MONTREAL TRUDEAU AIRPORT review : 14 April 2009 : by J Oliveira

Customer Rating : 1/5

As a world traveller and former Mirabel passenger, I can only say Trudeau airport is a hidden conspiracy. Would have been much cheaper and convenient to get a high speed rail line from Mirabel. Not only a financial pitfall, and logistical nightmare, it is also poorly designed and surely a future sponge for more improvements and financial burdens to come in the near future as air travel becomes part of daily life. Expansion will be a problem. It is complicated to navigate, space very limited, parking a horror, and quite honestly a giant accident waiting to happen. I rather fly to Toronto City Center island airport, or Halifax, or Victoria than Trudeau. Overly complicated, not efficient, and probably the worst airport in Canada and again an embarassment for a great city. Aeroports de Montreal needs a wake up call. I am all for improvements and keeping people in the work force, but this was just a really bad idea. I filled out many surveys regarding the proposed closure of Mirabel at the time and have yet to see one statistic of what the passengers and users of the airports had to say. Last flight into Trudeau, the carousel sign wasn't even working. Had to do all carousels to find my bag. Want a nightmare after an 8 hour flight ? Fly into Trudeau.

MONTREAL TRUDEAU AIRPORT review : 31 December 2008 : by E Giesbrecht

Customer Rating : 3/5

The improvements to technology that AC has made in terms of printing your own baggage tag & boarding passes seemed great when I took my flight from YUL to YVR on Dec 20th - until all the passengers (I would estimate a minimum of 200 people) who only had to drop off their already-tagged bags were made to wait in line for over an hour, as there was only ONE employee at the counter checking in bags. What I found interesting was that my return flight the following weekend from YVR to YUL required a total of 5 minutes from printing the baggage tags and being on my way to security! I sincerely hope the lack of planning and organization at YUL's AC counters were just a fluke for that day because I'll be back there again tomorrow.

MONTREAL TRUDEAU AIRPORT review : 12 August 2008 : by Nigel Hirst

Customer Rating : 4/5

Congratulations to both the airport authorities and AC for a hugely improved experience! I fly AC 864 to LHR two or three times a year and always dread the inevitable huge line up for security. From bag drop off with Air Canada to entering the Maple Leaf lounge, about ten minutes! I hope this wasn't a "one off", but there was absolutely no queue at security! Polite and friendly staff doing a very thorough job too (LHR please note) No fast track needed here ,but in case it reverts to normal ,why is there not one for international executive/first passengers? Airside shops and eating outlets adequate, not sure about land side.

MONTREAL TRUDEAU AIRPORT review : 16 July 2008 : by John Gill

Customer Rating : 4/5

Much improved and a real pleasure even during peak periods. With the new transborder facilities being completed we can be proud of YUL.

MONTREAL TRUDEAU AIRPORT review : 6 May 2008 : by K Spensley

Customer Rating : 4/5

Airport is much improved from several years ago. I am a surprised though, by how long it takes to receive luggage. Even when you stand 15 minutes in line at customs, you still wait a long time for your luggage to arrive.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Bobby Giannakopoulos

15 April 2008   Customer Rating :

The new international jetty at least is better than the old one. International arrival hall is good but waiting at the customs is pretty much the same.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by M Cooper

31 January 2008   Customer Rating :

International arrivals are a breeze here compared to an arrival in most Canadian cities I have arrived in. Canada Customs is decent and polite, compared to arriving in Vancouver. The airport does need to open the door for access to the international area a little earlier though, instead of having passengers for Lufthansa, that are looking forward to going into the lounge and relax after check-in, have to wait for a staff member to simply open the doors. Some domestic gates do need improvement for sure, with nowhere near enough seating, and no decent outdoor lighting either. Yes, I preferred Mirabel to PET - but for govt reasons, the people of Mtl voted to expand YUL and close YMX sadly. It would have been far better to have built the high speed train line into Montreal and also to Ottawa that they promised in the 70's when YMX was built.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by P Lapointe

27 January 2008   Customer Rating :

Cleaner than most. Montreal needs - particularly on the US departure side - two more open lines at security after customs during peak hours, more & better shops/food in the common lounge area, and one additional length of moving walkway at US arrival. Customs, on both sides of the fence, provide erratic flow with unusual long delays at peak hours. Funnily, the American side is usually more effective at peak hours. Canadian side is consistently slow. Rumour to confirm: Montreal is used as a live training site for Canada Customs, based in Rigaud -- explaining the lack of efficiency at peak hours.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by S Moore

21 January 2008   Customer Rating :

I travel to YUL-Montreal once a month. Long queues for entering and exiting. Allow extra hours for queues during morning or evening "rush hours". Because of bad traffic jams on the Montreal roadways, it is difficult to egress from the airport from 15:00 to 18:00. To depart Montreal, be sure to leave for the airport no later than lunchtime, because roadway traffic and airport queues will take several hours in the afternoon. Poor concessions within secure area, with some limited choices for food and a couple bars.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Mike Lamb

