bag will check through from Windsor all the way to Orlando. You will need to wait before being allowed to clear US customs while the bags from your domestic flight are processed. Once called forward, US Customs will show you a photo of your bag taken as it cleared through elsewhere in the terminal and ask you to identify it. Presumably if their baggage scanners note something of interest there will be further processing, otherwise you will proceed to boarding. This is only applicable to AC at T1, other airlines out of T3 still use the old baggage claim and clear procedure.

Fair enough. I've only ever connected at Pearson via Terminal 3 (WestJet). It was undergoing renovations the last few trips (2014/15); hopefully, as part of the work, they'll change the baggage procedure for T3 US connections as well.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Hmmm...not sure if I am in the right terminal but from Terminal 1 there was a Tim Horton's and a Wahlburgers. I also saw some other restaurants as well. We just opted for Tim's.

That would be awesome, but are they on the U.S or Canadian side of customs. Of course, one of the rules of U.S. entry is that you can't take meats and fruits with you, otherwise I'd just pack lunches for everyone. So if they are on the side after customs, I would be free to take the food on the plane.

 

[cslittle999]

They are both after security on the US side. You can look up all of your options here:

https://www.torontopearson.com/foodanddrink/##

 

[Starwind]

Fair enough. I've only ever connected at Pearson via Terminal 3 (WestJet). It was undergoing renovations the last few trips (2014/15); hopefully, as part of the work, they'll change the baggage procedure for T3 US connections as well.

T3 was experimenting/testing with their new auto-baggage handling transfer system for US-bound connections in December 2015 (we flew WestJet to Orlando) and it was operational in February 2016 when I flew WestJet/Delta to Texas (still undergoing some construction for the passenger-handling areas). Although the specific mechanics are a bit different than T1, the basic concept -- you don't physically transfer your bags it is done automagically behind the scenes -- is now the same, at least for Canada -> USA connections in T3.

That said, it is not a failproof system.... In February my properly-tagged suitcase came off the westjet flight and ended up on the domestic routing belts instead of the USA routing. It took well over 1/2 an hour (closer to an hour?) for WestJet & Delta to determine the bag had actually arrived in Toronto, track it down, and then have one of the baggage customer service agents in the "waiting area" go and physically retrieve it and put it into the US connection area. I was glad I had a few hours between flights, though for a while was concerned about how they would get my bag to me that day. But, as I discovered, there are processes in place for missing luggage... Unfortunately the human owning the luggage gets to wait in a fairly sterile waiting area that doesn't even have a TV for entertainment... The Customer Service reps were VERY nice and VERY apologetic, though. And there is a washroom.

SW

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Just reading through all this - so, for all flights connecting to the US through Pearson, you don't have to pick up your luggage between connections anymore? So we would put our magical express tags on at our home airport when we leave?