Flights From Calgary

[mom2372]

We are planning a trip in November and I am wondering if we should book our flights to orlando now (about 438p/p) or wait in hopes we can save a bit more. I see that we could get flights for 340p/p in May but am wondering if it is realistic to hold out for those kinds of deals in November? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Tammy

 

[Kat&Dom]

We are planning a trip in November and I am wondering if we should book our flights to orlando now (about 438p/p) or wait in hopes we can save a bit more. I see that we could get flights for 340p/p in May but am wondering if it is realistic to hold out for those kinds of deals in November? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Tammy

I helped a friend plan a last minute trip to Disney this past November. The deal I found for her was $408 per person - there was a deal on hotwire for $378 but it wouldn't tell you the airline or flight times until after you booked. She preferred to know her flight times before booking so she paid the $408.

I think that $438 is a great price and if you like the flights times - book it now. You might find a cheaper deal by about $50 but have lousy flight times. To me, a flight from Calgary to Orlando under $450 including taxes is a good deal.

 

[chimo2u]

One day a couple months ago, I logged on to West Jets site and just lucked out seeing direct flights for our dates (August 21-28) at $175.00 pp each way) total $350 per person plus tax. I grabbed it as I thought it wasn't a bad deal. We may have been able to get our flights a little cheaper closer to the date, but I wasn't guaranteed that. I thought for a direct flight, that the deal I got was not bad... and since that day, I have never seen the same flight less than $248.00 per leg yet!
Glad I grabbed it when I did
We are driving from Edmonton to Calgary to take part in the direct flight. I felt it was worth the 3 hr. drive, and a night in a hotel to take a direct flight

 

[Kat&Dom]

One day a couple months ago, I logged on to West Jets site and just lucked out seeing direct flights for our dates (August 21-28) at $175.00 pp each way) total $350 per person plus tax. I grabbed it as I thought it wasn't a bad deal. We may have been able to get our flights a little cheaper closer to the date, but I wasn't guaranteed that. I thought for a direct flight, that the deal I got was not bad... and since that day, I have never seen the same flight less than $248.00 per leg yet!
Glad I grabbed it when I did
We are driving from Edmonton to Calgary to take part in the direct flight. I felt it was worth the 3 hr. drive, and a night in a hotel to take a direct flight

That is a great deal! I live halfway between Calgary and Edmonton so I am always checking prices at both airports.

 

[canadianjovigirl]

We flew to Florida last November and paid just over $400 per person including all fees. We did a connecting flight in Houston and it was a long haul, but we did extend our vacation by 3 days as we flew out on Oct 31 rather than the Nov 3rd date we had planned due to the cheaper flights...and what we saved on our airfair we spent 3 days in clearwater...........

I wanted to pay under $450 each for our flights including all fees so as soon as i found something like that i booked it and quit looking at prices....

 

[almacdonald]

We're looking for flights in November also. Where are you finding $438/person? Is that including taxes? Roundtrip or each way? The best we can find right now is in the $620/person range (RT incl taxes) but those flights have 2 stops!

 

[dis_guy]

It's 10:20 PM MDT now and I just saw $355 return pp (from Calgary) on continental.com. The dates I tested were Departing Nov 11 and returning Nov 16. It came to just over $900 CAD for two adults.

Hope someone can use this!

 

[bdtracey]

We're going NEXT May (2011). Any idea when the best time to book those flights would be?

 

[dis_guy]

We're going NEXT May (2011). Any idea when the best time to book those flights would be?

The major airlines book a year (minus a couple of weeks) out except for WestJet, which is quite a bit less, so you have lots of time yet.

I usually start watching fares as soon as they become available and when I see something that I think is a good rate, I grab it. Generally I haven't got the nerve to book just a month or two out like some people do.

Currently, I'm looking for fares for mid November. I expect that the fall seat sale prices may start turning up in April-May like they did last year. I'm hoping to have them booked by mid summer at the latest.

Good Luck!

