MONTREAL — The busy holiday travel season will peak between Dec. 19 and Jan. 5, says Air Canada, and the airline has six essential travel tips to make travel experiences as smooth as possible.

Here’s the list courtesy of Air Canada…

1. Save time. Check-in 24 hours in advance.

Clients can check-in online at aircanada.com, mobile.aircanada.ca or via the Air Canada app. They can also select/change their seat, select the number of checked baggage and pay any baggage fees in advance.

Clients travelling with kids under six can look for Family Check-in signage at select airports (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver). For added fun, families can register their child for Air Canada’s Skyriders (skyriders.aircanada.com) program to help them track their travels. More information on travelling with kids is available at aircanada.com/familytraveltips.

2. Confirm flight times online 24/7 at aircanada.com/flightnotification or via the Air Canada app.

Passengers can stay informed of flight status for all Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express flights by signing up for Flight Notifications or calling the toll-free Air Canada flight status line at 1-888-422-7533; TTY (Hearing Impaired): 1-800-361-8071. Air Canada also posts a Daily Travel Outlook that lists possible flight disruptions due to forecasted weather or other events. 

3. Arrive early. Here’s when: aircanada.com/deadlines.

Arrive early at the airport to be at the gate on time and avoid congestion that may occur during peak periods. Clients travelling to the U.S. are asked to arrive 3 hours prior to departure to clear customs as well. 

4. Review baggage rules. Here’s what to carry-on and check-in.

Check size and weight allowances when packing at aircanada.com/carryon as carry-on baggage will be screened and tagged. Information on checked baggage allowance is available at: aircanada.com/checked.

Air Canada recommends that passengers place identification inside bags as well as on the outside, as external baggage name tags sometimes become detached.

And when travelling with gifts in carry-on, passengers need to remember to keep them unwrapped to facilitate security inspection. 

5. Check documentation and ensure that all travel documents are valid at: aircanada.com/traveldocumentation.

6. Seamless travel to U.S.

Air Canada customers flying to the US (from or via Canada) will clear U.S. Customs at Canadian airports before their flight.  Air Canada’s operations at all three primary Canadian hubs, Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL) and Vancouver (YVR) are all under one roof with no terminal transfers, meaning connections are easy, comfortable and seamless.  

For passengers travelling from the U.S. through Air Canada hubs and onwards to any international destination, the seamless connection process and quick passport check means passengers don’t have to wait in customs lines, pick up bags or transfer terminals.

The United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint lines can be longer during busy periods. The TSA recommends arriving at the airport two hours before departure if a flight is in the early morning or evening, when wait times for screening can be up to one hour. Members of Known Traveler Programs, such as Nexus or Global Entry, may experience normal wait times.

The United States requires that travellers provide additional Secure Flight information at least 72 hours before their flight or at time of booking. This requirement applies to many international flights which are deemed to over-fly the US. For more information, consult aircanada.com/secureflight.

Eligible Air Canada customers get the benefits of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s TSA Pre✓ program which provides accelerated security screening at most U.S. departure airports by allowing customers to keep shoes, belts and light outerwear on, and laptops and liquids in carry-on baggage.