Westjet YVR to MCO through YYC - Any updates?

[Jabroniville]

That shuttle is so cool! I'd love it if there were more things like that- going through security TWICE is really annoying.

 

[excited family]

My daughter and I got home yesterday and all I can say is DON'T DO IT! Unless you have Nexus. The repercussions are still playing out.

Our flight from Nanaimo landed at YYC on time. I asked a flight attendant about hoe to transfer without exiting the secure area and I was told that you can't, that you have to exit into the main airport area and then go through US customs.

I was hoping they were wrong so I looked all around and saw a shuttle but it seemed to just be an alternative to walking the long distances. So I asked an employee right by the shuttle and was once again told I had to exit the secured area.

So we did and it was unbelievably busy. Someone was directing people with Nexus to a short line but everyone else had to try and find the back of the US customs line, which snaked all through the terminal past end exit. I was sure we would miss the flight.

About an hour later we got to just before customs where you are shown a picture of your bag to claim it, and then we had to rejoin the line to customs a bit further back than we had been! We finally got through and started to run as fast as possible while dragging/ carrying bags. After a minute I took my daughters bag and told her to run ahead as fast as possible. I was going as fast as I could. I finally show up at the gate and the agent is already on the phone with the attendant on the plane to stop closing the door. Another young man ran up behind me and the 3 of us were rushed on the plane and they closed the door and left less than a minute later.

I had to pee so bad and we had no water for the flight but we had made it. I was so grateful. However, I believe that they had already removed our checked bag when we hadn't shown up earlier since it was not there when we arrived in Orlando. I filed a claim and was told that it should show up at our hotel 24-48 hours later.

Days of trying to contact people and I still have no bag. We flew there on Monday 28th March and came home on Tuesday 5th April and we had no bag the whole time. My Dad back home was calling them every day after I would e-mail him in the morning saying it was still not there. He was on hold for hours each day. The bag was supposedly in Orlando since March 30th and every day they were urgently going to transport it to my hotel. Didn't happen. I have a lot of friends at bell services who couldn't believe what I was going through.

On Monday 4th April we had to then contact Westjet to let them know to send it home. It is supposedly flying here today but I won't believe it until I see it. It was supposedly being delivered to my hotel for days.

Commando laundry is now a term in my household.
Our days in the parks were wonderful but our evenings were so busy trying to deal with this situation.

So I will NEVER contact to the US through Calgary again. There may be a secret hidden way to do it but employees don't know about it. I could find no sign directing us to it. All I could find was a shuttle to use instead of walking the long distances between terminals. I will be so angry at myself if there is a way.

So don't do it unless you have Nexus. Sorry ranting.

 

[FinnFogg]

My daughter and I got home yesterday and all I can say is DON'T DO IT! Unless you have Nexus. The repercussions are still playing out.

Our flight from Nanaimo landed at YYC on time. I asked a flight attendant about hoe to transfer without exiting the secure area and I was told that you can't, that you have to exit into the main airport area and then go through US customs.

I was hoping they were wrong so I looked all around and saw a shuttle but it seemed to just be an alternative to walking the long distances. So I asked an employee right by the shuttle and was once again told I had to exit the secured area.

So we did and it was unbelievably busy. Someone was directing people with Nexus to a short line but everyone else had to try and find the back of the US customs line, which snaked all through the terminal past end exit. I was sure we would miss the flight.

About an hour later we got to just before customs where you are shown a picture of your bag to claim it, and then we had to rejoin the line to customs a bit further back than we had been! We finally got through and started to run as fast as possible while dragging/ carrying bags. After a minute I took my daughters bag and told her to run ahead as fast as possible. I was going as fast as I could. I finally show up at the gate and the agent is already on the phone with the attendant on the plane to stop closing the door. Another young man ran up behind me and the 3 of us were rushed on the plane and they closed the door and left less than a minute later.

I had to pee so bad and we had no water for the flight but we had made it. I was so grateful. However, I believe that they had already removed our checked bag when we hadn't shown up earlier since it was not there when we arrived in Orlando. I filed a claim and was told that it should show up at our hotel 24-48 hours later.

Days of trying to contact people and I still have no bag. We flew there on Monday 28th March and came home on Tuesday 5th April and we had no bag the whole time. My Dad back home was calling them every day after I would e-mail him in the morning saying it was still not there. He was on hold for hours each day. The bag was supposedly in Orlando since March 30th and every day they were urgently going to transport it to my hotel. Didn't happen. I have a lot of friends at bell services who couldn't believe what I was going through.

