For anyone preparing to travel by plane with Air Canada for the first time, it is important for them to follow a few recommendations to be ready and avoid setbacks when boarding.
Flying for the first time is one of the most special sensations for thousands of people, since it involves boarding an airplane and climbing thousands of meters until getting lost in the clouds; However, for many others it involves a lot of nerves and worries for all that entails, as it is a different process than any other transport and it is important to follow some tips and tricks to avoid being surprised.
Respect Air Canada boarding schedules
Leave your hotel or home early to ensure you get to the airport on time.
– Obtaining the boarding pass is mandatory to be allowed to board
The boarding pass is the document Air Canada requires to board its aircraft. This document contains the basic information needed to authorize boarding, including boarding gate number, flight number, seat and boarding time.
Go to the boarding lounge: how many minutes before departure?
If you are traveling with Air Canada on a domestic flight (connecting two local cities), then you must present yourself at the boarding gate with an hour pass (15 minutes) before departure, while if you are taking an international flight, you must be present in the departure lounge half an hour (30 minutes) before the departure time.
However, it is always recommended to come to the airport an hour or an hour and a half before the departure time of the plane for a national flight and at least two and a half hours before departure for a long-haul international flight. . You should know that there are more than three hundred passengers that must be registered when it comes to a flight aboard a jumbo jet.
What types of boarding passes are there at Air Canada?
– Paper boarding pass
It is the one that has been used for years and is obtained during registration. This is a printed paper document containing all the necessary data, and it will be used when accessing the aircraft. It is a slow method as it requires waiting for your turn in a long queue in front of the check-in counters.
– Digital or mobile boarding pass
More recently created, this card is accessible from a mobile device such as a tablet or a phone, and has a QR code that will be scanned to validate the card. The advantage of this modality is that it cannot be lost or damaged, which happens with a conventional boarding pass.
Online boarding pass
This card is obtained by registering your Air Canada flight online, in the Manage Bookings section, and can be printed as many times as desired or saved on your mobile.
What after getting the boarding pass?
With this important travel document and your ID, go to the passenger area. You are asked to separate your electronics and liquids from your hand luggage. Therefore, you will not be able to enter with prohibited objects such as knives, matches or lighters, nor with liquids in containers greater than 0.1 Liter: water bottles, coffee glasses, soft drinks, …
Find your boarding gate
As soon as you pass through security, you will find yourself in the passenger area. In this area you will find duty free shops where you can buy products and transport them on board the plane without paying any tax.
To find out which is your departure lounge, look for the screens of the airport, you will find your departure lounge and the final boarding time on board your Air Canada plane. Sometimes it will be assigned to you from the meter in the first step, but it’s always a good idea to check it as there may be changes.
If you are flying from a small airport, you will find the concourses marked with numbers, while at larger airports they are marked with letters and numbers. Each letter corresponds to an area of the airport and inside these are the rooms with their respective numbers.