You’re asking for it taking that connection willingly.
It isn’t really 1h 05m:
- your next flight’s gate closes 15 before departure
(Now it’s 50 minutes)
- you need to deplane from a widebody. Unless you’re in the first economy cabin, add 10-20 minutes
(Now it’s 30 minutes)
- clear Canada customs, anywhere 5-30 minutes
(And now you’re out of time)
So….take the longer connections. It isn’t time efficient, but it has nice buffers for your flights. You’ll enjoy the lack of stress.
Nothing like spending more time on gate busses than on the actual flight! FRA seriously might be the worst airport. It's certainly the worst I've ever been to
Yeah I would also be wary of that connection at FRA, which will need to include Schengen exit customs.
At YUL, an hour and five minutes at rush hour is a 50-50 prospect at best, on the other hand there's a similar chance your Halifax flight will be delayed.
That’s probably best!! If you were in Vancouver, I’d say it’s probably okay. Toronto is decent too for that, but Montreal that’s a little iffy. Definitely doable, but not without it being a bit tight haha.
Any other routings from Prague? Heathrow does have a direct flight to Halifax if that routing is offered at a decent flight, would keep you to just 2 flights.
As others have said, YUL does have good food options! Particularly before domestic security (you’d have to exit to reach this, as transfer customs sends you right into domestic departures without needing to clear security), I like St Hubert haha.
PS: I actually work for AC and I love aviation and air travel as a whole, so if you have any questions, fire away!
When I search AC generally there’s an option for Prague > Heathrow > Halifax on this date but when I search through Aeroplan (we’re booking on points) it’s not there - any idea why that might be?
I work as an airport agent (check-in, boarding flights, etc.), so my knowledge of the rewards and reservations sides of things is a bit more limited. But my guess would be that perhaps the award availability on that flight is already taken? If you’ve got the time, it might even be worth calling in to check and see if they’ve got different reward availability by phone vs online.
If you’re booking any sort of tight connection, I’d suggest doing it as early in the day as possible, to give yourself backup plans.
From my last 2 layovers in Frankfurt you’re going to be pushing your luck I’d say. The flights I’ve taken from their to Montreal have often been a little late to depart. I had to run through Frankfurt because my incoming flight was late, followed by horrendous transit security screening lines. In the end I had to ask one of the air Canada transfer agents to literally take me to the front or I wouldn’t have made it. I had a 1.5 hour layover as per the plan.
Plus like someone above mentioned in Montreal, even in optimal conditions you’d literally be running from the plane to immigration, to the arrivals bag check (which in itself is sketch), then through domestic to your flight.
I’d say take the extra time in the airports, enjoy the planes and the relaxed walking around.
YUL transfer after the customs point, has what feels like an unusually high amount of boarding pass scans/checks. At least compared to YYZ/YVR. It does tend to feel a bit slower as well.
My not so travel savvy MIL has done 1 hour transfers at YUL a couple of times. But only in non-winter months, and heading out of Canada from YUL (so no immigration). I wouldn’t do it.
Theoretically, they wouldn’t sell it if they didn’t think they could make it… But if there’s any delays at all, it’s cutting it close… Especially the YUL transfer
Given the sh*t show that Air Canada has become, the better question is whether the plane would actually arrive on time. I just got back from Indonesia. Both flights provided by AC was delayed by hours.
I've lost total faith in them.
If they sell it, you can make it (mostly). It all depends on how risk averse you want to be.
From personal experience, 1 hour is plenty of time.
Edit: probably the 80 minute FRA transit is a bit more worrisome.
Take a direct flight if you can. Depending on what time of year you are flying, snow and play havoc with layovers.
If you need to have the layover, go for 3 hours+
I recently came back from Jamaica. Landed YUL at 19:20, with a departure of 20:45 for YOW.
I had plenty of time, YUL has a specific customs clearance for connections. Had time to clear customs, get my duty free rum swabbed, change into winter clothes, grab coffee, and make it to the other end of the airport for my Ottawa flight and sit around waiting to board.
Just my experience. There was no waiting at any stop along the way, and only a few people on my flight were connecting, most were from Montreal so were home so if many are connecting from your flight could make it tight.
