One of the reasons to travel back to Haven this week is to bring back some things that I left behind. The plan was to travel there with just carry on, acquire two cheap full-size suitcases within regulation dimensions, stuff them with every ounce of the allowed 50KG of weight each, and then travel back with checked luggage.
This plan felt a little nebulous in my mind as I’m flying on two different airlines (Air Canada to Toronto to CDMX, then Aeromexico to Mérida) and I booked my trip as three separate legs. I started having nightmares of reaching one of my connection points and being told that even if I was ready to pay for the extra bags, I couldn’t bring them with me or of having to pay separately at each connection point, to reach an astronomical cost that would make my plan foolish.
So that was enough of that overthinking. I went to Air Canada’s website this morning, got their number to call them within Mexico, and reached a very helpful agent who spoke good English. Yes, of course I could have dealt with this in Spanish if I had to, and planned to if I had to follow up with a call to Aeromexico, but when I’m calling my national airline, I expect service in one of my mother tongues. 🙂
After explaining the situation, I got some bad news and I got some great news.
The bad news is, yep, I have to manually transfer my bags at each destination. So land in Toronto and have to get them through customs and on their way to CDMX, but I can do that at the start of the very long layover so at least I’m not having to deal with them all that time. Get to CDMX and I have to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 with them, which sounds like it will be “fun.”
That was all the confirmation I needed to not overdo the carry-on luggage. I thought of traveling with my nearly empty small carry-on suitcase so I could fill that too, but that’s going to be way too much for me to handle on mostly just long enough connections. So I bought myself a backpack this weekend that will be bigger than the one I took to Europe and will use that plus my pink tote as my carry-on items. I’ll still have lots of room in the backpack for the return trip, but at least both bags will leave me with free hands.
Now, the great news is that the way I booked my tickets, even though I did each leg separately, it shows as one itinerary from Regina to Mérida, not individual trips. So that means just one fee for checking baggage, paid in Regina and good for Aeromexico too! So only 80CAD plus tax!!! I had explored the option of buying non-economy tickets to get included checked luggage, but then those return flights went from just over $300CAD to over $1,000CAD. This is a bargain!
Another bit of good news is my first leg en route to Canada is considered domestic. So since I’m flying out at 8:42AM with no checked luggage, I can get to the airport around 6:45AM instead of around 5:30, meaning I can leave at about 6:20 instead of 5:10. That’s going to make quite a difference! Yes, I’m that close to the airport — it’s within city limits and there’s no traffic at that hour. I booked a car (through Cabify) already to take me there and feel oh-so-fancy. 🙂 It’s going to be only about $100 to get the airport, but the return trip will be around $400 as I will have to use the taxis at the airport. Highway robbery, but it is what it is.
I can’t believe I’ll be have having lunch at Mexico City airport this time in four days! This will be my first time flying out of it on an international flight. It was super easy to transit through for a national flight and attendants were so helpful so I’m not toooooo nervous. I will have some immigration related info to share about all that as there’s some paperwork ahead!
I’m not sure how it will work for you but, instead of taking an airport taxi, in some places you can call for the taxi service you want. They can’t pick up passengers at will but can pick you up if you call them. Worth checking out?
Not an option in Mérida. We have a taxi mafia here. They’ve so far lost the city to Uber and Cabify, but they are holding strong at the airport. If I didn’t have as much luggage, I would just walk out of the airport down to the boulevard and get an Uber from there, but that won’t be an option.
Having worked at Air Canada from many years I know that wrong information is given out everyday. I could hear it. When we left on our trip to Europe last year I called Air Canada and was told that I could only check our luggage to Toronto and have to pick it up, clear customs and recheck it with Turkish Airlines. First off that would have been impossible due to the amount of connection time. By the time you get your luggage off the belt and go back upstairs to the check in level, check in and go thru security again we would have missed the flight. So I just went with my gut and did what I knew was correct. By the way I even called Turkish Airlines and the had no idea.
Here at check in in Kelowna our bags were checked all the way to Naples. We did have a connection in Toronto and another 18 hour stop by choice in Istanbul and finally landed in Naples where we picked up our bags after immigration and customs.
I suggest that you call Air Canada here in Canada and ask again. I also suggest that you ask at the desk when you check in in Regina.
However that fact that you are going to Mexico may well mean that you have to pre clear customs in Toronto. Having said that, most flights from the US and from Canada to Mazatlan clear customs in Mexico.
I will definitely be double-checking, but what she said makes sense since I booked each flight separately under the same reference number. So under that reference number, I’m going from Regina to Mérida, but each ticket says that the airport in question is my final destination. That will likely play a big role in how my baggage is handled.
Frankly, I’d rather handle it at each connection and know that it’s going to be waiting for me at the other end than to say bye to it in Regina and not know for more than 24 hours if it’s following me!
The way they track luggage now is so amazing. If you recall I had to have my name changed on the reservation because they forgot the second L on my surname. That was done in Calgary, our connection between YLW and YYZ. Once that was done ( took over an hour ) then my suitcase had to be pulled and re tagged to match the boarding pass numbers. They found the suitcase within 10 minutes and had it done. Very very efficient.
If they are only charging you luggage fees as one trip then your boarding passes will be issued as one trip. You will be give a boarding pass for each leg when you check in in Regina. Looking forward to seeing how it will all play out. Actually you might ask at the AC desk when you first arrive in Canada.
Yes, I will definitely. I trust Air Canada to get me and my luggage to Mérida. I mean, they got my antique china from Montreal to Pencticton via Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, including a super tight connection, and the only thing that broke was a beer glass. They know what they’re doing. 🙂