 

[mom2372]

Thanks for all of the replys. I figured it was a good deal but just wanted it confirmed. We are in Sherwood Park and would prefer to fly from Edmonton but with 5 of us it is way cheaper to fly from Calgary. To the op that was inquiring about where I found that price it was on expedia either yesterday or the day before. I found that by playing with the dates I was able to come up with several flights under $450. Mind you they all have one stop for that price but if we flew from Edmonton we would be looking at at least one stop but for more money.
Tammy

 

[Timon]

We have flown from YYC to MCO 7 times in the past 10 years and here's some tips/advice/info:

Except for one January trip, all our flights left around the middle of October.


-The cheapest we have ever paid (per person) was $505 CDN including taxes. This was back in 2000 and was rather expensive for back then.

-The most we have ever paid was $750 including taxes and that was in 2009.

-The best flight ever was the direct flight via Westjet. It was just over 5 hours to Orlando and the plane was awesome! TV in every seat, comfy leather seats and great, friendly crew. This flight used to be seasonal but I believe it is offered three times per week now (T, Th & Sun?) If you can find a deal on this flight, book it!!! You still get two free checked bags per person too.

-American Airlines makes connections in either Chicago (OHare) or Dallas. These flights often make you change Terminals which can be a very long walk . I wouldn't book these flights if you are travelling with small children or elderly people. If you have the choice between Chicago and Dallas, and are travelling during the colder months, I would choose to go through Dallas as Chicago often gets hit with snowstorms and can cause major delays. You have to pay for your checked bags, which can be costly with a lot of luggage!

-Continental makes connections in Houston and is often the best deal around. You usually have to change terminals but it's a smaller airport and easier to get around. You also have to pay for your checked bags when you fly them.

-United Airlines makes connections in Denver and Chicago (Ohare). If I can't fly with Westjet, I always book a United Flight through Denver. This flight leaves early in the morning and gets me to Orlando at a decent time. I also love going through Denver because United has it's own terminal there and it's super easy to find your connecting flight as it will be in the same terminal, just a short walk away. They have great options for food and shopping here too! If you need a Disney fix, eat at Wolfgang Pucks, it's delicious! You also have to pay for your checked bags here!

-Flying Air Canada usually means staying overnight in Toronto. I would avoid this at all costs as it makes for a long journey and you have to go through Customs in Toronto (which can be a nightmare) instead of the Pre-clearance in Calgary. AC used to have a direct flight to Orlando, not sure if they still do but it was always really expensive!! You can also fly via Montreal if you want. First 2 bags are free!

-Shop for flights starting one year from departure date and check them daily if you are looking for a deal. Try Travelocity, Expedia and Flight Network as well as the airlines I mentioned above.

-Flights during the week are almost always way cheaper than weekend flights and will also be less busy.

-Personally, if you find something under $500, book it! While you can get some better deals, they are very rare and hard to find.

-If there is a certain flight you really really want, check several times a day for deals. Sometimes the prices fluctuate in a single day!


Hope that helps some of you!

Oh and please remember, these are just MY thoughts and opinions based on MY experience. I'm sure other people have different opinions based on their experiences.

 

[dis_guy]

Timon (Cass) I agree with every point you made about travel from YYC. All of it applies to Edmonton (YEG) as well.

The only "tip" I can add is to check the Air Canada web site because they list United flights as well. Last Christmas I got a far better price on United flights on aircanada.com than I could on United.ca.

So now I'm waiting for our Nov flights to get more reasonable (currently at $800 each) but they are our perfect times and without these the whole trip may not be doable because of our work schedules, etc.

I'm truly torn- should I wait for a better price which is fairly likely but not guaranteed or should I grab these now rather than not get them later? I know most people would never pay this for flights bur it's my wife's 50th and I really want to surprise her with this trip. Any opinions?

Edited to add that the AC price right now is about $300 less than UA's price.

 

[Kat&Dom]

Timon (Cass) I agree with every point you made about travel from YYC. All of it applies to Edmonton (YEG) as well.

The only "tip" I can add is to check the Air Canada web site because they list United flights as well. Last Christmas I got a far better price on United flights on aircanada.com than I could on United.ca.