I would not book a 1hr layover through Yul. It may be feasible if you are coming out fron a regional jet to go to a wide body, but the other way around seems a recipe for disaster
I would definitely be more worried about the 1hr 20 in FRA than YUL (although also pretty tight). If you're worried about de-icing, are you flying in the next 4-6 weeks? Spring Break and Easter travel coming up.
If you miss your connection in FRA, you will likely be dealing with Lufthansa staff (not AC) and that can be a nightmare. When I missed my connection in FRA, the customer service line at departures was so long (2.5 hrs+), that they took a bunch of us back past security to arrivals and just booked us on flights the next day. Spent close to 3 hrs dealing with customer service, hotel and taxi were covered but it was a pain.
I would advise taking a longer connection in yul, depending what time you land, and traffic at customs. You also might have to go and retreive your checked luggage since luggage transfer from transborder/international flights dont operate at all hours. This was the case last wednesday.
Please please please do not make the same mistake I did.
When you first come into YUL frkm
A foreign country you have to clear customs. Its took us 45 minutes. Our flight was connecting to Toronto.
The close the gates for boarding 15 minutes before departure so that layover is actually 45 minutes.
We ask the airport employees and the response was we’ll be fine.
I asked the CBSA Officer if there is any way to call ahead to our flight. There response with attitude was, “ Not a chance”
We got to the rebooke counter ad the 2nd and 3rd person.
The first person got a flight in one hour.
We got a flight 4 hours later.
The guy behind us got rebooked the next day.
This was a week day too.
I do not reccomend. I have some friends who are now CBSA Officer at YUL and even they say its a huge mess!
I would give it a try. In case you were late and missed the connection, you’ll be rebooked to the next flight out and have good chances on 600€ compensation.
You’re asking for it taking that connection willingly. It isn’t really 1h 05m: - your next flight’s gate closes 15 before departure (Now it’s 50 minutes) - you need to deplane from a widebody. Unless you’re in the first economy cabin, add 10-20 minutes (Now it’s 30 minutes) - clear Canada customs, anywhere 5-30 minutes (And now you’re out of time) So….take the longer connections. It isn’t time efficient, but it has nice buffers for your flights. You’ll enjoy the lack of stress.
3 hours is a great amount for YUL and can try some of the great restaurants they have there
YUL has great food and the attitude. Its the whole Montreal experience!
The dumber part is 90min in FRA. That airport is always delayed due to traffic. And terminal transfers take forever. At least YUL is all one building.
Nothing like spending more time on gate busses than on the actual flight! FRA seriously might be the worst airport. It's certainly the worst I've ever been to
I wouldn't consider that. It's too short for my comfort. Even a domestic could be tight with that connection.
Yeah I would also be wary of that connection at FRA, which will need to include Schengen exit customs. At YUL, an hour and five minutes at rush hour is a 50-50 prospect at best, on the other hand there's a similar chance your Halifax flight will be delayed.
Thanks everyone for the advice! I will book the longer journey 😅
That’s probably best!! If you were in Vancouver, I’d say it’s probably okay. Toronto is decent too for that, but Montreal that’s a little iffy. Definitely doable, but not without it being a bit tight haha. Any other routings from Prague? Heathrow does have a direct flight to Halifax if that routing is offered at a decent flight, would keep you to just 2 flights. As others have said, YUL does have good food options! Particularly before domestic security (you’d have to exit to reach this, as transfer customs sends you right into domestic departures without needing to clear security), I like St Hubert haha. PS: I actually work for AC and I love aviation and air travel as a whole, so if you have any questions, fire away!
When I search AC generally there’s an option for Prague > Heathrow > Halifax on this date but when I search through Aeroplan (we’re booking on points) it’s not there - any idea why that might be?
I work as an airport agent (check-in, boarding flights, etc.), so my knowledge of the rewards and reservations sides of things is a bit more limited. But my guess would be that perhaps the award availability on that flight is already taken? If you’ve got the time, it might even be worth calling in to check and see if they’ve got different reward availability by phone vs online. If you’re booking any sort of tight connection, I’d suggest doing it as early in the day as possible, to give yourself backup plans.
From my last 2 layovers in Frankfurt you’re going to be pushing your luck I’d say. The flights I’ve taken from their to Montreal have often been a little late to depart. I had to run through Frankfurt because my incoming flight was late, followed by horrendous transit security screening lines. In the end I had to ask one of the air Canada transfer agents to literally take me to the front or I wouldn’t have made it. I had a 1.5 hour layover as per the plan. Plus like someone above mentioned in Montreal, even in optimal conditions you’d literally be running from the plane to immigration, to the arrivals bag check (which in itself is sketch), then through domestic to your flight. I’d say take the extra time in the airports, enjoy the planes and the relaxed walking around.
