What meet and greet is
Meet and greet is an add-on to an airport pickup in which the chauffeur, instead of waiting at the curb, parks and comes inside the arrivals hall to meet the passenger at the exit from customs (international) or baggage claim (domestic), holding a board with the passenger's name or a company's, takes the luggage, and walks the passenger to the car at the pre-arranged pickup zone. It costs a stated add-on fee (shown in the booking engine) that covers the parking and the chauffeur's time inside. It is for first-time visitors, older passengers, unaccompanied minors, families with luggage, executives whose time is charged by the minute, and anyone who would rather be found than find. It works at Pearson's Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, at Billy Bishop (the chauffeur waits at the tunnel's mainland exit), at Hamilton and at the other airports we serve. It needs the flight number and, ideally, a passenger's mobile number.
Every airport pickup has a moment when the passenger emerges from a secure area into a public hall and has to find a way to the car. The curbside procedure — text from the carousel, walk to Door A, find the plate — works for the passenger who has done it before and is able and willing to walk, read signs and carry bags. Meet and greet exists for everyone else: the passenger arriving in Toronto for the first time, the grandmother after a fourteen-hour flight, the child flying alone, the family with a stroller and six bags, the executive who does not carry bags on principle, the VIP who does not want to stand at a curb. This article explains what the chauffeur does, where it happens at each airport, what it costs and why, who it is for, what the name board says, how it works with customs delays and lost luggage, the corporate and VIP versions, and the notice and information the booking needs.
What the chauffeur does, step by step
The chauffeur tracks the flight to touchdown, parks in the terminal's short-term garage, and is inside the arrivals hall at the relevant exit — the doors from the international baggage hall for an international flight, the domestic carousel area for a domestic one — at the hour's typical clearance time, with the name board. The passenger sees the board, the chauffeur introduces themselves by name (the name on the confirmation), takes the luggage cart or the bags, and walks the passenger to the car: at Pearson, to Door A's pre-arranged zone where the car is brought around, or directly to the garage if the chauffeur is working alone and the walk is short; at Billy Bishop, from the tunnel's mainland pavilion to Eireann Quay; at Hamilton and Waterloo, from the carousel to the curb outside. The chauffeur loads the bags, opens the door, confirms the destination, and the trip begins. The passenger has not read a sign, found a door or lifted a bag.
Where it happens: Pearson's two terminals
At Terminal 1, international arrivals exit the baggage hall through doors at the centre and east of the arrivals level, and the chauffeur waits in the public hall just outside those doors, where the crowd of family members and drivers with boards gathers; domestic arrivals collect bags on the arrivals level's western end and the chauffeur waits at the domestic carousel area's edge. At Terminal 3, international arrivals exit into the northern half of the single arrivals hall and domestic into the southern, and the chauffeur waits at the respective exit. The arrivals doors article walks both terminals; the Terminal 1 vs Terminal 3 article explains which airlines use each, and dispatch checks the terminal against the flight number so the chauffeur is in the right building.
Billy Bishop, Hamilton, Waterloo and the others
At Billy Bishop the chauffeur cannot go to the island; meet and greet means waiting in the mainland pavilion at the tunnel's exit (or the ferry dock) with the board, and walking the passenger the fifty metres to Eireann Quay — the Billy Bishop guide covers the layout. At Hamilton, Waterloo, Oshawa and Niagara District the terminals are small and the chauffeur is at the carousel; at the FBOs for private aviation the chauffeur is in the lounge or at the ramp gate, which the private aviation page describes as the standard rather than an add-on. At Buffalo, meet and greet is at the baggage claim, and the Buffalo article covers the border that follows.
What it costs and why
The add-on fee — shown in the engine when you select it — covers the short-term parking the chauffeur pays to be inside (Pearson charges by the half hour), the chauffeur's time in the hall (typically 30 to 60 minutes beyond a curbside pickup, because the chauffeur is inside before the passenger clears rather than in the cell lot until the text), and the walk. It is a flat fee, not a percentage, and it is the same at 4 a.m. and 4 p.m.; it is itemised on the receipt. The what is included article lists the base fare's inclusions and the add-ons.
Who it is for
First-time visitors who do not know Pearson's arrivals level and would rather not learn it after a long flight. Older passengers and anyone with limited mobility (the airline brings a wheelchair passenger to the arrivals hall; the chauffeur takes over there — the seniors' guide and the accessible service article cover the arrangements). Unaccompanied minors, for whom the airline requires a named adult with identification at the hall and the unaccompanied minors guide describes the handover. Families with luggage — a stroller, seats and six bags after a sun flight (families with luggage). Executives on a corporate account whose assistant wants them found, not searching, and whose client is paying for the minutes. VIPs, talent and the discreet — the privacy and discretion article and the TIFF guide cover the version where the board has no name at all. Visitors who do not speak English and are met by a chauffeur who speaks their language — a request the booking takes.
