Qantas/Westjet Interline

[jimmylikesitwet]

Hey All,

My wife is travelling back to Australia from Toronto next week and has flights on a single Qantas ooking with Westjet (YYZ to LAX - although codeshare QF flight number) and then Qantas (LAX to MEL). She's concerned that she won't be able to check her bags all the way through to Melbourne and will have to collect them in LAX and re-check which isn't ideal as she has around 12 hours there. She will pre-clear customs in Toronto so it is essentially a domestic US flight. Anyone with experience on this who can provide advice? Westjet don't seem to know what is going on.

Cheers,

Nick

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Westjet (WS) in YYZ should tag bags all the way to MEL so no need to collect them in LAX.

Once she's checked in at YYZ she'll have to collect them briefly in YYZ after going through TSA in order to pre-clear US Customs & Immig on the Canadian side and you need your checked bags with you when doing this.

 

[jimmylikesitwet]

Westjet (WS) in YYZ should tag bags all the way to MEL so no need to collect them in LAX.

Once she's checked in at YYZ she'll have to collect them briefly in YYZ after going through TSA in order to pre-clear US Customs & Immig on the Canadian side and you need your checked bags with you when doing this.

That's my understanding as well. The only (minor) issue is that the time between flights in LAX is around 10 hours. I've done more than this in the past between an AA and QF flight without any issues but WestJet are now saying that's the problem.

Hopefully it turns out to be all easy but it's at least good to be prepared for the worst.

 

[madrooster]

Westjet (WS) in YYZ should tag bags all the way to MEL so no need to collect them in LAX.Once she's checked in at YYZ she'll have to collect them briefly in YYZ after going through TSA in order to pre-clear US Customs & Immig on the Canadian side and you need your checked bags with you when doing this.

Preclearance at YYZ doesn't require you to recollect bags to clear US customs. It's all done behind the scenes. YEG is the same. Unsure about YUL, YVR and YYZ.

 

[RooFlyer]

I've had day long transits in Los Angeles having flown down from Calgary, on my way back to Oz and no problem with the checked bags. But rules do change of course.

In case if the worst, there IS a left luggage facility at LAX, but it's off site LAX Luggage Storage.com - Direction for your baggage storage need at the LAX airport although I've never used it.

The treatment of checked bags during US preclearance is essentially the same between Canadian airports. But always ( I'm pretty sure) after check in, you keep your checked bags and trundle them through US immigration, then put them on a baggage collection belt before you go through security. At Vancouver, I was required to ID my checked bag on a screen before boarding, which I've never struck before or since.

 

[jimmylikesitwet]

So all worked out OK. WestJet checked the bags through to Melbourne with no requirement to collect them in LAX. Hopefully they arrive on the same flight as my wife when she lands tomorrow morning

 

[Gnaroots]

Good to hear that

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Glad the Missus had a win Jimmy. What did she do to kill time during the LAX transit?

Preclearance at YYZ doesn't require you to recollect bags to clear US customs. It's all done behind the scenes. YEG is the same. Unsure about YUL, YVR and YYZ.

It's good that YYZ doesn't have that rule. I'm fairly certain we had to in Calgary (YYC). Hope I'm not getting confused with the other pre-clearance we did in Aruba.

 

[madrooster]

Glad the Missus had a win Jimmy. What did she do to kill time during the LAX transit? It's good that YYZ doesn't have that rule. I'm fairly certain we had to in Calgary (YYC). Hope I'm not getting confused with the other pre-clearance we did in Aruba.

Aruba preclearance definitely requires you to pickup your bags. I believe the Canadian ones no longer do that in general but I haven't personally used all the preclearance facilities in Canada to be able to confirm it.

 

[RooFlyer]

I don't understand how one can 'pick up' your bags at a Canadian airport where you have checked in to fly to the USA and are using USA TSA pre-clearance.

I do it very regularly from YVR and YYC, and occasionally at YYZ and the procedure is the same; you check in, but hold onto your checked bags; you wheel them with you as you go through US immigration pre-clearance and then give the tagged bags to a guy who puts them on a luggage belt, and then you go through security.

