Savvy Fliers Connect Through Air Canada

Summary

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Episode Overview

Main Theme:
This episode of WSJ Your Money Briefing (August 18, 2017) explores why savvy U.S. travelers are increasingly choosing Air Canada for international trips to Europe and Asia. Guest Scott McCartney, the Wall Street Journal’s "Middle Seat" columnist, discusses Air Canada’s evolving strategies to streamline connections, offer attractive deals, and improve the overall flying experience compared to U.S. carriers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Air Canada's Hub Strategy and Service Improvements

• Expansion of International Offerings:

  • Air Canada has increased flights to Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, turning hubs in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver into efficient connecting points for U.S. travelers.
  • "They've greatly expanded their offerings in Asia and also through Europe and the Middle east, too." (Scott McCartney, 01:16)

• Airport Process Innovations:

  • Fast baggage belts and pre-clearance processes speed up connections.
  • Now, checked bags are x-rayed and sent directly to customs officers; travelers no longer need to claim bags during transit.
  • "You don't even have to claim your bags anymore. They'll take an X ray, give it to the customs officer, and you can be on your way." (Scott McCartney, 01:36)
  • This makes connections into and out of the U.S. “much quicker.”

• Competitive Pricing:

  • The strength of the U.S. dollar allows Air Canada to offer aggressive pricing to American travelers, targeting both leisure and business markets.
  • "They can aggressively price in the US and they're really going after business customers in particular." (Scott McCartney, 02:44)

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Quality of Experience and Fleet Upgrades

• Airline Ratings and Service Levels:

  • Air Canada is the only large North American airline rated four stars by Skytrax.
  • "People liken it to sort of Marriott, high quality, dependable, you know what you're going to get." (Scott McCartney, 02:13)
  • Positioned as “Marriott, not Ritz Carlton”—reliable but not ultra-premium, leveraging dissatisfaction with U.S. carriers.

• Modern Fleet and Comfort Options:

  • Notable upgrades in aircraft and introduction of premium cabins.
  • Premium Economy offers wider seats, better food, and enhanced service—features just rolling out on U.S. airlines like Delta and American.

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Customs and Connection Efficiency

• U.S. Customs Pre-Clearance in Canada:

  • Travelers clear U.S. customs in Canada, simplifying re-entry at U.S. airports.
  • “Pre-clearance” has existed for years, but Air Canada streamlined the process further:
    • Baggage is now x-rayed and processed behind the scenes.
    • After a security check, passengers wait briefly for customs clearance—no long lines, no baggage claim.
    • Connections of 50 minutes are now feasible.
  • "They've flipped that upside down now ... You go through the checkpoint security check first, and then you wait in a little hold room, sometimes just a few minutes until your name turns green. And that means U.S. customs has the X ray of your baggage, your bags being X rayed while you get screened, and then customs is ready for you. So there's no line there ... and you're on your way." (Scott McCartney, 03:12)
  • "They could do 50 minute connections easily." (Scott McCartney, 03:55)

• Logical Use of Security Time:

  • "The whole notion of doing the security check on your bags while they do the security check on you makes a lot of sense. They're maximizing those times now." (Scott McCartney, 04:11)

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Price and Time Comparisons with U.S. Airlines

• Sample Route: Hartford, CT to Paris
  • Air Canada (Economy): $684 round-trip
  • Air Canada (Premium Economy): $1,665 (offers a true premium economy product)
  • Air Canada (Business "lie-flat"): $5,900
  • Delta (Economy): $699
  • Delta (Business): Over $7,000
  • "Premium economy is very popular in the rest of the world, but the U.S. airlines have been very slow to adopt it." (Scott McCartney, 05:42)
• Travel Time Advantage:
  • Air Canada: ~9 hours to Paris; round trip ~22 hours
  • Delta: >25 hours due to connections (e.g., via Detroit adds hours by flying backwards geographically)
  • "With Delta's trip, you had to connect in Detroit and that's going to add a couple hours because you're flying backwards." (Scott McCartney, 06:44)
  • Air Canada's geographical advantage: U.S.–Europe/Asia routes naturally pass through Canada.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Air Canada’s Ratings:
  • "People liken it to sort of Marriott, high quality, dependable, you know what you're going to get. It's not as fancy as Singapore Airlines. It's Marriott, not Ritz Carlton." – Scott McCartney (02:13)
• On Customs Innovation:
  • "They've flipped that upside down now ... you never have to claim the bags and you're on your way." – Scott McCartney (03:20)
• On Price and Product:
  • "Premium economy is very popular in the rest of the world, but the U.S. airlines have been very slow to adopt it." – Scott McCartney (05:42)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:33] Introduction: Why American travelers are turning to Air Canada.
• [01:16] Expansion of Air Canada’s routes and improvement of hub processes.
• [02:06] Quality ratings and U.S. business strategy.
• [03:00] Detailed explanation of new U.S. customs pre-clearance approach.
• [04:08] Time-saving connection process.
• [05:18] Price and travel time comparisons; premium economy discussion.
• [06:44] The geography advantage for transatlantic/transpacific flights.

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Conclusion

Air Canada’s continued investment in better hub operations, customer service, and innovative customs procedures has positioned it as an attractive option for U.S. travelers heading to Europe or Asia. With competitive pricing, faster connections, and a higher service standard—particularly in premium cabins—savvy travelers are increasingly opting to connect through Canada rather than rely on domestic U.S. carriers.

