Getting cheaper airfare from Canada

[prairiesarah]

I live outside of Regina, so that is the airport we use and was finding airfare to Orlando RIDICULOUS (ie, $3500 for 3 of us non peak time, horrible flight times, multiple stops on Westjet). Actually flying to anywhere was ridiculous but that is another story all together.

I finally switched things up and looked at mid-week to mid-week instead of weekend to weekend and what a difference that made. I was able to get flights for the three of us for $1500 including taxes for Tuesday to Tuesday on Delta with great flight times and only one stop each way. I am so happy. United and American Airlines also had good routes and prices for mid-week.

So this is just my PSA to say if you are looking to fly out of Canada and want to try and find cheaper airfares, look at mid-week flights if you can swing it. I know there will be people who do this already, but if you are like me and it hadn't clicked in to check other than weekend to weekend, this was a great revelation and savings.

[Sue M]

Congrats on the savings. Seattle is a 3 hr drive so we usually fly out of there to get the cheap flights. Usually can find fares around $300ish.

[prairiesarah]

I had looked into flying out of the US as we are fairly close to the border. However, we'd have to drive to Grand Forks, ND to fly on Allegiant which is a 8 to 9 hour drive from here. A hotel either way plus the gas and transportation from Sanford to WDW would negate any savings. For flying out of Regina, I am quite happy with the price. It is actually cheaper per person than flying Westjet out to BC to visit my family. I've got everything booked now and can't wait for the trip!

[fitzperry]

This is good advice for US markets as well, especially if you are traveling cross-country or internationally. We saved a bundle last summer by traveling to the Cayman Islands Tues to Tues instead of flying on the weekend.

[CerysG]

I'm in Regina and I know what you mean about the airfare out of here. Last time we went we drove to Minot which saves us about $1000 for the 5 of us. I don't think I want to do that this time though as it just makes a long trip longer. I do find the US companies are much cheaper then either of the Canadian ones so likely we will fly United or Delta when we go in August. We will be flying midweek when we go but coming back on a Sunday when we come back (or at least that's the plan at this point).

[joanjett1976]

Yup. As a seasoned traveller, the mid-week fare is always a much better deal.
You can get some very decent pricing if you don't mind travelling in the evening.

I've also gotten some outstanding fares departing from the Burlington, VT airport as opposed to Montreal. We're talking half price. The parking is safe and cheap. And the airport is quaint and small and completely stress-free!

[Sue M]

Originally Posted by prairiesarah

I had looked into flying out of the US as we are fairly close to the border. However, we'd have to drive to Grand Forks, ND to fly on Allegiant which is a 8 to 9 hour drive from here. A hotel either way plus the gas and transportation from Sanford to WDW would negate any savings. For flying out of Regina, I am quite happy with the price. It is actually cheaper per person than flying Westjet out to BC to visit my family. I've got everything booked now and can't wait for the trip!

Yes, I don't think I'd fly from the US if it meant a 9 hr drive, that's a little too long! 3 hrs is doable, and even with hotel I'm ahead.

[KiKi Mouse]

We're in Winnipeg and for the first time we drove to Fargo and flew United to Chicago and then on to Orlando.
We got a hotel for a Sunday night and flew out on the Monday.
On the way home we planned on driving straight home.

Our flight out of Chicago was delayed for around 1.5 hours. The family was tired and cranky and my husband drove home to Winnipeg. We didn't get in the house until 4 a.m.

I am not sure if we would do that again. At least if we are delayed at home it's a quick drive to our house from the airport.

We considered getting a hotel for the night but that would have been a disruption for the kids and then we would have had to disrupt them again in the morning to drive home.

[dis_guy]

Originally Posted by prairiesarah

I finally switched things up and looked at mid-week to mid-week instead of weekend to weekend and what a difference that made. I was able to get flights for the three of us for $1500 including taxes for Tuesday to Tuesday on Delta with great flight times and only one stop each way. I am so happy. United and American Airlines also had good routes and prices for mid-week.

I fly out of Edmonton, and I've found the very same thing, mid-week is the way to go.

We usually fly United (was Continental) and have found that in addition to flying on Tuesday-Thursday, booking a week less than the farthest out the airline will let you will get you the best price. Currently, that price is $516 pp all taxes and fees included. Of course, Christmas and other holidays are a whole other ball game.

