I'm another that prefers driving into the States rather than paying Air Canada's fees. And I do find WestJet charges more than AirCanada.
Round-trip September 2010 family of 4.
- AirCanada wanted $1,800
- WestJet wanted $2195
- paid JetBlue $637 US (still under $700 CAN!)
$1,100 cheaper!! That was just too huge of a price difference. We drove to Buffalo, stayed overnight with a park & fly, and stayed again overnight on the way back.
Priced out Toronto to LAX Oct 2011 to get an idea of cost for October 2012:
- AirCanada, round-trip, direct flight!, family of 4 = $2,443 (rounded-up) + $340 for 6 suitcases
- WestJet (same details), connecting flights (boo) = $2,901. And that's on a seat sale fare! I would not pay more for a connecting flight when I can get a direct flight cheaper.
Priced out of Detroit to Lax same as above:
- Delta, round-trip, direct flights, family of 4 = $1,534 (rounded-up) + $340 for 6 suitcases
It's $909 cheaper (treating $ as par) to drive to Detroit. Now we will still have to pay extra gas, parking at the airport, and possibly 1 overnight stay. But I doubt that will eat up the entire $900 savings.