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Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day, but what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. [e-mail] WashingtonWise. This is yous Money Matters from the Wall Street Journal.

[B]

Welcome to youo Money Matters. I'm Charlie Turner in New York. Savvy US Air travelers are discovering that the best way to fly to Europe or Asia is via Canada. Air Canada. The Wall Street Journal says that after years of tough times, Air Canada has turned its hubs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver into fast, easy connecting points for US Travelers. International travelers are finding air deal for making connections than with U.S. carriers like Delta, American or United. Scott McCartney writes the Middle Seat column for the Wall Street Journal, and he joins us from Dallas. Scott, we should say that Air Canada has long offered connecting service abroad, but that it's really built out its schedule, right?

[C]

Yeah, that's exactly right. They've greatly expanded their offerings in Asia and also through Europe and the Middle east, too. And they've done a lot of things, making changes at their hub airports to make the connections into and out of the US to international destinations much quicker. Some of it is things like adding very fast baggage belts to make sure that bags not just connect but get to customs early enough so you don't have to wait for the bags there. You don't even have to claim your bags anymore. They'll take an X ray, give it to the customs officer, and you can be on your way. So it's convenient. Sometimes the price is right. They've really sped it up and they're really making an effort to go after this business.

[B]

And travelers say the deals are better, the flights are faster. And of course, Air Canada has upgraded its fleet of planes.

[C]

Yeah, absolutely. On Skytrax, Air Canada is the only large international airline in North America to get four stars. People liken it to sort of Marriott, high quality, dependable, you know what you're going to get. It's not as fancy as Singapore Airlines. It's Marriott, not Ritz Carlton. But you know, they're really actually sort of trying to capitalize on the unhappiness that American flyers have with US Airlines right now and saying, hey, you know, we can offer something better at a better price because the US Dollar is stronger than the Canadian dollar, they can aggressively price in the US and they're really going after business Customers in particular,

[B]

and as you referenced before, you can clear U.S. customs in Canada without having to retrieve your checked baggage.

[C]

Right. For a long time there's been pre clearance in Canada. So you clear U.S. immigration and Customs in Canada and then you don't have to. When you get to jfk, you don't have to wait, wait in a long line or Miami or Dallas or wherever else you're going. You basically enter the United States while you're in Canada. But they've done a really interesting thing where used to be that you had to collect your bags and then go through customs and then go through another TSA like security check. And they've flipped that upside down now. And so you go through the checkpoint security check first, and then you wait in a little hold room, sometimes just a few minutes until your name turns green. And that means U.S. customs is, has the X ray of your baggage, your bags being X rayed while you get screened, and then customs is ready for you. So there's no line there. You just proceed in, the officer has your information, clears you, and you never have to claim the bags and you're on your way. They could do 50 minute connections easily.

[B]

You can save a considerable amount of time doing it that way.

[C]

Yeah, you really can. And it's logical. The whole notion of doing the security check on your bags while they do the security check on you makes a lot of sense. They're maximizing those times now. They couldn't do that before because they didn't have high speed baggage belts and they didn't have an operation that was set up to get the US Luggage off airplanes first and things like that. So they really have tailored it and worked out agreements with the customs authorities to say, will you take a picture of, you know, accept an X ray and a picture of the bag rather than having them requiring the traveler to pull it off the carousel and lug it through the checkpoint.

[B]

I'm Speaking with Scott McCartney. He writes the Middle Seat column for the Wall Street Journal. And you're listening to your Money Matters. Thanks for listening, everyone. Scott, your story in the Wall Street Journal. Why Savvy US Flyers take Air Canada Provides several graphics that display the advantages in connecting with Air Canada over other carriers. All right, here's an example. Say I wanted to fly from Hartford, Connecticut to Paris.

[C]

Yeah. And it's a really good example. Hartford's actually a market that Air Canada says they probably couldn't even serve if they didn't have international connecting traffic from the US So they were on the day that I looked. Air Canada was offering a Coach price of $684 round trip Hartford to Paris. Delta's price was similar. $699, $15 more. Air Canada offers a premium economy cabin, a separate cabin, seats that are wider, have extra legroom, different food service. Premium economy is very popular in the rest of the world, but the US Airlines have been very slow to adopt it. Delta and American are just rolling it out this year. So that's an option that you can't get on US Airlines for the most part right now. Air Canada's price $1665 for premium economy. So about $1000 more than the coach price for the extra for what essentially used to be sort of old fashioned business class. New fashioned business class with a lie flatbed and all aisle access. $5,900 on Air Canada, more than 7,000 on Delta in the comparison we looked at. So in all three categories, Air Canada is ahead in total round trip time. Air Canada can get you to Paris in just over nine hours. The total round trip time for the TR was about 22 hours. Delta's was more than 25 hours. The difference is there Canada, you're connecting in Montreal. When you're flying from the US To Europe, you're flying over Canada anyway. And it's the same going from the US To Asia. So they have this geography advantage. With Delta's trip, you had to connect in Detroit and that's going to add a couple hours because you're flying backwards.

[B]

Wall Street Journal Middle seat columnist Scott McCartney, thank you very much for joining us.

[C]

Sure. Great to be with you, Charlie.

[B]

And that's yous Money Matters. I'm Charlie Turner at the Wall Street Journal.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news in Washington. [e-mail] WashingtonWyse.