Getting to Pearson

[ijmorlan]

This is the thing that bugs me about going via the 401 though.  No amount of extra time will ensure you don't miss your flight (and certainly not 2.5 hours).  While it's unlikely we were stuck for over 3 hours when we were stopped on the 401.  I'm not likely to leave 7 hours before my flights (3 hours recommended arrival time at airport before international flights + 1 hour travel time + up to 3 hours delay due to rare serious collision).

The best I usually do is accept that if I got stuck by a collision again, I'd miss a flight, and then leave 4 hours before a flight, and just let traffic eat into the 3 hours early recommendation.

(I'm also unwilling and unable to wake up in time to leave at 4 am...I've tried, so pretty much any other time has risk of traffic)

Doesn't anyone just stay the night in Mississauga?  And usually Hotwire you can get a room for a decent price.  Eases a lot of stress; plus many hotels let you rent a car space for like $20/day.  Sure, you're losing a day or perhaps just a night, but man, no stress. ]

Though I guess if you're doing 20-30 flights per year, that'll add up to a few thousand per year, but if you're required to take that many flights, perhaps it's a small price to pay.

At least a couple of times I’ve stayed at a hotel in Mississauga which includes up to a couple of weeks parking and a shuttle to the airport in a night’s stay. This worked out to a very reasonable amount overall. They're enough closer to Pearson than here to significantly reduce the risk of traffic problems.