YYZ to UK/Europe

[Madame]

Hi all!

I’m planning our trip to London and Belgium for next Aug (2024). Flights have only been released up to 11 months in advance so I can’t book yet - when we did Spain/Italy/France in 2018 I got an amazing price on TAP airlines at almost two years out from travel date.

We really liked TAP for what it was (budget) considering all 5 of us flew for $2400 CAD (whatever happened to prices like those ) from YYZ - Barcelona, then PARIS-YYZ (both via Lisbon which is their hub).

TAP doesn’t make sense this time (price, connecting flights, south vs north) so I’m looking at other airlines. Air Canada (or Lufthansa fulfilled by AC) is looking good price wise but I haven’t ever heard anything good about AC , especially flight cancellations . We normally fly from Detroit but European destinations from there are too many connections and a lot of money…

Has anyone flown AC to Europe? This is the list of airlines I’m keeping an eye on (I’ve flown most of them from YYZ to Belgium but that was ages ago - pre-children!!) Any other airlines I should consider? Anyone had any experience with any of these post-COVID?

- Lufthansa
- KLM
- British Airways
- Air France
- TAP
- Aerlingus
- iceland air

TIA!

 

[Baldy]

We flew to Italy from Pearson last September. We didn’t check any bags because we were afraid of them getting lost but everything went very smoothly. We had no issues.

My father has used TAP to Spain & Portugal multiple times during/since COVID. He loves the price and hasn’t had any problems.

 

[Madame]

We flew to Italy from Pearson last September. We didn’t check any bags because we were afraid of them getting lost but everything went very smoothly. We had no issues.

My father has used TAP to Spain & Portugal multiple times during/since COVID. He loves the price and hasn’t had any problems.

Thank you! Yes, TAP was excellent and we’d fly them again no question, but it looks like (for our itinerary) the price would be comparable to the other airlines I mentioned that offer direct flights to/from London & Brussels.

 

[Baldy]

Thank you! Yes, TAP was excellent and we’d fly them again no question, but it looks like (for our itinerary) the price would be comparable to the other airlines I mentioned that offer direct flights to/from London & Brussels.

omg where is my head
I left out a crucial detail. Yes my father loves TAP but we flew AIR CANADA.

 

[Madame]

omg where is my head
I left out a crucial detail. Yes my father loves TAP but we flew AIR CANADA.

Perfect, thanks for clarifying!

 

[Lesverts]

Air Canada is actually a very good long haul airline. Newer fleet, good service and if things go sideways there are 2 additional options to get back home easily. Air Canada through YUL or United through Newark. Also if you are booking an obvious codeshare flight that is being operated by Air Canada. Do not, under an circumstances, book that flight flagged as Lufthansa. The price will always end up cheaper booking it through Air Canada.

British Airways is fine, if you are terminating at London-Heathrow you are good. Connections with BA through LHR is notoriously one of the worst flying experiences you can have.

For me personally, because I am assuming you are going to be flying to London and flying home via Brussels and don't seem to want connections. Air Canada with their direct flights is your best option. But remember to book it as a multi-city ticket and not two one-ways. It is cheaper.

 

[Madame]

Air Canada is actually a very good long haul airline. Newer fleet, good service and if things go sideways there are 2 additional options to get back home easily. Air Canada through YUL or United through Newark. Also if you are booking an obvious codeshare flight that is being operated by Air Canada. Do not, under an circumstances, book that flight flagged as Lufthansa. The price will always end up cheaper booking it through Air Canada.

British Airways is fine, if you are terminating at London-Heathrow you are good. Connections with BA through LHR is notoriously one of the worst flying experiences you can have.

For me personally, because I am assuming you are going to be flying to London and flying home via Brussels and don't seem to want connections. Air Canada with their direct flights is your best option. But remember to book it as a multi-city ticket and not two one-ways. It is cheaper.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate all the details! I’m leaning towards AC and just making sure I have a cushion around the Taylor Swift concert we’re attending in London - that would be a shame to miss due to flight cancellation! Thanks again!

 

[wrightut]

I flew Air Canada to and from Europe this summer. (SLC to Toronto to Heathrow, Rome to Toronto to SLC). The flights were good. On time and the trans Atlantic planes were super nice.

Be very careful about bags. Their carryon sizing is different from US carriers (smaller in length). They check your bags in a sizer and if they don’t fit will make you check them. Also I’ve never seen so many people do multiple carry ons and they made people gate check on every flight I was on because the ran out of overhead space so if you are in the last boarding zone it is likely that you will have to gate check your bags.

Because of the gate checking I had issues. They left my bag in Toronto on the way over and I was only in London for two nights so I was positive that I wouldn’t get it. I was very impressed that they found it and I got it before we left London.

I did a regular checked bag on the way home and it made it just fine.

 

[badiggio]

When possible,or price allows,I use AC.IMO,there's no better.I used them direct from Ottawa to london and back,5 years ago,and it couldn't have been any better.Also used them to Italy,Ottawa-Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to Venice.

 

[wdwmom3]

AC is pretty good to Europe. You may also want to check Air Transat.

 

[lizzyb]

We flew Air France last summer and loved it.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Air France was our favorite too!

 

[Susan2771]

This will begin in 2024 to fly to a number of European countries. Will it effect your travels next year?

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/who-should-apply_en

 

[minnie56]

We fly AC often to London , England as our daughter lives there.
We’ve never had any issues…

 

[Madame]

This will begin in 2024 to fly to a number of European countries. Will it effect your travels next year?

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/who-should-apply_en

It definitely will but fortunately it doesn’t seem too difficult to apply and approval seems fast!

 

[Madame]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences! Much appreciated

 

[KNovacovschi]

We used AC to Romania in June and had no issues at all. They don't have any direct flights to Romania so we had a layover in Vienna but it was fine. We booked economy but booked the preferred seats for the extra legroom and chose the seats in the very front row and it was extremely comfortable, our flight was 8.5 hrs so I wanted comfort without paying a fortune. I'm not sure when in August you are going but AC does have their dates up to Aug 21st, 2024 now as we've been watching so he can book to Romania to see his dad.

Oh one thing I would recommend is to use an air tag in your luggage, I was glad we did. My husbands suitcase landed in Romania without incident however mine did not. Mine and almost 3/4 of the flights luggage remained in Vienna. I watched mine stay sitting at the airport and only knew about the amount of peoples luggage because we were all waiting to fill out the form. Now that would've been Austrian Airlines not loading it not AC but it's still good to have.

 

[starvenger]

So I just got back from France, and there were no issues with Air Canada. Had a weird thing at CDG where our gate was in Terminal 2B but our PLANE was in Terminal 2A, resulting in having to take a shuttle to disembark/embark the plane.

We were there 2 weeks, and all four of us had carryon bags only, so we avoided the usual YYZ T1 wait for baggage.

BTW T1 customs has fully switched to whatever new system they were installing. Super fast, even if you don't have NEXUS.

 

[JenluvsDisney]

Last month we flew AC from Toronto to Amsterdam and the whole experience couldn't have been smoother. Flights were on time & comfortable with great service. We checked 4 bags and all four made it to our destination and back again without issue. I had been trepidatious but we booked with AC due to their preferable flight times and prices. We would definitely use them again without hesitation.

 

[Madame]

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences everyone!