On Monday 4th April we had to then contact Westjet to let them know to send it home. It is supposedly flying here today but I won't believe it until I see it. It was supposedly being delivered to my hotel for days.

Commando laundry is now a term in my household.
Our days in the parks were wonderful but our evenings were so busy trying to deal with this situation.

So I will NEVER contact to the US through Calgary again. There may be a secret hidden way to do it but employees don't know about it. I could find no sign directing us to it. All I could find was a shuttle to use instead of walking the long distances between terminals. I will be so angry at myself if there is a way.

So don't do it unless you have Nexus. Sorry ranting.

That sounds horrible!!! I was starting to feel ok about it, but that is just brutal. I think I will call and see if we can fly to Calgary the night before instead. There is an in-terminal Marriott. Feels a lot safer than risking the lines.

 

[soccerra]

Does anyone have any current info on Connecting through YYC. We come from YQL this Friday morning landing in the A Terminal and then have to get to the USA Side. Do you still need to exit into the main airport, or is the secure corridor open now? Anyone been through there recently?

Usually we just drive up to YYC and fly from there, but for some reason it was cheaper to fly from home this time..

TIA!!

 

[FinnFogg]

Reviving this thread in the hope that there have been more recent (and positive!) experiences by those who had their direct YVR-MCO re-routed through YYC.

Our August flights were changed from a direct flight to a 6am YVR departure to YYC, and hour and a half to connect and clear US customs and then a 9:55am YYC departure to MCO.

I called Westjet yesterday to see if I could fly to Calgary the night before (and happily foot the hotel bill) but they were not able to “break up the connection”. And my flying to Calgary on my own dime (which I would also gladly do) would result in my being a “no show” and void my connecting flight to MCO.

So it’s this itinerary or bust.

I really don’t think it’s do-able, and am on the verge of cancelling.

Has anybody had recent experiences on this route/itinerary?

 

[I Run Long]

I'm curious about this too. We have a 6:00am departure from YYJ and an1hr 33min layover in Calgary before we depart at 9:55 for MCO in August. Would be nice to hear of more recent experiences.

 

[CanucksRock]

For anyone that does not have Nexus, it is the best $50 US you will ever spend. It is 100% worth it. I breeze thru customs & security. Including TSA Pre in the US. I never have issues with connections.

 

[dis_guy]

For anyone that does not have Nexus, it is the best $50 US you will ever spend. It is 100% worth it. I breeze thru customs & security. Including TSA Pre in the US. I never have issues with connections.

I absolutely agree. It is so worth it. We once took a redeye from YEG and pre-clearance was not open that late so we had to clear Customs on arrival in Houston. After standing in line for an hour+ and watching all those people going through in just a few minutes I decided that it was worth it for even just one time like this. For $10 a year it's a bargain. It gives you Global Entry, TSA Pre-check, and a shorter wait at security for domestic flights in Canada as well.

 

[PetePanMan]

called Westjet yesterday to see if I could fly to Calgary the night before (and happily foot the hotel bill) but they were not able to “break up the connection”.

It is too bad they can’t do this and I’m not sure why they can’t. We were definitely thinking of trying this if our next flight from YVR to MCO is cancelled and must go through YYC. We did not like at all having to do the 6am flight from Van to Calgary and will cancel if only option is to do this again.

 

[FinnFogg]

For anyone that does not have Nexus, it is the best $50 US you will ever spend. It is 100% worth it. I breeze thru customs & security. Including TSA Pre in the US. I never have issues with connections.

Would love to get Nexus and have completed the applications. Unfortunately Canadian interview offices are still closed so we have to go to the US. Would gladly do it, but they are fully booked.

 

[I Run Long]

Would love to get Nexus and have completed the applications. Unfortunately Canadian interview offices are still closed so we have to go to the US. Would gladly do it, but they are fully booked.

Yikes! I was going to look into this but if Canadian interview offices are closed there is no way - since we live on Vancouver Island - would be crazy to have to take a ferry over to the mainland and drive across the border. Oh well, guess we'll have to hope that it goes quickly when in Calgary.

 

[FinnFogg]

We pulled the plug on our August flights. The connection just didn’t seem do-able (and DH really wasn’t looking forward to Orlando in August). Added a few days to our Feb trip instead….and will be flying Alaska instead of Westjet! We flew with them to MCO last week for the May long weekend, and it was a very positive experience.

