scilly

question ................

Are the OP and her children going through the new arrival process on arrival here?

If not, how long does it normally take to get processed through Immigration on first arrival?


I agree with other posters ................ the many problems with this new flight would make me even more wary of whether it is really worth trying to save that amount of money.



I do wish the OP would return to add her input to what we're all saying, and answer some of the questions.

dbd33

If you are flying into Canada from the UK, changing plans and flying elsewhere, be careful with the duty free. You can carry bottles on to the flight to Canada but not on to the internal one. You may find yourself purchasing a corkscrew at the airport, chugging a bottle of wine and then having to throw the corkscrew away.

SarahBC

In the past 2 months, I've flown twice to England from Vancouver. Both flights were direct and about 10 hours.


The WestJet flight had no seatback entertainment screen. They offer a app that allows you to watch movies etc. It worked but was glitchy and means each person needs their own iPad unless they want to be real cozy. They sent an email offering pre-purchased hot meals on the outbound journey, but not the inbound. Must be booked 48 hours in advance.


Air Canada was all much easier a flight. Thank goodness as it was for a bereavement. More expensive but more included. Toilets were nicer onboard. Great entertainment system.


I wouldn't want the connecting flight option that the OP discussed. The day before we flew back from England with WestJet, we were notified our flight was going to be a few hours earlier, which meant our travel plans back to Vancouver Island had to be re-arranged unless we wanted a really long wait at Vancouver South terminal before hopping on the Tiger Moth back to Qualicum Beach.


Sarah

unique at last

Thank you for all your replies and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come back - I've been chasing solicitors and estate agents all day! Looks like we are going to exchange on Monday and complete on Friday 19th. Therefore I'm looking at flights around the 29th August so i'll have a week to get the kids school places sorted in time for the start of the year on 6th September. All of a sudden, it's got busy.

Right, details.
There are 3 of us to fly: myself, son (12) and daughter (8)
We are settling in St Stephen in NB but H has suggested flying into Halifax because it is not as busy as Toronto. He will come and meet us and we'll drive back to St Stephen. His reasoning for suggesting this is that the plane from Halifax to St John is tiny and he's not sure the children will like it as their first experience in Canada. He's suggesting we get a hotel on the outskirts of Halifax so we can break the journey and get a descent night's sleep.

I can't fix my dates until I've exchanged on the house as I can't afford to possibly have to buy 2 flights. I've found Westjet to be cheaper on a one-way ticket and Air Canada far too expensive one way but if I put in a return flight in November, then I can get an Air Canada flight for approx £500pp. Today, I've searched using cheapflights.co.uk and London to Halifax on 29th Aug (return 23rd Nov) is £478 pp.

Ideally I'd like to save money - I'm a skin flint and as a PP mentioned, £600 is approx $1000 and our rent is $900pcm! However, I am nervous about having to go through immigration in a short time frame. I can suck up smaller seats etc but I'd feel more confident if I could be sure that I could class Halifax as my point of entry and do all the immigration stuff there. I've never taken a non-direct flight before which I suppose is increasing my nervousness.

Thank you again for all your responses.

Jerseygirl

Just wondering why you must stay in the UK until completion? I have bought and sold property in the UK from the US.

unique at last

I'd be more than happy to fly and change in somewhere like Dublin as with a UK passport and no immigration to worry about, I'd feel more confident.

unique at last

Because I'm buying somewhere else to let out and I have other finances to sort out and I'd rather be here to oversee that. Part of the proceeds from our house is going into a smaller property here and part of it is funding our move so I don't have the money for the removals, flights etc until the sale completes. I could borrow from my Dad but I'd rather not do that. As my husband has been away since April and saving his Canadian wages for us over there, for the last 4 months I've been running our UK household on half finances so money is very tight until completion.

