DH going on business trip to Canada, what does this phrase mean???

[SeaSpray]

My DH is leaving early Sunday morning for a business trip which will include a few days in Canada. The travel agency that his company uses has emailed an itinerary to my DH, and at the end of the 4 pages (the 4 pages listed his complete itinerary with flights, hotels, rental cars, etc), it said this:

TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE-PENALTY APPLIES FOR CHANGES
BIRTH CERTIFICATE W/PHOTO I.D. REQUIRED TO TRAVEL
PASSPORT IS PREFERRED
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS REQUIRE 3HOUR ADVANCE CHECK IN
MANDATORY TO RECONFIRM INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS-72HOURS
PRIOR TO FLIGHT WITH LOCAL PHONE CONTACT-CALL CARRIER
US STATE DEPT ANNOUNCEMENT. SEE WWW.TRAVEL.STATE.GOV/


I've never seen this wording before; my DH is wondering if he has to call someone 3 days before his flight to Canada? Can anyone shed some light on what that means exactly?? We did go to the web site but it talked about needing passports next year for traveling to Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda.

THANK YOU!!

 

[ducklite]

It means what it says.

He needs to check in for his flight three hours in advance at the airport. He needs to have proof of citizenship as well as proof of ID--photo DL and birth certificate or a passport which is preferred. And he needs to call the carrier three days before his flight to reconfirm that he plans to be on it, and same thing from Canada before he returns to the US.

Which Canadian airport is he flying in/out of? Many of them he will pre-clear customs and immigration in Canada before getting on his flight back to the US.

Anne

 

[SeaSpray]

It means what it says.

He needs to check in for his flight three hours in advance at the airport. He needs to have proof of citizenship as well as proof of ID--photo DL and birth certificate or a passport which is preferred. And he needs to call the carrier three days before his flight to reconfirm that he plans to be on it, and same thing from Canada before he returns to the US.

Which Canadian airport is he flying in/out of? Many of them he will pre-clear customs and immigration in Canada before getting on his flight back to the US.

Anne

Thank you!!

He's booked on North West Airlines. He'll be flying out of Boston to go to Oregon on this Sunday, then on Wednesday he'll be flying from Oregon to Canada, so I guess he needs to call to confirm the Wednesday flight on Sunday at some point, and then for the return home flight on Friday, he'll need to call about that one on Tuesday. Is this correct? Thanks again!

 

[Tara]

Anne is right, of course. I think the last bit about the announcement isn't really related to the reconfirmation part, but they are just tacking that on to all notes so that people who travel to Canada, the Caribbean, etc. know that the re-entry rules are changing.

 

[ducklite]

Thank you!!

He's booked on North West Airlines. He'll be flying out of Boston to go to Oregon on this Sunday, then on Wednesday he'll be flying from Oregon to Canada, so I guess he needs to call to confirm the Wednesday flight on Sunday at some point, and then for the return home flight on Friday, he'll need to call about that one on Tuesday. Is this correct? Thanks again!

Yup! Which airport in Canada is he flying in and out of?

Anne

 

[CarolA]

I have to be honest. I have read that 72 hour stuff before. I have never done it. LOL! (I would do it if I wasn't flying a major carrier but for DL, AA etc I have never bothered and so far so good!)

You do need to arrive 3 hours in advance for international. You cannot check in with the skycaps and at most airports you actually have to check in with an agent. SInce they have so few now that can take a while.

 

[SeaSpray]

Yup! Which airport in Canada is he flying in and out of?

Anne

Oh! LOL Forgot to answer that... Toronto.

 

[ducklite]

I have to be honest. I have read that 72 hour stuff before. I have never done it. LOL! (I would do it if I wasn't flying a major carrier but for DL, AA etc I have never bothered and so far so good!)

You do need to arrive 3 hours in advance for international. You cannot check in with the skycaps and at most airports you actually have to check in with an agent. SInce they have so few now that can take a while.

Carol,

I never used to, but the last time I flew into Canada CO had a FIT that I hadn't called three days in advance, something about having the manaifest prepared and submitted. That was about six months ago.

Anne

 

[bavaria]

Just an FYI - he will most likely clear US customs/immigration in Toronto returning to the States. Remind him to take a customs card and fill it out before checking in with his airline (or in line). I have seen the customs/immigration line in Toronto take as little as 15 minutes and very often an hour or more. It just doesn't seem to move much.

After customs/immigration he will drop his checked luggage and go through security, then go to his gate.

FWIW, I've never been at the airport 3 hours in advance for a Canada/US or reverse flight. Having said that, I DO have a Nexus card and elite traveller cards. In the past 2 hours would be sufficient except for peak times, but lately I have seen very long lines in Canada waiting to clear US customs/immigration, so 3 hours may be prudent.

 

[bavaria]

Depending on the airline, he may or may not be able to check in online. If it's Air Canada operated (ie not a codeshare) he CAN check in online. Some airlines won't allow it if he is returning to the US - he will need to check in at a kiosk at the airport or with an agent.

 

[ducklite]

The last couple times I flew back to the US (YYW, YYC, and YYZ) I pre-cleared. YYW was REALLY SLOW, it took us almost an hour just to get through customs. Immigration was another 15 minutes or so.

Anne