Wednesday

AIRLINE DELAY'S

Just a small little note on this topic...

When there is a delayed flight keep this in mind.

1) IT IS FOR YOUR SAFETY
2) Weather or maintenance are 95% (my guess) the reason.
3) Your "Boarding Time" is and will always be your boarding time. So, you need to be at your designated gate no matter what, or gate side within earshot of your gate. **Not sleeping in, not drinking somewhere, and not being at the airport will all equal you missing your flight.
4) A delay can change at anytime and the flight will leave as soon as it can, with or without you.
5) Airlines do not want upset, discouraged, or angry people at their counter. A delay or canceled flight is not a deliberate attack  on you or personal, so do not take it that way. SAFETY FIRST.

Airport Mentality: TRY THIS

So being someone who spent a lot of time traveling and being at Airports here is a mentality and some pointers I think could help us all. AIRPORTS are one of the most clearly marked places in the world. Signs, pictures, and images/logos, are everywhere to point you in the right directions error free and beyond any spoken language barrier.

1) Be prepared,  know what you need to do and where to go before you get there.
You can go online and view airport and terminal maps.

2) Be where you have to be, when you have to be there.

3) Focus on you, do not worry about where the person in front of you or behind are going, or what they are doing. They are not on your itinerary.

4) Not everyone in the line up's are traveling. Some are moral support, some are assisting, and some are making sure their friend is going to the right spot.

5) PEOPLE TRAVEL ON PLANES for a few basic reasons.
a) For Business
b) For Fun,Vacation, and to see Family
c) For not good reasons. (deaths, sickness's, emergencies)
d) To Move.
So keep this in mind and be considerate to everyone around you. Do not be rude to people in front of you or behind you, and mind your conversation topics, or irritations.

6) Less talk more Rock. The less complaining one does at a counter, the faster the process will be. The less questions in line or interrupting you do, the faster the line (that you may be or have been complaining about) moves.

7) Staff at the airport are not there for your verbal abuse pleasure. Employees of airports have passed vigorous screening and training and are experts in what they do, sit back and let them do their job to give you a great experience.

8) Don't talk about your last horrible time at an airline, stay positive and your current trip will be positive.

9) Do not put on your STUPID cap when you get to the airport, do not blame anyone other then yourself for not being where you need to be. Show the world you are smart and independent and can find your way around an airport. You don't get lost in a shopping mall do you? I would hope not.

10) A little line I heard about airports that made me laugh was this: "Hurry, Wait, Hurry, now wait, hurry.....and so on." It is True, so accept that and become one with it. hee hee.

FORGOT TO WEB CHECK IN?? KIOSKS!!!

At YYZ the GTAA has Kiosk machines that are posted all around the check-in line ups at both Terminals.

Here are the airlines that offer web check in

http://torontopearson.com/flights/online_checkin.aspx#

You can use this machine to check-in and avoid the BIG LINE UP.
Use your reservation code to check in. I find this the most accurate to pull up your travel info. There are about 6 different ways on these kiosks that will allow you to access your ticket to check in and print your boarding pass.

These machines are touch screen and are very very very VERY simple to use. Do not fear them, they are there to make your life easier. There are usually airline attendants cruising by to make sure you haven't run into any problems. USE THE MACHINES.

Also - if you forgot your boarding pass at home, but you did check in and print it up, HOP on one of these machines and reprint. Then head to the luggage drop, if that is what you need to do next is.

LINK TRAIN at YYZ - to both terminals

So, if you are clever and end up in the wrong Terminal - DO NOT PANIC!

In the center of each Terminal there is are elevators and or escalators that take you to the Train, this train goes back and forth to each terminal and also to the VISCOUNT parking lot. It is super fast.

Here is the link on the details
http://torontopearson.com/en/link/#

YYZ to International Destinations

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is an international trade body that represents more than 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic.
On their website  IATA provides advice for travel planning and trip preparation. 

Customized by destination, passengers can find information on passports, visa and health requirements, as well as customs, airport tax and currency information.

Here is their link.....

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/index.php

Connecting into YYZ to go to USA

If you are connecting from somewhere and your final stop is the USA there usually is a separate luggage belt that you pick up your luggage and head to customs with to clear, in YYZ.

So always ask on your inbound flight - "do i pick up my luggage for my connection flight, and where do I pick it up, what do I do after that" ..... The in-flight staff and counter staff will have that information for you. Do not think you know it all, or that was how you used to travel.

EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS CHANGING at every airport in the world and again, each airline is different.

Here is the connection guide - you will need to input your details:

http://torontopearson.com/Connecting.aspx#

U.S.A bound? From YYZ

When traveling from the YYZ airport and heading to the U.S.A, it is called TRANSBORDER.

The first thing you need to know and be prepared for is this:

YOU CLEAR CUSTOMS BEFORE YOU TRAVEL.

So here is the run down.
1) do a web check-in
2) Print your boarding pass
3) Bring all your ID
4) YOU HAVE to know the full address of where you are staying your first night in the USA.
5) Get a blue customs form and fill it out while you wait in the luggage drop line
6)Once your luggage is tagged, you then head to the Customs Hall
7) You clear customs with all your belongings that you are traveling with
8) Once Customs clears you, you take your luggage and drop it off at the luggage belt.
9) you then head to security, and then to your gate.
10) Customs has a 1 HOUR CUT OFF TIME from your departure. (So if your flight is at 11am you have to be in customs hall by 10am) They need proper time to talk with you and inspect anything they feel inclined to. They do not care where or when you have to be somewhere, you are crossing the boarder and this is not any different then driving your car over.
11) If USA Customs detains you or has questions for you or send you to a secondary screening, this will make your journey longer.
12) SOOO BE THERE AS EARLY AS YOU CAN.
13) Airlines are not responsible for your history, previous encounters with the law, or travel habits and usually do not re-accommodate you if you miss your flight. Some will help you get to where you are going for a change fee.
14) If you get to a counter and they tell you that you have missed your cut-off time, this is CUSTOMS rule, not the airlines. Take if with a grain of salt and get cracking on rearranging your flight plans and accommodations.

Here is a link to the run-down:

http://torontopearson.com/Departing_to_usa.aspx#

Remember - being AT the Airport 3 hours early doesn't mean parking your car. It means you are checked-in, through the lines at the counters and at security.

WEB CHECK-IN - to aviod line-ups.

You can usually check in 24 hours prior to the time your flight departs, which means you can pick a seat!!

A web/online Check-in will save you time waiting in line for full service check in.

If you check in online prior to getting to the airport, you will usually be directed to a luggage drop off line, or area, some if not most airlines have kiosks where you can now print your bag tags if you are travelling (except usa bound), just be sure to add your correct luggage piece amount when you web check in).

If you don't have any luggage to "check in" or to go under the plane and are traveling with only permitted carry-on luggage, then you can print,email or save to your phone your boarding pass. This boarding pass will get you to security and to your gate without needing to wait in line or be at a counter.

What Terminal?!?!

If you need to know or forgot what Terminal  you should be at( there are only two terminals #1 and #3), here is the GTAA's current list and contact info for each airline.

http://torontopearson.com/en/flights/airlines-destinations/#
YYZ or Pearson International Airport has 2 Terminals at the present time, Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.

I know it may be confusing but....Terminal 2 no longer exists.

At both Terminals (1 & 3) there are 2 levels for travel.

LEVEL 1: Arrivals - (when someone is coming in from somewhere it is the lower level)

LEVEL 2: Departures - (when you are going somewhere or dropping someone off) it is the upper level.

So when you are pulling in off the highway, follow the clearly marked signs to what Terminal you need to be at, then follow the departure or arrival ramp for that Terminal.

Before you Depart to the Airport: Day B4 and Day Of

The night/afternoon before you leave, check all weather information, traffic information, and triple check you departure time.


Here is a Standard check list for leaving your home or hotel to head to the airport.

1) Reservation Code: have this written somewhere or print your ETicket

2) Luggage that meets the number of bags and weight restrictions with the airline your traveling on. (every airline is different, and this includes carry-on luggage).

3) Passport, Birth Certificate, Valid photo Id and money/credit card/debit card

4) Terminal number that you are departing from

Have you luggage packed and at the door the night before you leave.

The day of your travel stay in tune with the highway's and any weird accidents or closures of the highways.

Toronto Weather: http://www.cp24.com/weather/

Toronto Travel Times: http://www.cp24.com/traffic_TT/
(this shows current travel time, reg. travel time, and additional minutes it will take to get where you are going)

Toronto Traffic: http://www.cp24.com/traffic/

Leave yourself plenty of time to get through any line up's, and set backs that may occur.

There are travel guidelines and mandatory times you need to be "checked-in" before you flight.