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We're flying from Manchester (MAN) to New York La Guardia (LGA). However, to get cheap flights we have a transfer in Toronto Pearson International (YYZ). The tickets were booked at the same time, through the same supplier (i.e. one transaction).

MAN > YYZ > LGA.

Both flights are operated by Air Canada.

The wait between connections is 2 hours.

  • What do we do as part of the connection? Do we get off the plane with everyone else, go and collect our luggage from the carousel, then re-check into departures?

  • What happens if the first part of our flight is delayed, meaning we'd miss the second connecting flight. Would Air Canada handle this in some way?

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    This is confusing. One transaction can mean a lot of things, depending. If you click "My bookings" on aircanada.com and enter the booking reference and last name, do you see both flights? If yes, then Air Canada will handle you. If not then a multitude of things are possible.
    – user4188
    Sep 29, 2017 at 8:43

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Assuming you have booked a single ticket (as chx suggests in comments, you can enter the booking reference on aircanada.com to confirm this if there is any question), you can follow the "Connecting Guide" steps helpfully provided on the Toronto Pearson website by selecting "Arriving from International," "Departing to USA," and "Air Canada" for both the arriving and departing airlines.

You should review the detailed information there, but the basic steps are:

  • Check the TV monitors and find your flight to New York. Confirm that it is on time and note the gate number
  • Follow the signs for connecting flights toward your gate and go through airport security screening
  • Follow the signs for USA connections. There will be airline representatives in this area, and these are the people who can assist you if you've been delayed or have other questions. You will not need to collect your luggage. You'll scan your boarding pass here and complete a US Customs declaration form.
  • Proceed to US Customs and Border Protection. You'll present your passport and declaration form, provide biometrics, and answer any questions.
  • Assuming you are admitted to the United States, you'll walk to your gate and wait for boarding. There will be more TV monitors in this area to confirm the gate number and flight status.

The good news is that, once you've done all that, you're all done with US immigration. You'll arrive at LaGuardia as if it was a domestic flight, and all you'll need to do is go to the baggage claim and pick up any checked luggage.

Air Canada has a (couple year old) video describing the process at YYZ, which might be helpful to you. There's a section for "Traveling to the USA from an international origin."

If there are delays such that you miss your connection, Air Canada will rebook you on other flights to New York. This could result in a significant delay to your journey.

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    And just to clarify, you do preclear US customs in Toronto. It's similar to preclearing French/Schengen Customs at St. Pancras station in London if you take Eurostar to Paris or Brussels. You'll arrive in New York as a domestic passenger - claiming your bags at the carousel, and then you're free to explore New York.
    – Jim MacKenzie
    Sep 29, 2017 at 22:49
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    It’s important to keep in mind that the above process still technically involves entering Canada and thus you would need to meet the entry requirements for Canada such as possession of an eTA, transit visa, Canadian passport, etc.
    – Jacob Horbulyk
    Jan 31, 2019 at 21:30

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