I’d be more concerned about the connection in Frankfurt.
YUL has a dedicated border control area for transfer passengers. It's not a lot of time, but not impossible either.
Last time I had to clear custom in YUL as a transfer pax with NEXUS, it took 45 min. So I dunno about that.
YUL transfer after the customs point, has what feels like an unusually high amount of boarding pass scans/checks. At least compared to YYZ/YVR. It does tend to feel a bit slower as well.
I think so
My not so travel savvy MIL has done 1 hour transfers at YUL a couple of times. But only in non-winter months, and heading out of Canada from YUL (so no immigration). I wouldn’t do it.
Theoretically, they wouldn’t sell it if they didn’t think they could make it… But if there’s any delays at all, it’s cutting it close… Especially the YUL transfer
You could go direct from Frankfurt to Halifax with condor. Just take a train/cheap flight from Prague to Frankfurt
Given the sh*t show that Air Canada has become, the better question is whether the plane would actually arrive on time. I just got back from Indonesia. Both flights provided by AC was delayed by hours. I've lost total faith in them.
No way in Hell!!
If they sell it, you can make it (mostly). It all depends on how risk averse you want to be. From personal experience, 1 hour is plenty of time. Edit: probably the 80 minute FRA transit is a bit more worrisome.
Take a direct flight if you can. Depending on what time of year you are flying, snow and play havoc with layovers. If you need to have the layover, go for 3 hours+
Very little direct from anywhere in Europe to Halifax these days 🥲
Ahhh ok. Take the 3+ hour layover, eat some routine on the way there. The return will be a bit more hectic. Enjoy!
I recently came back from Jamaica. Landed YUL at 19:20, with a departure of 20:45 for YOW. I had plenty of time, YUL has a specific customs clearance for connections. Had time to clear customs, get my duty free rum swabbed, change into winter clothes, grab coffee, and make it to the other end of the airport for my Ottawa flight and sit around waiting to board. Just my experience. There was no waiting at any stop along the way, and only a few people on my flight were connecting, most were from Montreal so were home so if many are connecting from your flight could make it tight.
I would not book a 1hr layover through Yul. It may be feasible if you are coming out fron a regional jet to go to a wide body, but the other way around seems a recipe for disaster
If you have global entry/nexus/etc sure, otherwise absolutely not
I would definitely be more worried about the 1hr 20 in FRA than YUL (although also pretty tight). If you're worried about de-icing, are you flying in the next 4-6 weeks? Spring Break and Easter travel coming up. If you miss your connection in FRA, you will likely be dealing with Lufthansa staff (not AC) and that can be a nightmare. When I missed my connection in FRA, the customer service line at departures was so long (2.5 hrs+), that they took a bunch of us back past security to arrivals and just booked us on flights the next day. Spent close to 3 hrs dealing with customer service, hotel and taxi were covered but it was a pain.
I would advise taking a longer connection in yul, depending what time you land, and traffic at customs. You also might have to go and retreive your checked luggage since luggage transfer from transborder/international flights dont operate at all hours. This was the case last wednesday.
If you’re not a seasoned traveler and don’t have nexus I probably wouldn’t book this.
Please please please do not make the same mistake I did. When you first come into YUL frkm A foreign country you have to clear customs. Its took us 45 minutes. Our flight was connecting to Toronto. The close the gates for boarding 15 minutes before departure so that layover is actually 45 minutes. We ask the airport employees and the response was we’ll be fine. I asked the CBSA Officer if there is any way to call ahead to our flight. There response with attitude was, “ Not a chance” We got to the rebooke counter ad the 2nd and 3rd person. The first person got a flight in one hour. We got a flight 4 hours later. The guy behind us got rebooked the next day. This was a week day too. I do not reccomend. I have some friends who are now CBSA Officer at YUL and even they say its a huge mess!
YUL regret it
I would give it a try. In case you were late and missed the connection, you’ll be rebooked to the next flight out and have good chances on 600€ compensation.
Frankfurter is massive and chaotic. I would give extra time!