International air US connections

Getting ready to book our flights to San Juan for October. Flying out of Montreal might save us quite a bit money due to the low Canadian dollar. All of the flights have connections in the US prior to going to San Juan and some of the connecting flights are only 50 minutes between flights (connecting airports seem to be Philly or JFK). I know we have to (or believe we have to, may be wrong) go through Customs before boarding the connecting flight and just wanted to find out what people's experiences are with this. I don't expect that it would take long for us to clear since we are in transit and with nothing to declare but not sure about lines, etc. Wanted to see if anyone had done this and what their experience was.

Some Canadian airports have US customs pre-clearance in Canada. With that, you actually clear US customs prior to boarding the flight and thus don't have to do it when you land in the US; the plane lands as though it were a US domestic flight. Is pre-clearance not available at the Montreal airport?

Some Canadian airports have US customs pre-clearance in Canada. With that, you actually clear US customs prior to boarding the flight and thus don't have to do it when you land in the US; the plane lands as though it were a US domestic flight. Is pre-clearance not available at the Montreal airport?

Something that I will have to definitely check into but I would be surprised if they don't have it. Thanks!

Yes, YUL - Montréal does. :-)

Complete list here: http://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/operations/preclearance

Scott.

Trudeau Airport (Dorval) has U.S. customs pre-clearance. You will land at Philly or JFK as a domestic flight if you are on a regular scheduled flight. Some Charter flights do not have pre-clearance and those passengers need to go through U.S. customs upon arrival in the U.S. Best to check with the airline you are planning to use.

Thanks Scott and DirtyDawg. Looks like a straight forward procedure so we'll make sure that we allow time for it when we arrive at YUL.

Thanks Scott and DirtyDawg. Looks like a straight forward procedure so we'll make sure that we allow time for it when we arrive at YUL.

Can't speak to YUL, but lines at YYZ have been known to last as much as several hours. Get there is PLENTY of time, and then have something to occupy your time if you do get through without much delay. One of the downsides of pre-clearance.

Can't speak to YUL, but lines at YYZ have been known to last as much as several hours. Get there is PLENTY of time, and then have something to occupy your time if you do get through without much delay. One of the downsides of pre-clearance.

Would having the mobile App help with the wait times do you think? I suppose if we couldn't get pre-clearance accomplished we could just hope for the best at the connecting airport (we had to go through passport control in Amsterdam, our connecting city between Germany and Montreal and that didn't take too long, I guess it all comes down to how long the line is).

You will HAVE to pre-clear at YUL or you won't get on the plane. No option.

It would have to be a substantial savings for me to have to clear customs into Canada at the border, then pre-clear back into the US at Dorval then the same again in reverse coming back. You could simply drive to BTV and get a flight from there.

You will HAVE to pre-clear at YUL or you won't get on the plane. No option.

 

It would have to be a substantial savings for me to have to clear customs into Canada at the border, then pre-clear back into the US at Dorval then the same again in reverse coming back. You could simply drive to BTV and get a flight from there.

Good info to have, we've never pre-cleared before so all info is helpful (and I guess if you miss the plane because you are waiting in pre-clearance you are SOL:o). Since we are driving across the border I am not sure that we will need to pre-clear at YUL on the return trip (at least we didn't the last time that we terminated in Montreal and drove home).

Good info to have, we've never pre-cleared before so all info is helpful (and I guess if you miss the plane because you are waiting in pre-clearance you are SOL:o). Since we are driving across the border I am not sure that we will need to pre-clear at YUL on the return trip (at least we didn't the last time that we terminated in Montreal and drove home).

Coming back you would clear Canada customs at YUL, then US customs at the border back into the States.

Good info to have, we've never pre-cleared before so all info is helpful (and I guess if you miss the plane because you are waiting in pre-clearance you are SOL:o). Since we are driving across the border I am not sure that we will need to pre-clear at YUL on the return trip (at least we didn't the last time that we terminated in Montreal and drove home).

On the return, you'll go through Canadian Immigration & Customs, like any other flight. Pre-clearance only applies when flying from Canada to the US.

I've hit some crowds at pre-clearance at YUL early in the morning, but it usually moves pretty quickly - and it certainly makes the connection much easier. Personally, given your location - you're not much farther from YUL than BTV, and the smaller Vermont border crossings are usually quite easy to pass through - I would go for the YUL flight.

Coming back you would clear Canada customs at YUL, then US customs at the border back into the States.

Okay, no curve balls, thanks!

On the return, you'll go through Canadian Immigration & Customs, like any other flight. Pre-clearance only applies when flying from Canada to the US.

 

I've hit some crowds at pre-clearance at YUL early in the morning, but it usually moves pretty quickly - and it certainly makes the connection much easier. Personally, given your location - you're not much farther from YUL than BTV, and the smaller Vermont border crossings are usually quite easy to pass through - I would go for the YUL flight.