So now I'm waiting for our Nov flights to get more reasonable (currently at $800 each) but they are our perfect times and without these the whole trip may not be doable because of our work schedules, etc.

I'm truly torn- should I wait for a better price which is fairly likely but not guaranteed or should I grab these now rather than not get them later? I know most people would never pay this for flights bur it's my wife's 50th and I really want to surprise her with this trip. Any opinions?

I would wait until this weekend and see if there are any seat sales due to the Easter Holiday. I have noticed that Air Canada and Westjet sometimes have great seat sales on stat holidays. Good Luck!

 

[Jareds_mommy]

we are flying out of calgary in april, driving from edmonton too
I got $79 direct (I have seen it lots of times sice I booked)
on westjet and coming back we got $144 of aircanada
we have flown threw toronto a few times and have never had an over night coming or going
infact we come back this time through there and leave Orlando at 8 am and get into calgary at 1.30 pm

 

[Mom of a *Princess*]

So now I'm waiting for our Nov flights to get more reasonable (currently at $800 each) but they are our perfect times and without these the whole trip may not be doable because of our work schedules, etc.

I'm truly torn- should I wait for a better price which is fairly likely but not guaranteed or should I grab these now rather than not get them later? I know most people would never pay this for flights bur it's my wife's 50th and I really want to surprise her with this trip. Any opinions?

Edited to add that the AC price right now is about $300 less than UA's price.

Having you been checking the availability of the seats on the flights you want? If there are a lot of seats available then I would just wait for some better prices.That's what I've been doing while I wait to book return flights in January.

 

[drag n' fly]

The cheapest we ever got was 472cad tax included return for the five of us going to Tampa. The cheapest I could find to LAX was 87 bucks for an upcoming trip. I will pay extra to have my arrival day and departure day used to it's best. Get out of here early and leave late lol.

 

[dis_guy]

I will pay extra to have my arrival day and departure day used to it's best. Get out of here early and leave late lol.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[chimo2u]

That is a great deal! I live halfway between Calgary and Edmonton so I am always checking prices at both airports.

I agree I am happy....and it appears the more I read on this thread, the more I realize we did very well! And I am now more excited to experience West Jet's direct flight, it sounds wonderful!!

I have never flown through Calgary before. Anyone who has, can you tell me how do I do the customs clearance there?? Will I pre-clear customs prior to getting on the flight?? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[almacdonald]

Your check in will be at the international terminal, C i think. You fill out your customs card, go to the check-in desk, get your baggage tagged and get your boarding passes and proceed to the customs area through the doors behind the check-in desk. Last time we were there, there was a sign saying you could only enter the customs area up to 2 hours before your departure. Then you stand in line to go through the customs agent (standard questions, where are you going, why? etc) Once they approve you, you head to the baggage drop off point. From there it's security. Last month they were THOROUGH! I mean, literally taking every single item out of every single bag one item at a time. It took forever! If you can avoid carry-on, save yourself the hassle! After security, you are free to wander around the gate area. There are a couple snack places, a little bar, a Hudson's News stand and coffee.

ETA: make sure you have your magical express tags on your bag before you drop them off, that will be the last you see of them til you get to your hotel room!

 

[Jareds_mommy]

we have also found a deal on parking our truck in calgary,
we were looking at $177 for the 17 nights at an airport park and fly, but we are staying at Acclaim Hotel Calgary Airport we get breakfast and a $20 dinner voucher and they will keep out truck for the whole time for $99 plus tax, it was a travel zoo promo we booked about a month ago,
so even though the flight doesn't leave until noon we are on the west jet direct fight too, it is still a better deal to go the night before for us.
I just checked the going down on westjet and comming back on aircanada we are paying $260 perperson
the prices were way more the day before and the day after so by adding 2 days to our trip and booking around the flight prices we saved enough on flights to pay the 2 extra nights at the CSR. the only extra cost really was the $32 a day it was to upgrade our free quick dining to reg dining for those 2 extra days