Question for Canadian travellers

[Matchboxjen]

I've tried googling this and have received mixed results. In the past I have typically flown through the US, but this time I am flying through Canada via WestJet. We land in Vancouver and have to catch a connecting flight to LAX. Will my baggage go directly from the first flight to my connecting flight or do I have to get it when I land and check it again/do customs? I seem to recall having to do this 10+ years ago and wondered if this was still the case. Thanks for any help.

 

[Kittymomm]

What they do now is take pictures of your luggage so rather than stopping, picking up luggage and heading through US customs, you stop at a TV screen and they make you verify each piece. WAY faster and very convenient.

Now I am pretty sure this is all airlines - we were on Air Canada in July and that was what happened. My daughter was randomly chosen for the swab test on all her carry-ons though - goes pretty quickly.

 

[jsebsirois]

Wow, this sounds like a much easier way to proceed!

Maybe it's a new procedure though, because we always had to take our luggages and go through customs...

The best thing would probably to call Westjet directly.

Have fun!

 

[KittyKat1978]

I flew Air Canada from Vancouver to Orlando via Toronto.

I did not have to get my luggage when I arrived in Toronto going to Orlando, but I did have to get it when I landed in Toronto on my way home to Vancouver.

I am not sure why I didn't have to pick it up on the way there, but on the way home I did. Didn't make any sense, but that is what happened. And I ran the whole way thinking I didn't have to pick up my luggage and missed my flight because I had to pick up and re-check my luggage.

 

[Kittymomm]

To clarify that was in Vancouver where they didn't make us pickup our luggage (viewing the images instead). On the way home, we did have to stop, get our luggage, go through customs, leave the security area, re-check our luggage and re-do security. That wasn't fun.

The other cool time saver was in LAX. Because DD was 11 they had us go through a faster line at security - anyone know why that is? Mine turns 12 mid-trip so I am wondering if we will get to to that again or not.

Stina

 

[Rubygoose]

We recently flew from Victoria to Seattle to Orange County and went through customs/bag check in Seattle. We didn't have any checked bags, but we saw everyone else pick up their checked bag and bring it through and then put it on another conveyer belt to get it onto the next plane. Back check was a lot more intense in Seattle than it was in Victoria. We didn't have to fill out a piece of paper because they had little kiosks that scanned our passports and took our photo. The whole process took over an hour because there were several flights that arrived at the same time. When we flew back to Victoria, we were given the piece of paper as we boarded the plane in Seattle. They didn't check our bags because we were coming home and didn't have a connecting flight.

 

[Matchboxjen]

Thanks for the info. I'm just going to call WestJet and see what they have to say. Wish I had thought this through a little better but it was a decent deal.

 

[Disneycanuk]

I'm flying Westjet from grande prairie to Calgary then lax, they told me I'll grab my luggage in Calgary separate carousal then go through us customs then put back to put on plane