17 January 2008   Customer Rating :

Having used YUL for 34 years, my latest experience was a nightmare. 70 minutes to check-in at business/first with only one agent handling all Air Canada European pax and 90 minutes in the security line - we had only 15 minutes to relax in the lounge before boarding despite having arrived 3 hours prior to departure time. The queues stretched outside the doors and pandemonium reigned. Never again.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by David MacMillan

23 November 2007   Customer Rating :

Much improved facility. Well run, clean and helpful assistants available. Decent shops and services. Common carrier lounge clean and with helpful staff but limited choice of food, drinks and reading material. Security quick and friendly. Much nicer than Toronto and on par with Vancouver.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Kevin McDougald

26 October 2007   Customer Rating :

Recently traveled domestically to and from YUL for a week-long holiday in Quebec, and found it to be a decent airport to use. I was able to get to and from downtown quickly using the L'Aerobus service, had no trouble getting around inside the airport and experienced no long lineups (though it probably helped that I was traveling mid-week). However, passengers departing from the "A" concourse should do their pre-flight dining before going through security as the food and retail offerings go from "average" beforehand to "limited" thereafter.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Dominique Sorel

4 April 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

Being a Montréalais, I frequently use this airport and have to say that Aéroports de Montréal did a fairly good job upgrading this airport. The custom hall is impressive and one of the best improvement is the baggage claim area. The new int'l departure area is friendlier than before and my overall impression is that YUL is now a nice little airport to go through. YUL can now offer easy connections concentrated in only one terminal - I wait for the day this airport will have its own direct railway link to downtown. In the meantime, passengers arriving in YUL are just 5 min. away from Dorval train station where they still can catch a train heading west to Ottawa or Toronto area.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Renae Mecha

1 April 2007

I hate flying to this airport (now renamed Trudeau). It took exactly 2 hours to get through customs and baggage claim on a Monday evening. This is truly inexcusable, and inexplicable. I was told by one of the agents (who were simply standing around, not offering to help, or get information) that there was only one person unloading the baggage from our BA flight, and that this was quite normal. Does anyone else think this may simply be a scam to get more parking money out of people?

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Iain Blair

21 June 2006

Montreal's Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau airport has improved a great deal over the past few years, but it is still small and crowded, and feels like it belongs in a city a third of the size of Montreal. What is more, the rear section is absolutely claustrophic, with no natural light or windows anywhere near the shops and food court, and the domestic baggage retrieval area is an absolute disgrace - cramped, antiquated and totally non-functional. There is nowhere in the airport either to relax or watch planes take off. As a proud Montreal, I am always a bit embarrassed to think that visitors will get their first impression of the city from this airport.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Pierre Fabre

6 January 2006

Not state of the art but on the whole a convenient airport, quite close to downtown. I remember queuing for 3 hours once at this airport. A real nightmare! But only Air France was to blame. That is the day when I decided never to fly Air France again, although I'm French. If you have an hour or so before boarding and want to do some shopping at reasonable prices (not like those of the duty free) there is a shopping mall very near the airport ( actually within walking distance) but as there are a couple of highways to cross, you must take a local bus which takes 5 minutes or so. Ask for directions as I can't remember the bus line number. When arriving, the airport bus is the cheapest way to reach downtown; it takes about 25 minutes if there are no traffic jams. You'll save even more by buying a return ticket. From the bus terminal you can easily reach your hotel by subway or get a cab if you have too much luggage to carry. The bus can actually drop you a some of the major hotels which are on the way. Ask the driver. The drive back to the airport is 15 minutes longer as the bus goes around town to several hotels in the hope of collecting more passengers.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Jeremy Weiss

11 October 2005

Transited Montreal Trudeau 4 times last month on Air Canada domestic flights. Very friendly staff at security and concessions. Efficient security screening. Washrooms are small, dirty, and malodorous. Mainline Air Canada section is cramped, with low and narrow corridors, minimal natural light and insufficient seating. Only three concessions in the pier including a bar, a restaurant, and a news stand. Landside facilities are much better if you have the time to exit the secure area. Jazz concourse is dated to the point of being comical and only includes a small bar and a few vending machines. However, it is much brighter and quieter. Overall impression of the airport is of a dark, dirty, time warp to the 60's (much like it's namesake).

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Jose Oliveira

8 June 2005

Global tendency is to operate airports outside of major cities. Pinheads in Montreal are doing the opposite. In my opinion PET (formerly Dorval) airport is not only an embarrassment to Montreal but to the entire country !

