Toronto Pearson International Airport

[Deadpool X]

I've taken Cathay's 01:25 departure to Hong Kong and man, I'll never do that flight again. Much prefer flying to asia in the mid morning or very early afternoon timeslot.

I once flew Cathay from HKG to YYZ. The flight got delayed by 2 hours "after" boarding. So that 15 hour flight became a 17 hour flight for me. And that was the second leg of my journey. I had another 6 hour flight before this one with just over an hour of transit time in HKG. Needless to say I couldn't feel my bum after I landed in Toronto.

 

[Tim MacDonald]

The world changes, cities grow and decline. What was once a major destination might now be no mand land, the economics (for ex the energy sector for houston-calgary routes) change as well.

Just because a route existed 50 years ago doesnt mean it should exist today.

All good points. Additionally, airline alliances have had major impacts on city pairs.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I’ve flown EVA direct to Taipei. I have no knowledge or insight into planes and airport logistics but I would add anecdotally that most of the passengers are people connecting to the Phillipines. They all also seem to be flying with large parcel boxes which presumably garner hefty overweight surcharges. The arrival terminal for passengers disembarking in Taipei is like an empty ghost town.

P.S. There seems to be some weird two-tier flight ticket system where Chinese speaking/ reading passengers find tickets here in the GTA at substantial discount to those outside the Chinese community. Also, connecting flights are substantial cheaper to book in Asia than from here in Canada. We flew from Taiwan to Japan for half the price by booking in Taipei versus from here in advance.

 

[dahusbandofbath]

New stats are in: 49, 507, 418 passengers travelled through Pearson in 2018; up 5% from 2017. https://www.torontopearson.com/en/gtaa/statistics/##

 

[Streety McCarface]

New stats are in: 49, 507, 418 passengers travelled through Pearson in 2018; up 5% from 2017. https://www.torontopearson.com/en/gtaa/statistics/##

I'm honestly surprised transborder traffic is up so much, but given the number of planes they're planning on flying to SFO and LAX, I guess there's now a lot more demand.

Also, what exactly are "Non-Terminal" Aircraft Movements? Do those include flights to the Infield Terminal, flights that require buses, flights that do not require jet bridges, cargo flights, and/or private flights?

 

[AHK]

I'm honestly surprised transborder traffic is up so much, but given the number of planes they're planning on flying to SFO and LAX, I guess there's now a lot more demand.

Also, what exactly are "Non-Terminal" Aircraft Movements? Do those include flights to the Infield Terminal, flights that require buses, flights that do not require jet bridges, cargo flights, and/or private flights?

Cargo / air freight flights, aircraft returinging to Toronto empty on positioning flights, aircraft coming in for maintenance, private / corporate jet flights, etc.....

 

[Streety McCarface]

Cargo / air freight flights, aircraft returinging to Toronto empty on positioning flights, aircraft coming in for maintenance, private / corporate jet flights, etc.....

Feel like "non-passenger-revenue flights" or something similar would be a better term since "non-terminal" is extremely broad. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

As mentioned above Non Terminal Flights include corporate, private, or charter flights that are using the FBO base off of Derry Rd (this includes charters for the Maple Leafs, Raptors and other sports teams). So calling it Non Passenger Revenue Flights would not be the correct description either.

Note: The GTAA charges gate fees for aircraft that, ahem, use their terminal gates. So this description "Non-Terminal Aircraft Movements" describe all those flights that do not use the terminal gates.

 

[pman]

‘Our work is not over’: Pearson International Airport voted best large airport in North America

Pearson International Airport has been voted the best large airport in North America for the second straight year.

www.mississauga.com

I’d struggle to believe this, except for the fact that the comparison is limited to North American airports, most of which are admittedly shite. Small example: it took an hour and a half to collect our bags from a HK flight at T3 last night. There was some entertainment when the bags came onto the carousel so fast that they created a big jam and the carousel shut down, prompting a lot of video. Then getting picked up outside T3 was total chaos, with a completely unsupervised traffic jam of double and sometimes triple parked cars trying to load people and bags. Having started at Sydney and connected through HK, both airports that function efficiently, arriving at Pearson felt like entering the third world.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

‘Our work is not over’: Pearson International Airport voted best large airport in North America

Pearson International Airport has been voted the best large airport in North America for the second straight year.

www.mississauga.com

I’d struggle to believe this, except for the fact that the comparison is limited to North American airports, most of which are admittedly shite. Small example: it took an hour and a half to collect our bags from a HK flight at T3 last night. There was some entertainment when the bags came onto the carousel so fast that they created a big jam and the carousel shut down, prompting a lot of video. Then getting picked up outside T3 was total chaos, with a completely unsupervised traffic jam of double and sometimes triple parked cars trying to load people and bags. Having started at Sydney and connected through HK, both airports that function efficiently, arriving at Pearson felt like entering the third world.

