Island Bound

My Mum is coming to visit me from the UK.
She is booking a flight with Air Canada that goes LHR - Vancouver and then Vancouver - Victoria.
The connection time in Vancouver is 1 hour 30 mins.
She is panicking if that is enough time?
Will her baggage go all the way from LHR and just pick up in Victoria?

Anyone done this route got any thoughts?

SchnookoLoly

If she's booking on one airline as one booking then it should be fine. If there are any delays then the airline will sort her out.

If she's booking LHR-YVR, then YVR-YYJ as two separate trips then allow more time - if the first flight is late then it's tough patooties for the second one.

Former Lancastrian

Baggage will have to be collected at Vancouver and cleared by Customs and then put onto a connecting flight. Providing not referred for further examination then 90 minutes should be OK providing plane arrives on time.

Island Bound

Former Lancastrian... Are you sure as I was lead to believe it went all the way.. That's what I have done in other parts of world when connecting with same carrier!!!
I Am sure I am right and you just follow a connecting flights signs...maybe passport control but no baggage pick up. Otherwise you are out of customs and then have to check in again???????

Former Lancastrian

Unless its what CBSA call a split flight then I can assure you they will have to clear Customs in Vancouver.
A split flight is where the plane lands at one airport and deplanes passengers only that clear Customs there and then flies onto another airport and clears Customs there. Passengers bound for Edmonton stay on the aircraft.
Eg Cuba to Winnipeg then onto Edmonton.
I highly doubt that plane will go LHR to YVR then onto YYJ.

Largo

That is exactly what happened when I returned from UK at Christmas 2011.

LHR to YYJ collected luggage, went through customs then moved to the domestic departures ,checked in to the connecting flight to Victoria.

neilg14

AFAIK, checked luggage will have to be picked up, go through Immigration then checked in again for next flight, first leg is International, second leg is Domestic.

charlottyb

The other posters are correct, Air Canada always have people there to point passengers in the right direction and where to put their luggage for connecting flights. But you do need to clear customs first. As long as she checks in online the day before, for both flights. If she misses the connecting flight, they will bump her onto the next available (as long as she is flying with the same carrier). This has happened to me a few times!!Sometimes it means waiting a few hours if there are no seats available.
90 mins isn't long, depending on the time of day and the time of year. Passport control can have long line ups and the baggage reclaim at Vancouver can be painfully slow sometimes.

Largo

Will PM later ---too many visitors at the moment

Aviator

90 minutes is nowhere near enough between arrival time and departure time allowing being at the gate for the 2nd leg at least 30 mins before departure, plus 20 mins to disembark the inbound, this cuts into an hour.

If the flight was booked all the way though from EGLL to CYYJ then less of an issue as there will be assitance to get though quickly. If one misses the flight pax will be put on next available (not the necessarily the next flight). If booked as two separate flights pax is responsible for connections.

The4BellsLondon

What Aviator said. If she's coming in on a UK passport with no Nexus it could be a long wait on customs depending on what other flights have landed.

I must say that Nexus is fab when it's all working properly. Last time I came back from UK we landed at 11.55am. I was de planed, thru customs and out with my luggage by 12.20! Was stunned!

Cedar3

We've connected to VI twice (not Victoria but same set up as described with through ticket). Clearing customs can indeed be a long queue but you also have to go through airport security a second time and that can be another long queue. It is worth having pre-printed boarding passes (likely to happen at LHR check in) because that at least puts her in a shorter queue for security! I imagine time of year and time of day affect how long these queues are so it depends when your mum is travelling as to whether or not 90mins is long enough - we've done it faster but personally I prefer longer so that I don't feel stressed and have time for the unexpected (such as someone else taking our suitcase home from the carousel last time!)