The name board
The board says what the booking says: the passenger's surname (or full name), a company's name for a corporate pickup, a code word for a passenger who prefers one, or the company's logo for a client the company wants to impress. It does not say "Mr. and Mrs." unless asked, and it never says anything a passenger's fellow travellers should not read. Digital boards on a tablet are used by some operators; ours are printed, because a tablet's glare in an arrivals hall is worse than paper. A passenger who does not see the board — the hall is crowded at the afternoon bank — texts the chauffeur, who is thirty seconds away.
Customs delays and the wait inside
The chauffeur inside the hall waits on the same terms as the chauffeur at the curb: 60 minutes after an international arrival's actual time and 30 after a domestic one are included, and beyond that the waiting rate applies in 15-minute increments (the flight delays article explains). A passenger held in secondary inspection for an hour and a half has a chauffeur who has been standing at the exit for two hours; the receipt will show forty-five minutes of waiting, and the chauffeur will not have mentioned it. The customs time article gives the hall's timings by hour.
Lost luggage and the baggage desk
When a bag does not arrive, the passenger files a report at the airline's baggage desk in the hall before exiting customs, and a passenger with meet and greet has a chauffeur who knows the desk's location, waits through the filing, and takes the address for the delivery; the lost luggage article describes what happens next, and the wait counts as waiting time.
The corporate version: the client pickup
A company meeting a client or a candidate at Pearson books meet and greet with the company's name on the board, and the pickup becomes part of the visit's first impression: the chauffeur in a suit, the board clean, the car an S-Class or an Escalade, the bottled water in the door, the visiting clients itinerary already in the chauffeur's hands. The corporate account holds the company's board preferences and the executive assistants' guide covers the booking.
The VIP and the discreet version
For talent, athletes, officials and anyone who does not want to be seen at an arrivals hall, meet and greet is done differently: the board has a code word or nothing, the chauffeur meets the passenger's security or handler rather than the passenger, the car is at a pre-arranged point the GTAA's staff have been told about, and the walk is short. The diplomatic and consular article covers the protocol version and the film production article the talent version; for Pearson's private aviation terminals, where most of this traffic actually arrives, the private aviation page has the procedure.
Unaccompanied minors: the handover
An airline escorting a child to the arrivals hall will release the child only to the adult named on the airline's form, with government identification; when that adult is our chauffeur, the booking parent gives the airline the chauffeur's name and dispatch gives the parent the chauffeur's identification details, and the chauffeur presents them at the hall. The unaccompanied minors guide has the documents, the notice and the text-at-each-step routine; meet and greet is not optional for this booking.
What the booking needs
The flight number (for tracking and the terminal); the passenger's name as it should appear on the board (or the company's, or a code word); a mobile number for the passenger or a companion; the passenger count and luggage (for the carts and the vehicle class); any language request; and, for a minor or a wheelchair passenger, the airline's arrangements. The add-on is selected in the engine at booking or added by text to dispatch before the flight lands.
Meet and greet quick reference
| Airport | Where the chauffeur meets you | Walk to the car |
|---|---|---|
| Pearson T1, international | Public hall outside the international baggage hall doors | 3–5 min to Door A |
| Pearson T1, domestic | Edge of the domestic carousel area, west end | 1–2 min to Door A |
| Pearson T3, international | Northern half of arrivals hall, at the customs exit | 2–4 min to Door A |
| Pearson T3, domestic | Southern end of arrivals hall | 1–2 min to Door A |
| Billy Bishop | Mainland tunnel pavilion at Eireann Quay | 1 min |
| Hamilton / Waterloo / Oshawa / Niagara | At the baggage carousel | 1 min |
| Private aviation (FBO) | FBO lounge or ramp gate | Planeside or curb |
| Included wait | 60 min international / 30 domestic after actual arrival | Then 15-min increments |
Booking it
Select meet and greet in the engine when you book the airport pickup; the Pearson page has the fares and the add-on is itemised. Give the name for the board and a mobile number, and the chauffeur is inside when you come through.
Groups: one board, one gathering point
A group arriving together — a delegation of eight, a wedding party, a sports team — is met by one chauffeur with one board naming the group, and the gathering point is inside the hall, not the curb: the group assembles at the board, the leader confirms the count, and the walk to the Sprinter at Door A is made once, together, with the luggage on carts the chauffeur brought. The group transfers article has the plan and the conference transportation article the version where a dozen delegates land on six flights and one coordinator inside the hall sends each to the right car.
What meet and greet is not
It is not a fast-track through customs — nobody can arrange that at Pearson except the CBSA's own programmes (NEXUS, ArriveCAN), and an operator who promises it is promising something they cannot deliver. It is not a porter service inside the secure baggage hall, which the chauffeur cannot enter. It is not a substitute for the airline's wheelchair assistance from the aircraft, which the passenger requests from the airline and which ends at the arrivals hall where our chauffeur begins. It is a person at the door with your name, and that is exactly what it is for.
