Trip Report: YQB-ORD
Canada truly felt like a foreign country, not just the United State's half-brother, up until the very end. Where else would you have an airline called Air Inuit?
Or an airport with a business center with free wifi and computers and privacy dividers, and cushy armchairs looking out onto the tarmac?
Coming from San Francisco, I would also miss the snow, which turned everything so clean looking and bright. Despite the amenities, this airport doesn't have US Immigration and Customs pre-clearance unlike other Canadian airports. When you have pre-clearance, there are US Immigration and Customs agents in the airport, so when you pass through, you are technically in the United States and your flight is treated like a domestic flight. Since Quebec City (YQB) is small and doesn't have this facility, our little airplane would land in the International Terminal. Quite an experience looking up at the Asiana Boeing 777 parked next to you!
At 880 miles and nearly 3 hours scheduled time, the flight from YQB to ORD is probably the longest flight I've ever been on a regional jet. And this was not one of the newer regional jets; this was on an ERJ145, with overhead bins on only one side of the plane and a single seat on the other. Still, I was prepared with my breakfast courtesy the Hilton Quebec buffet and the Porter Airlines lounge snacks.
At ORD, I stopped by Rick Bayless's Tortas Frontera, where I had chips, guacamole, and two salsas for $5. I thought this was a decent value, as everything was fresh tasting and delicious (if a bit salty).