Re. Passenger pick up / drop off chaos. I wonder how much of this is poor management of vehicle traffic by employees/the gtaa, and how much is just the general 'me first' attitude by gta drivers.

What makes someone think it is appropriate to stop on the side of a major highway to wait for a phone call when their passenger is ready for pick up, or to leave their car for minutes on end at a drop off curb to help their passenger get into the airport building and checked in, or to double or triple park when dropping off or picking up passengers.

Done right a drop off or pick up needing extra assistance can be done in under 20 minutes. Parking at the pearson garage costs $3.25 per 20 minutes. Less than the cost of a starbucks.

Are these kinds of attitudes common elsewhere?

 

[cplchanb]

Re. Passenger pick up / drop off chaos. I wonder how much of this is poor management of vehicle traffic by employees/the gtaa, and how much is just the general 'me first' attitude by gta drivers.

What makes someone think it is appropriate to stop on the side of a major highway to wait for a phone call when their passenger is ready for pick up, or to leave their car for minutes on end at a drop off curb to help their passenger get into the airport building and checked in, or to double or triple park when dropping off or picking up passengers.

Done right a drop off or pick up needing extra assistance can be done in under 20 minutes. Parking at the pearson garage costs $3.25 per 20 minutes. Less than the cost of a starbucks.

Are these kinds of attitudes common elsewhere?

I can second the bag pickup issue...my check in popped in at Narita in less than 5 min....YYZ.....30+..... on more than one occasion too. The NA bar is just too low vs Asia and even Europe for almost anything transportation related

 

[lenaitch]

I worked for a regional airport van service for a few years. One of the problems with traffic flow management is there are too many fingers in the pie; GTAA groundside operations, Commissionaires, police, limo/shuttle/taxi traffic dispatchers, all handling different aspects. You've got private vehicles, taxis, limos, unlicenced limos, shuttles and I suppose now ride shares, all fighting for the same spots.
Unattended vehicles should be tagged and towed immediately, if for no other reason than they are a potential security threat. You want to go inside and help somebody check in? Park.
Vehicles parked along the roadways should be similarly tagged. They provide a free 'cel phone waiting lot'.

And why oh why do entire families have to drop off or pick up one passenger?

 

[TOareaFan]

Done right a drop off or pick up needing extra assistance can be done in under 20 minutes. Parking at the pearson garage costs $3.25 per 20 minutes. Less than the cost of a starbucks.

No one should be parked/stopped curbside at a terminal for 20 minutes....5 tops.

If picking up....you sit in the provided cell phone lot until the passenger you are picking up is ready to be picked up and then you scoot in, say hello, load their bags and move on. When dropping off, it can't take more than 5 minutes to unload a car's worth of passengers and luggage.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Re. Passenger pick up / drop off chaos. I wonder how much of this is poor management of vehicle traffic by employees/the gtaa, and how much is just the general 'me first' attitude by gta drivers.

What makes someone think it is appropriate to stop on the side of a major highway to wait for a phone call when their passenger is ready for pick up, or to leave their car for minutes on end at a drop off curb to help their passenger get into the airport building and checked in, or to double or triple park when dropping off or picking up passengers.

Done right a drop off or pick up needing extra assistance can be done in under 20 minutes. Parking at the pearson garage costs $3.25 per 20 minutes. Less than the cost of a starbucks.

Are these kinds of attitudes common elsewhere?

They also have a free lot where you can wait for the person picking you up to call you on your cell phone.

 

[Streety McCarface]

‘Our work is not over’: Pearson International Airport voted best large airport in North America

Pearson International Airport has been voted the best large airport in North America for the second straight year.

www.mississauga.com

I’d struggle to believe this, except for the fact that the comparison is limited to North American airports, most of which are admittedly shite. Small example: it took an hour and a half to collect our bags from a HK flight at T3 last night. There was some entertainment when the bags came onto the carousel so fast that they created a big jam and the carousel shut down, prompting a lot of video. Then getting picked up outside T3 was total chaos, with a completely unsupervised traffic jam of double and sometimes triple parked cars trying to load people and bags. Having started at Sydney and connected through HK, both airports that function efficiently, arriving at Pearson felt like entering the third world.

Again, they're only comparing Pearson to North American Airports. I believe the same poll tied Pearson with DFW.

Again, the NA airports have a pretty low standard, especially when compared to other countries.

I think we can all agree Terminal 3 is Absolute Shit, but at this point, it is the low cost carrier/poor non-Star Alliance terminal. They really need to rebuild that thing.
Terminal 1, however, is actually really good. I would argue with a straight face that it's the best airport terminal anywhere in the Western Hemisphere for a large airport. It has a unique yet efficient design, and I really wish T3 emulated that a bit more. Good thing I'm a star alliance member and don't mind flying United. : P