 

[I Run Long]

We pulled the plug on our August flights. The connection just didn’t seem so-able (and DH really wasn’t looking forward to Orlando in August). Added a few days to our Feb trip instead….and will be flying Alaska instead of Westjet! We flew with them to MCO last week for the May long weekend, and it was a very positive experience.

I hope you have a great trip. Unfortunately we can't change or cancel as we are staying on DVC points, paid for a Wish cruise etc. We're going to tough it out and hope we can find that tram at YYC to international departures AND that it means we don't have to go through security again. First world problems to be sure, but it's still stressful!

 

[FinnFogg]

I hope you have a great trip. Unfortunately we can't change or cancel as we are staying on DVC points, paid for a Wish cruise etc. We're going to tough it out and hope we can find that tram at YYC to international departures AND that it means we don't have to go through security again. First world problems to be sure, but it's still stressful!

I’m sure it will all work out. Sounds like a great trip! Enjoy the Wish!

 

[FinnFogg]

I hope you have a great trip. Unfortunately we can't change or cancel as we are staying on DVC points, paid for a Wish cruise etc. We're going to tough it out and hope we can find that tram at YYC to international departures AND that it means we don't have to go through security again. First world problems to be sure, but it's still stressful!

When I called to cancel yesterday, they did offer to re-route me through Toronto (leaving the evening before). It was a red-eye, but plenty of connection time and arriving in Orlando a few hours earlier than anticipated. I was tempted, but we had already decided as a family to beef up our Feb trip so cancelled anyway. Might be an option for you?

 

[I Run Long]

I’m sure it will all work out. Sounds like a great trip! Enjoy the Wish!

Thanks! The more I investigate the YYC Link Passenger Shuttle on their website, the more confident I am that we'll make it. We're going to do that for sure!

 

[youngdeb12]

We ended up choosing the red eye through YYZ instead of connecting in Calgary for our trip in October. I’m much more familiar with YYZ and we have a 4 hour connection so should be more than enough time. We connect through YYC on the way back and then overnight in YVR before connecting to YXS in the morning. I figured if anything goes wrong on the back end, at least we can overnight in YYC with little issue.

 

[Kaiya]

I'll make sure I update this thread on or close to July 2. We're heading from Abbotsford to Calgary to Orlando on the same flight mentioned above 6:00 am, arriving in Calgary 8:10, departing to Orlando 9:55.

I've thought about asking Westjet to fly the night before, however work restrictions don't make it possible. It's tight, but we are keeping a positive outlook, knowing that Westjet has offered this flight for a while and I'm assuming would not keep offering it if everyone missed their connection....right?

I will stop by the Abbotsford airport today to talk with a Westjet agent, rather than call, about luggage. While I was planning to take a checked bag with all the sunscreens, liquids, etc., I'm now thinking I might be better off taking a carry-on and having a grocery order delivered when I arrive. Thoughts?

 

[eey777]

I'm reviving this old thread to see if anyone has recent experience or tips, as I think this is the part of our trip I am most stressed over (well, it's probably tied with trying to finish our first marathon LOL).

Background: We have Nexus and will have carry on only.

My first concern is that the weather in January is going to cause delays (Westjet cancelled our direct YVR-MCO flight and put us on these ones - otherwise we never would have booked via YYC in winter, nor the brutal 6:00 am departure) but nothing we can do about that. My second concern is that we're in row 1 of our inbound flight and I'm afraid of missing the YYC Link or Connections Corridor and accidentally popping out of airside accidentally, but I think we will be okay. The walk would be better for us, to keep our legs loose, but if time is tight, we may take the shuttle.

For anyone else worrying a bit, like I am, I did find this useful page and graphic on the YYC site: https://www.yyc.com/en-us/navigatingyyc/yyclinkshuttle.aspx but still, any updates from people who have connected recently from domestic arrivals to us departures at YYC would be very welcome!! And thanks to all who have shared their experiences so far!

 

[I Run Long]

@eey777 We had no problem making our connection in Calgary. Going through US clearance was quick. Made it to our gate with time to spare. Weather may impact you but if it does it will impact everyone - meaning if flights are delayed it's less about missing a flight, and more about when will it actually leave. Not much you can do about that. Our return flight went MCO to YYZ, then YYC and finally YYJ. Our return flight was by far the worse for us. Clearing customs in YYZ was chaotic at best - we won't fly through there again. In Calgary we had a 3 hours layover (if I remember correctly) where our gate changed twice! Kept having to hike back and forth to different gates. Finally made it to YYJ just before midnight, local time. All this has made us decide to fly out of Seattle in future for our trips. I hope you have a great vacation!