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Adrian Pelletier

1 May 2005

As an ex-pat Montrealer it's always nice to come home and it's usually a pleasure to use Dorval airport. The new customs and baggage halls are quite magnificient, spacious and light. Its proximity to downtown can't be beaten. However, and this is a big one, the walk from the international gates to the customs hall is interminable. It must have taken 15 minutes or more. They even have a section about half-way to the customs called 'aire de repos' with couches and kids' games where people can take a breather before they carry on walking. There are few moving walkways on the way over. What I fail to understand is why, during the renovations period, can't they bus passengers to a point close to the customs hall? Or indeed use one of the 'transbordeur' moving vehicles that they used to have at Mirabel. The other point that annoyed me is that it took another 15 minutes after I'd arrived at the baggage reclaim for the bags to come through. This is even longer that I have waited at LHR! Taking international passengers through back corridors underground and making them walk without moving walkways gives a really poor impression of this great city not to mention a poor welcome to Quebec and Canada.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by P Remillard

29 March 2005

Dorval/Trudeau airport is probably the worst one I ever experienced. Just came back from Europe on March 24th. What a nightmare. The new extension is only good for aerobics. Get ready for a 10 minute walk to the customs. So for they invested $150 M to make more efficient. They should have invested the money in making the access to the Mirabel Airport instead. Gov's are saying that Mirabel is to far from the City. All the Int'l airport in North America and Europe are 30 minutes away from down-towns. For tourists that come to Montreal, make sure you wear good shoes for the walk from the gates the terminal.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Tim Salter

28 March 2005

Used Montreal (YUL) to enter Canada for the first time in 2 years and what a pleasure it is compared to Toronto. The immigration lines are much shorter and connecting pax are separated out into a fast- track lane - why on earth can Toronto not manage this?. Transatlantic flights depart directly from the terminal unlike Star Alliance airlines at Toronto that will have to use the awful infield terminal until 2007. Good choice of food in the airport and very friendly staff.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by T Rahman

15 February 2005

The changes and improvements to Trudeau airport is much needed and will position Trudeau as a mid-size modern airport. I agree with the vision of the airport authorities to position Trudeau as a modern user friendly airport. The new transborder and international arrivals Canadian immigration area and particularly the baggage claim areas are truly impressive. The many other improvements ongoing gives one the feeling of visiting a construction site, but it will be well worthwhile when most of the work will be completed summer 2005. I am finally starting to feel proud of my hometown airport!

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by John Gill

4 January 2005

Agree with comments that Dorval has come a long way. The new international arrivals complex is impressive. The airport authority has always done a good job of keeping passengers informed of improvements. Long corridors to certain gate areas is only temporary with the new international jetty opening in June. I also travelled on Jan 1st, few airports are pleasant at this busy time of the year.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Joan Miller

1 January 2005

In and out of Montreal on 20 Dec 04 (from Europe to USA) was a nightmare. Staff were unfriendly, indifferent to questions, preoccupied, and ineffective since passengers arrived at gates without boarding passes. Anyone traveling along a similar route should be prepared to hike a long way, down dingy corridors that seem endless to gate areas with 1950s type seating. Dirty restrooms, and so forth. I will not go through Montreal again. Construction is no excuse for extremely unpleasant conditions.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by M Devor

3 December 2004

Dorval has come a long way and the improvements are most impressive. They are building a new international arrivals facility. Advertising should be more bilingual with most advertising in either only French or in accordance with Quebec language laws, bold French, small, hard to read English. This was annoying in the US sector where most passengers are American. If you are flying to the US give yourself plenty of time for check in, US pre-clearance, and a long walk to the gate at the new transborder Pier. If you are running late often the US authorities won't let you through and I have missed a flight because of this. It is a multi-step process. Be careful of signage around the airport and entering the airport. Unlike most other Canadian airports which are completely bilingual, most signs are only in French and the roads are confusing which makes it easy to get lost. Follow 'Dorval' and pay very close attention to the turns or you will end up out of the airport.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Darren McCormac

17 September 2004

What improvement fee? I flew into YUL in May this year - not the nicest arrivals hall in the world, but efficient - and on leaving (check in like a zoo but efficient, CCRA office hard to find) I didn't have to hand over a penny.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Ramón Fretz

7 September 2004

I was looking forward to experience the new Transborder Jetty at Montreal Trudeau's International Airport in August 2004 but must say that I was more than disappointed. The designers of this terminal probably never had to go through the arrivals experience. Endless corridors with no walkways (or almost none), long queues at the immigration desks (new for me at YUL) and the usual chaos at the baggage delivery. They do not manage this properly. Watch out, baggage almost never arrives where it is announced. Walk around and look for your suitcase(s) where you least expect them. Much renovation work is being done and the international concourse will disappear soon (we all look forward to that). This may be the reason for many of the problems encountered but YUL could do better. However, the friendly Quebec people offset much of the frustration experienced.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Steven Curfs

