Air Canada Economy YQG–YYZ–LIS: A Budget Award Flight and a Lisbon Immigration Warning

中文版本：https://blog.wfh.day/zh-air-canada-yqg-yyz-lis-lisbon-ees/

For my May trip to Portugal, I flew Air Canada Economy from Windsor (YQG) to Lisbon (LIS) with a layover in Toronto (YYZ). This one-way transatlantic ticket cost me only 47,300 Aeroplan points + $68.32 CAD in taxes. As a budget-friendly award redemption, as long as it gets me to my destination safely and on time, it has done its job.

1. A Smooth Start: Check-in at Windsor (YQG)

Departing from a smaller regional airport like Windsor was surprisingly pleasant. The Air Canada app is very user-friendly; although the system could not verify my Schengen visa automatically, it still successfully issued my first YQG-YYZ boarding pass. At Windsor airport, there was virtually no line. The agent quickly checked my visa, printed both boarding passes, and checked my luggage straight through to Lisbon.

2. The Disappointing Toronto (YYZ) Layover & Lounge

Upon arriving in Toronto, thanks to my recently matched Star Alliance Gold status through Lufthansa, I excitedly headed straight to the lounge — only to be greeted by an insane line.

The experience inside the lounge was equally compromised. It was overcrowded, which meant service could not keep up, and finding clean plates and cups was a struggle. The most frustrating part? I wanted to take a shower before my red-eye flight, waited in line for an hour, only to be told there was absolutely no hot water that day. If you plan to use the YYZ lounge soon, I highly recommend lowering your expectations.

3. Cabin Hardware & Sleep Experience (YYZ-LIS)

The transatlantic leg was operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. While the aircraft showed its age, the legroom was standard for economy, and the seat cushion was reasonably comfortable. A pleasant surprise was the in-flight entertainment system: it seemed updated, with a crisp screen and very responsive touch controls.

Since it was a red-eye flight and I was exhausted from the lounge ordeal, I fell asleep immediately after boarding and completely missed the dinner service. Be aware: economy class does not offer any-time dining. If you miss the meal service, your only options are to stay hungry or ask the galley for small snacks. I would suggest eating a full meal at the airport if you plan to sleep right away.

4. The Ultimate Warning: Lisbon Immigration & the New EES System

We landed safely, but Lisbon immigration hit me like a brick wall. The EU’s newly implemented Entry/Exit System (EES) requires biometric data collection, including fingerprints and facial recognition, and the processing speed was painfully slow.

All non-EU/EEA/CH citizens, including US and Canadian passport holders, had to wait in massive lines for manual processing. After surviving a red-eye flight, I stood there for two solid hours before finally clearing immigration.

Bottom line

For the price, this Aeroplan redemption did exactly what I needed: it got me from Windsor to Lisbon on a one-way transatlantic itinerary at a very reasonable points-and-cash cost. The flight itself was acceptable, but the YYZ lounge experience and the Lisbon immigration wait are both worth planning around.

If you are flying a red-eye to Lisbon, eat before boarding, do not count on a relaxing YYZ lounge experience, and budget extra time and patience for immigration on arrival.