 

That's what I thought. YUL is about 40 minutes further away than BTV and our son can drop us off and pick us up so we don't have to pay for parking. For one of the flight options we would have to arrive at the airport around 4 a.m. (And I just checked fares out of BOS and they are very attractive right now, even with having to pay for parking.)

I know that, based on some of your previous postings, you are one that does not use a passport if you do not need one on your cruises. So, I thought I would remind you that, since you are flying, you must have your passport with you this time, not just your passport card…

You have to do immigration/customs controls multiple times: Canadian controls when you drive across the border into Canada, then US controls at YUL (aka "US pre-clearance"), then Canadian controls when you fly back at YUL, then US controls when you drive home.

slidergirl said "I know that, based on some of your previous postings, you are one that does not use a passport if you do not need one on your cruises. So, I thought I would remind you that, since you are flying, you must have your passport with you this time, not just your passport card…

You have to do immigration/customs controls multiple times: Canadian controls when you drive across the border into Canada, then US controls at YUL (aka "US pre-clearance"), then Canadian controls when you fly back at YUL, then US controls when you drive home."

Yes, if we fly out of Montreal we will make sure to retrieve our passports from the safe deposit box, thank you for the reminder:). We obtained our passports last year for our flight to Germany last September so now we have them (and frankly we still haven't decided whether or not to use them for regular closed loop cruises but we shall see when the time comes). (And we don't have passport cards, we opted for EDLs instead because it's one document to carry and we carry our license all of the time anyway. We'll be using those for our weekend stay in Montreal in a couple of weeks:).)

Getting ready to book our flights to San Juan for October. Flying out of Montreal might save us quite a bit money due to the low Canadian dollar.

How much savings? Isn't it charging you in USD?

How much savings? Isn't it charging you in USD?

Not if I am booking through the airlines' website, it shows me the prices in CAD once I input YUL as my departure airport. If I were to book now it would save $150pp, but we'll see what happens when I actually book.

You may want to wait til Jet Blue puts out their sked for Oct. They have direct flights from BOS and JFK to SJU (or, at least used to). They also fly out of BTV and ALB, although the flights I found for Sept are a little on the expensive side - that's the downside for flying from regional airports. Good Luck. Let us know what you decide.

You may want to wait til Jet Blue puts out their sked for Oct. They have direct flights from BOS and JFK to SJU (or, at least used to). They also fly out of BTV and ALB, although the flights I found for Sept are a little on the expensive side - that's the downside for flying from regional airports. Good Luck. Let us know what you decide.

I checked their fares for as far out as they go and they are in the $500 range pp. I took a peek at fares from Logan and they were actually decent- decent enough that they match YUL even after adding the parking fees in. It's a bit further to go but I don't mind driving. I should probably start a spreadsheet.:eek:

Would having the mobile App help with the wait times do you think? I suppose if we couldn't get pre-clearance accomplished we could just hope for the best at the connecting airport (we had to go through passport control in Amsterdam, our connecting city between Germany and Montreal and that didn't take too long, I guess it all comes down to how long the line is).

What mobile app are you talking about? Wait times for customs will be whatever they happen to be; an app isn't going to make the line shorter.

And as mentioned, it's not an option to wait and clear customs when you land in the US. The plane lands as a domestic flight and there will be no one standing by the gate saying "those who are cleared go that way, anyone who hasn't cleared customs follow me." Just doesn't work like that. ;)

What mobile app are you talking about? Wait times for customs will be whatever they happen to be; an app isn't going to make the line shorter.

 

And as mentioned, it's not an option to wait and clear customs when you land in the US. The plane lands as a domestic flight and there will be no one standing by the gate saying "those who are cleared go that way, anyone who hasn't cleared customs follow me." Just doesn't work like that. ;)

That's good to know but the CBP website doesn't make it clear and it did sound like it was clear at the departure airport or at the arrival airport. The CBP website has information about an App that you can download to your smart phone that will allow you to input all of your information before reaching the CBP officer. You then receive a scanable code that you show to the CBP officer. It's supposed to cut down the amount of time the CBP officer has to spend processing you (but not the wait in line, of course).

I love the internal contradictions within our government. First, cellphone use is prohibited in the customs and immigration areas. (Note the signs, then note the people ignoring them) Then, we're supposed to use our phones for the CBP app.

Why do I suspect that a vengeful agent could use this against you.

I love the internal contradictions within our government. First, cellphone use is prohibited in the customs and immigration areas. (Note the signs, then note the people ignoring them) Then, we're supposed to use our phones for the CBP app.

 

Why do I suspect that a vengeful agent could use this against you.

LOL, I hadn't even thought of that aspect:eek:. That's gobmint for ya.

I see you already know about the pre-clearance in Montreal-Trudeau (YUL). I say a little more about it as I went through t there. The pre-clearance at YUL uses both Automated Kiosks and Human. It speeds it up getting through Pre-clearance with the kiosks is quick (although it does depend on time of day), with just a quick verification from a CBP officer.

You should have enough time to connect as long if you flight is not delayed.

Like other users said, always double check and allow enough time to make sure you ready.