Minneapolis to Toronto Pearson – Air Canada – CRJ-900
About My Flight on Air Canada - Minneapolis to Toronto-Pearson on a CRJ-900
I’ve had my sights on Air Canada’s service from Minneapolis to Toronto for quite some time, but I have never been able to find a chance to fly this route. In October of 2022, I decided to travel from Minneapolis to Vancouver and found a great fare on Air Canada. The only issue was I would have to connect in Toronto, which meant I would be flying in the wrong direction. In a perfect world, I’d avoid flying two hours in the wrong direction, but I thought this would provide a great chance for me to review Air Canada’s CRJ-900 service from Minneapolis to Toronto-Pearson.
Up until this flight, I had only flown Air Canada once, from my former hometown of Las Vegas to Montreal-Trudeau. That service had been on Air Canada Rouge, which is Air Canada’s discount airline. This flight would be on another of Air Canada’s subsidies, Air Canada Jazz, which is their regional route partner.
I decided to book the trip to Vancouver, with a stopover in Toronto, since it would allow me to check-out Air Canada’s service from Minneapolis to Toronto-Pearson on their CRJ-900.
Air Canada - Minneapolis to Toronto - CRJ900 - Table of Contents
- About My Flight to Toronto-Pearson
- Air Canada Check-In at Minneapolis International Airport
- Air Canada Gates at Minneapolis International Airport
- Boarding Process
- The Seat
- My Review – Is Air Canada a Good Airline?
- Connecting at Toronto-Pearson – US Arrival to a Domestic Flight
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- Earning Points and Rewards
- Related Content
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Air Canada Check-In at Minneapolis International Airport
Since I checked in online, I did not have to visit the Air Canada check-in counter at Minneapolis International Airport. I did stop by to take a photo, as I figured many of my readers on this flight might be checking luggage. At MSP airport, the Air Canada check-in counter is located between fellow Star Alliance member United and Spirit, which is considered one of the world’s worst airlines.
Please note that If you do not check in at the Air Canada counter, you will need to show your passport to the agent at the gate.
Air Canada Gates at Minneapolis International Airport
Air Canada flights at Minneapolis International Airport depart from Terminal 1’s E-Gates.
I was surprised when I saw the gate assignment on my boarding pass, as Air Canada flights typically depart from Gate E10 at Minneapolis International Airport. Instead, my flight was departing from Gate E3, which is usually a United Airlines gate.
There are plenty of places to eat near the E-Gates at Minneapolis International Airport. One of my favorite locations is Food Truck Alley, which has a variety of indoor food trucks. If you enjoy Middle Eastern food, I highly recommend checking out Holy Land Express.
There is only one restaurant located in the E-Gates, and that is Qdoba Mexican Eats.
If you have time, check out some of the other restaurants in the Mall Area of MSP Airport. The MSP Airport Mall is within a five-minute walk of the E-Gates.
Air Canada's Boarding Process - Minneapolis to Toronto-Pearson
Air Canada boards their flights in six zones. Zones one and two are reserved for first class and priority passengers, and zones three, four, five, and six are for economy passengers. I had selected seat 20D, which was an exit row in economy, and was assigned boarding group three.
While we were waiting to board, the Air Canada gate agent called passengers’ names for a document check. Anyone who had not shown their passport to the Air Canada check-in desk was asked to approach the gate agent with their passport.
When I had my passport checked, the gate agent offered to check my bag for free. Since there was limited room on the Air Canada CRJ-900, I decided to gate-check my bag to Vancouver, which was my final destination. Typically, I do gate check my bag as it gives me one less thing to worry about during my flight.
The Seat - Seat 20D - Air Canada CRJ900 - Minneapolis to Toronto-Pearson
Air Canada’s CRJ-900 has a two-by-two seating arrangement in economy class. On the left side, seat A is the window, and seat B is the aisle. On the right side, seat D is the aisle, and seat F is the window.
I had chosen 20D as my seat, which on Air Canada’s CRJ-900 was an exit row aisle. Row 19 is also an exit row, but I always choose the furthest exit row because it seems like those seats are less likely to be taken.
I was shocked to learn that out of all of the seats on this Air Canada flight from Minneapolis to Toronto-Pearson, the only seat empty was 20F, the seat next to me. I split my time between the window seat and the aisle seat, as I wanted to look at the beautiful fall colors during take-off and landing.
Typically, CRJs are my least favorite airplanes, with the CRJ-200 feeling like a school-bus ride in the air. I was surprised by the comfort level that Air Canada’s CRJ-900 provided.
The seats were leather, with adjustable headrests, and there was plenty of legroom in the exit row. I am guessing if I had been in a standard seat with a person next to me, I would have been miserable.
There is no seat-back entertainment on Air Canada’s CRJ-900s and no power outlets. Also, despite being advertised, this flight had no WiFi.
The tray table was in the armrest, which slightly reduced the seat width of the exit rows on Air Canada’s CRJ-900. That being said, I was surprised with how my tray table was actually quite sturdy. On my Air Canada flight from Minneapolis to Toronto, drinks were complementary, and there were some ala-cart items available for purchase. I chose to go with a Diet Coke.
My Review - Is Air Canada a Good Airline?
Air Canada is part of Star Alliance and provides great service. Despite being delayed about 15-minutes, I had a great experience on this one hour and thirty-five-minute flight from Minneapolis to Toronto. I was especially impressed with the comfort of the CRJ-900 aircraft, which typically is a very uncomfortable plane to fly.
My only complaint was as we came into land, they turned on these annoying purple lights that ruined my chance at getting a nice photo of the CN Tower.
Connecting at Toronto-Pearson - US Arrival to a Domestic Flight
The process of connecting flights at Toronto-Pearson International Airport is quite easy, although plan on walking quite a bit. My flight from Air Canada flight from Minneapolis arrived about 15 minutes late, which only gave me around 75-minutes to make my connection.
After about fifteen minutes of walking and following the purple connection signs, I finally reached passport control. To get through passport control at Toronto-Pearson, I simply had to scan my passport and get my photo taken by one of the self-serve kiosks, which then issued me a receipt. Once I had my receipt, I was able to go to the queue and present my receipt to a border agent. The agent asked me where I was coming from and how long I would be in Canada before letting me through.
The final step was to scan my boarding pass. Thankfully it had the code ITD OSS which stands for “International to Domestic, One-Stop Security.” This code meant I did not have to go through security at Toronto-Pearson International Airport. I am not sure if this is a standard perk or had to do with the fact that I have Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check.
A few minutes later I was at the gate for the second leg of my trip to Vancouver. You can read about that flight by clicking HERE.
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