What's the check-in and pre-clearance procedure when you need to 'pick them up' at a Canadian port (for those who have experienced it) or some-where like Aruba?

 

[crdtez]

I recently traveled back from Winnipeg to Melbourne via Calgary and LAX. I checked in at Winnipeg and got all of my bags tagged through to Melbourne and received all boarding passes.

At Calgary I had to pick up my bags off a special belt adjacent to the US Immigration area and take them with me through US immigration and load them back onto another belt just prior to security screening. There was no need to pick-up at LAX and my bags made it even though i had a pretty tight connection. I was quite impressed with WestJet for my first experience at travelling to Canada,they certainly seemed to be a lot more friendly than the folks at AA.

 

[Himeno]

When I went through preclearance at YYZ, they tagged the bags at check in, then gave them back to go through CBP. Had to put them on a belt after clearing customs.

 

[RooFlyer]

I recently traveled back from Winnipeg to Melbourne via Calgary and LAX. I checked in at Winnipeg and got all of my bags tagged through to Melbourne and received all boarding passes.

At Calgary I had to pick up my bags off a special belt adjacent to the US Immigration area and take them with me through US immigration and load them back onto another belt just prior to security screening. There was no need to pick-up at LAX and my bags made it even though i had a pretty tight connection. I was quite impressed with WestJet for my first experience at travelling to Canada,they certainly seemed to be a lot more friendly than the folks at AA.

Ah, transit. Yes, no doubt need to re-clear with US customs.

When I went through preclearance at YYZ, they tagged the bags at check in, then gave them back to go through CBP. Had to put them on a belt after clearing customs.

Yes, same as at YVR and YYC.

 

[madrooster]

When I went through preclearance at YYZ, they tagged the bags at check in, then gave them back to go through CBP. Had to put them on a belt after clearing customs.

Interesting - which terminal? In terminal 3 (as of October 2016) you don't pickup your bags at all, nor do you keep them. Get them tagged then use the self bag drop basically, then go through security, then US CBP.

 

[RooFlyer]

Interesting - which terminal? In terminal 3 (as of October 2016) you don't pickup your bags at all, nor do you keep them. Get them tagged then use the self bag drop basically, then go through security, then US CBP.

That's as described here, so how does one clear US customs if you aren't in possession of your bags when you do pre-clearance?

 

[madrooster]

That's as described here, so how does one clear US customs if you aren't in possession of your bags when you do pre-clearance?

It's not a requirement to have possession of your bag. The page that you linked states exactly what I posted - get the bag tagged, use the self bag drop, then proceed to security and then US CBP. YEG follows the same procedure.There are protocols in place to bring the bag up if they need to.

 

[RooFlyer]

I'm not disbelieving you, I pointed that on the web site in my post. I'm just amazed that the US of all countries would allow one to go through customs without the bag in one's possession.

As the pax is no longer in control or possession of the bag as they 'enter' the USA, they could say "Hey, that contraband you found isn't mine - I left the bag in the hands of the Canadian check-in agent." Sure, they might have a 'secure' chain of custody, but it would be Canadian custody at least immediately after it leaves the pax's possession and it all seems a bit odd, especially for LOFAP.

YYC has a new international (incl USA) terminal; I wonder if their procedure has changed. In the old terminal it was just a short walk (with bags) from check-in to US pre-clearance.

 

[madrooster]

I'm not disbelieving you, I pointed that on the web site in my post. I'm just amazed that the US of all countries would allow one to go through customs without the bag in one's possession.

There's a number of far more insecure and dangerous things that the US allows when it comes to air travel, that aren't allowed in Australia or let alone any other major country.

 

[Himeno]

There's a number of far more insecure and dangerous things that the US allows when it comes to air travel, that aren't allowed in Australia or let alone any other major country.

There are some airports in the US that allow I>I connections without needing to collect bags, while still having to go through CBP. I believe IAH is one.

 

[RooFlyer]

There are some airports in the US that allow I>I connections without needing to collect bags, while still having to go through CBP. I believe IAH is one.

Yes indeed; I went EZE-xIAH-YYC last year on United; I understand this is a 'special deal' allowed by US CBP to United as you go through the United-only terminal.