[DenaRox]

we are flying out of Saskatoon and experienced the same crazy prices ended up also booking with delta for a whole lot cheaper and was super happy with flight departure/arrival times and only one connection. sadly delta changed the flight on us a few days ago. they removed their morning flight all together so now instead of arriving in Orlando at 245 pm we wont get in until near midnight. seriously bummed about that but to switch to a different airline and arrive even a few hours earlier would add hundreds of dollars per person.

I strongly suggest that you check your flights on delta regularly to look for any changes as they didn't send us any notice at all.

[goldwest]

If they change the flight details is there any recourse to get a refund and fly with someone else? It seems you are not getting what you paid for. I'm going now to check on my flights as I didn't know this was possible

[ABCanada]

Originally Posted by goldwest

If they change the flight details is there any recourse to get a refund and fly with someone else? It seems you are not getting what you paid for.

When we had a significant change a couple of years ago we were able to cancel our flight and get a full refund. I believe the cut off was a change of over four hours. Not certain if this is an industry standard or airline specific. It still left us to find reasonably priced flight on short notice. What was annoying was that there was a better alternative than the one they rescheduled us to but they refused to put us on that flight because there were no seats left in the category that we had booked under. The argument that there had been seats in this category when we had origianlly booked did not sway them. If I had not been able to get an acceptable alternative I might have pushed a bit harder but I doubt I would have been successful.

Originally Posted by goldwest

I'm going now to check on my flights as I didn't know this was possible

When we had this happen with Delta a number of years ago we stopped flying with them (we are using them this Jan as their flights were by far the cheapest and felt we would give them another chance).

You can now sign up for emails where they automatically notify you of the change (system seems to work better for some airlines than others). So far it is looking like changes are still an issue with Delta. It has been less than two weeks and we have already received our first notification. We are now arriving half an hour later which is not a deal breaker but given it is a late night flight and we were meeting up with another party at the airport it is annoying.

[mtmbyck]

Delta has a reputation for changing flights. Make sure to exhaust all Canadian options before turning to US carriers. I usually fly on American charters out of the US but this year I did a search of one way options around our dates and by changing dates slightly, I found direct Canadian flights for less than a US charter 2 hours away!

[dis_guy]

I'm another one that won't fly delta again. Being stuck for 2 days in Salt Lake City was enough for me.

United is like any other airline nowadays but at least their staff (so far in my experience) seem to want to work with you to correct problems. While I find them OK, I definitely would not connect through Chicago or a few of their other hubs. Love Denver, tolerate Houston, like Orlando.

Lots of people seem to think Canadian airlines are better. I just don't see much of a difference. YMMV.

[pokee99]

Flights are particularly expensive for us (Vancouver to Florida), so as another poster stated, flying from Seattle is popular (the tax savings are monumental sometimes!), and also I know lots of people use credit card points. I am flying FIVE of us to Tampa on Aeroplan points (25,000 per ticket; $90 taxes for each ticket) next summer. Had to book 9 months in advance to get that many people on the same flights, though!

There are several different types of credit cards you can use to earn points. You can use a Gold Amex and earn membership rewards, which can then be transferred to either Aeroplan (partner is United) or British Airways (partner is American Airlines) - sometimes even earning bonuses! Then there's RBC Avion, or the CIBC Aeroplan Infinite. Whatever you use, these points can add up quickly. I have several cards and earn enough points to take the whole family on one big trip every year, and then one or two smaller trips for myself and sometimes friends or my niece. I haven't paid for a plane ticket in over 10 years!

Not everyone likes credit cards, so if you're just having to book them, discount airlines are best - or flying mid-week is also good, as another poster suggested. Also think about flying into Tampa or Miami - you could save a bundle there. Car rentals can sometimes be pricey, but if you were planning to rent a car anyway, this could be an affordable option. That will also give you an opportunity to visit and see more of Florida, too!

I've connected through Chicago, Denver and Houston to fly to destinations out east on United, and all have been fine (although, luggage delayed in Houston for two days this past May). It's much more direct than connecting through Toronto (which usually happens if you book an Air Canada flight from out west!). The worst airport I've experienced is Atlanta (flown there 3 times...always a disaster, somehow), which Delta uses as a hub, so I'd avoid Delta airlines, since it could be a connection point. Maybe look into those UA or AA flights instead!