Jerseygirl

Didn't mean to pry...but thank you for the explanation. I hope it all goes smoothly for you.

unique at last

That's ok. I didn't think of it as prying. A few posters on another forum have been quite critical about me not having a spare cash flow but we're just in the position of millions of others in the UK where we're only a couple of paydays away from disaster. Together, our finances work well but separately it's a struggle. We're fortunate that once the sale is complete we'll have enough to facilitate the move, for another (smaller) property, and enough for a savings cushion too while living on H's wage in Canada.

it's been a tough few months but it'll be worth it in the end.

BristolUK

Taking two separate flights (two bookings) doing immigration upon arrival and then checking in for a subsequent flight is one thing.

But if you have a single booking, with an official connecting flight (or even getting back on the same plane) it shouldn't be an issue.

It was a while ago (1975 ) but I flew from Heathrow to Saint John as a single booking.

Immigration was done at Gander, Newfoundland we got back on the plane to continue to Halifax - this also happened when I flew Heathrow to LA and immigration was done at Duluth, Minnesota

In Halifax we changed planes, landed again at Moncton and then arrived at Saint John. We didn't see our suitcases between check -in at Heathrow and arrival at Saint John.

Perhaps someone else - or the airline - will confirm what happens.

Where's FL?

jennellapea

You can take your duty free liquids with you if the person in the store puts it in a STEB (clear) bag. When you go through security here in Canada they'll just test it and re-seal the bag. No need for downing wine or corkscrews (which are allowed as long as they don't have a blade on them)

jennellapea

I know that in Vancouver there is a flight that goes from Sydney - Vancouver - Toronto and those passengers all come off the plane, clear customs, go through security again and get back on the same plane to Toronto.

scilly

If you look at the WestJet new service, the London -> St John's flight says just that. It does not say London-> St John's and Halifax.

The OP also said a 2 hour layover in St John's, which also implies a change of plane.

London -> Halifax non-stop is a better idea ..... get the immigration and customs done in the one place, OH would be waiting on the other side of security.


Also ................ re duty-free .............. don't forget that the rules re sizes of bottles containing liquids applies from St John's to Halifax, it's a domestic flight.

Heartbreak would be in pouring a large bottle of whatever down the drain.

BristolUK

Yes, I just went through the motions of booking Gatwick to Halifax and it is indeed a change of plane. Of course, these days, one doesn't even see the plane until you get on it, what with all the corridors and things.

Just follow signs and announcements and until you get in and see a different seating arrangement it doesn't make a difference whether it's the same or not. It's the right plane.

Immigration/Customs would still be done in one place, just at St Johns rather than Halifax. I'm not really seeing an issue.

This is reminding me of my early trips over to Montreal.

Of course, there was no flight from Bristol and the (then) Canadian Affair flights were on their winter break.

I flew Bristol to Paris to Montreal (Air France) and the next time Bristol to Amsterdam to Montreal (KLM). The flights worked out marginally more than the coach to Heathrow and flying from there.

The third time, going from Bristol was a ridiculous price so I went from Heathrow with BA.

By the time I came the fourth time, Canadian Affair were off their winter break and I went from Gatwick. Even with the cost of the coach to Gatwick it was over £200 cheaper than from Heathrow.

Of course, there was no free drink on the plane and no screen in the back of the seat in front. And the coach journey to Gatwick is frustrating as it calls at Heathrow on the way.

But the saving was the cost of another return trip.

Atlantic Xpat

WestJet fly Gatwick to St John's on Boeing 737's - so a smaller plane and one they use for the majority of their domestic flights. That means better reliability than the elderly B767's they bought for the majority of their transatlantic expansion.

You would have to clear immigration in St John's and pick up and redrop your bags. It's a small airport - smaller than Halifax - so that shouldn't be too much of a hassle. There are only three international flights a day into St John's (WJ from Gatwick and Dublin + AC from Heathrow) and typically 4-5 immigration officials on duty in my experience.

The layover at St. John's should be painless enough as I say it's a small airport and has limited facilities. Free wifi though and comfortable enough waiting areas. As to whether the extra cost is worth it that's an assessment you have to make. My preference would always be for direct flights with less risk of connection related problems but YMMV as they say.