Flying In and Out of Toronto

In honor of flying to Minnesota tomorrow for my parents' anniversary and US Thanksgiving, I thought it was appropriate to write about flying in and out of Toronto.  There are two airports you can use in Toronto. One is Toronto's Pearson Airport (YYZ) which is a huge international airport with several terminals west of the city.  You can take a subway to a city bus, or a chartered-type bus, but in my opinion driving is your best option to get to the airport.  You can fly anywhere you want from there, and prices are generally reasonable.  The one route I find completely unreasonable is of course from Toronto to Minneapolis, and this was a serious consideration for us when deciding to move to Toronto.  There are several direct flights each day on three major carriers, but it must be primarily a business route.

Of the two main terminals, I prefer to fly in and out of terminal 3 (Delta, Continental, etc.) whenever possible.  It is much less busy than terminal 1 so customs and security take less time.  Flying Air Canada (terminal 1) does have some benefits in that they don't charge for checked bags, (but be careful if it is a partner flight because they may charge for baggage), and they have personal entertainment systems in the seats(with country music!).  Also, YYZ has free WIFI in the terminal which is a huge plus.

The other airport is really small, and is located in downtown Toronto.  The only airline that flies in and out of there as of now is called Porter and only flies short distances (under 1000 miles).  If you are going to a destination that Porter flies to (NYC, Chicago, Boston, North Carolina, Montreal, etc.), there are several benefits to choosing them.  First, since the airport is right in downtown Toronto, it is quick and cheap to get to.  Second, since it is a much smaller airport, you don't have to arrive as far in advance for your flight to deal with security.  Third, Porter has a nice lounge area and offers free beer and wine on their flights, which just makes for a nice experience.  I've never flown Porter because the prices haven't made sense for the routes I was flying, but I've heard really good things and these days it makes a huge difference to have a pleasant flying experience.  It sounds like Air Canada has gotten approval to add some flights starting early next year so well see how that impacts things.

Another option you can also consider is flying in and out of Buffalo, NY which is cheaper for some routes, like Minneapolis, but keep in mind the drive time is not trivial, and you have to cross the border.