11 March 2004

This is the worst organised place.  Renamed to Trudeau Airport (but all signs still say Dorval) in January, I had to wait one hour before I could present myself to a customs officer, who then told me I had to go through Quebec Immigration, which took me another 2 hours of waiting. Meanwhile, everyone could have gone off with my luggage but fortunately  did not. The new departure hall is an improvement but still, for the 15 C$ "Airport Improvement Tax" I pay every time I depart or arrive here, I would have expected something more.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Nick Biskinis

2 January 2004

The reason Montreal relocated scheduled flights from Mirabel to Dorval is because Mirabel was a commercial disaster for the city. It was opened for trans-Atlantic flights, but was over 40 miles from Montreal. Imagine if London forced overseas airlines to relocate to Stansted from Heathrow - but did not provide Stansted with any rail link, and you start to understand why Mirabel became a very inconvenient hub for airlines to fly to. Quebec separatism also spelled economic decline for Montreal, who lost huge business (and air traffic) to Toronto. Since moving back to Dorval, however, Montreal is re-establishing its status as a major transportation hub. Unfortunately it will take time for YUL (Dorval) to improve though.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Mohammed Kassab

22 September 2003

It’s really disappointing NOT to see any viewing windows in an airport. This airport is really small and undersized even after the improvement projects they did. Few rest seats, poor restaurants, and pathetic duty-free market. The only good thing about this airport is the simplicity and friendly working personnel.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by P Potts

13 April 2003

Arriving in Dorval was the best arrival experience I've ever had. My bags were waiting for me when I arrived at the belt, and the car rental desk was beside the baggage claim. The rental car was right outside, and the highway was right there. From standing up in my seat on the flight to driving on the highway, I bet I didn't even need 25 minutes - and most of that was walking. Departing from Dorval was the absolute opposite, however  the line ups were pretty chaotic and there was not clear signage about the Improvement Fee. The departure lounges were super small as well.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by A Harewood

6 March 2003

They have notices saying they are improving airport - they then remove all dial up facility from phones except the overpriced bell internet. Then they reduce the security line for crew - oh great improvements Dorval!

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Michael Devor

22 November 2002

Dorval is a good airport, but I prefer Mirabel, which is large, spacious, and so much easier to use. On the other hand, Dorval is a nice stone's throw from Montreal and Mirabel is in the middle of nowhere. I hope they will build a new terminal at YUL similar to YMX (Mirabel). I don't understand why someone had to clear their bags through Canadian customs if transiting to the US - Vancouver allows for a straight transfer. Agree, they need to put that awful tax into your ticket (or preferably abolish it!). Most of the time I have transferred through and have talked my way out of it.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Philippe Lavoie

25 October 2002

The international terminal looks like a converted garage without practically any window and no one knows when it will be rebuilt. The space available for check-in in the departures area is too small and don't even try to find a seat in a restaurant! Moreover, the customs area and the baggage recovery room are so old that it gives the impression to arrive in a third world country. The worst about this situation is that all flights are now being transfered from Mirabel to Dorval - whereas Mirabel already offers passengers an efficient and pleasant environment. In my opinion, it will take years of construction before Dorval reaches the international standards of its category.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Marco Lal

30 September 2002

Dorval (Montreal Int'l YUL) is going through major expansion and renovations. The new Transborder terminal will open in January 2003 and the new International concourse will open in 2004 (2005?). You will see a big difference. The Domestic part is also being renovated.

Montreal Trudeau Airport review by Erez Har-Tal

31 July 2002

We just came back from Montreal on the 4th of July weekend. Dorval is an old airport that is being renovated. When arriving no problems, Canadian Immigration and customs is a breeze, much more polite and welcoming than INS. It took us less than 30 minutes to get out. Transportation to and from the airport was reasonable. When flying back we departed on 6 pm Sunday. The airport was packed, no room to move, I see why they try to enlarge the airport. To get VAT tax refund you simply have to climb over people to get to the escalator downstairs to the arrival hall. They should really consider opening a both of Canada customs for stamping receipts for VAT refund in the departure hall, or near the gates, it would be so more much more convenient.  Before going through US Immigration and customs we had to pay an Airport Improvement tax fee. The only problem is that I already changed the remaining 32 Canadian dollars into US dollars, I could have saved the transaction fee. They should include it in the ticket price somehow, or at least notify passengers to hold onto their Canadian dollars and pay the fee before. It was a hassle to go through US immigration and customs in Canada.  I just thought to myself how right I am that I avoid flying from Chicago to Tel-Aviv on Air Canada, consider this after a long haul flight of 11 hours, pick up your luggage go through Canadian Immigration and Customs, go up the escalators, go through INS and customs and check your luggage, not as we say an easy convenient transfer.