Flights from Canada

[katt789]

Hi,
I've been planning a trip down in early May 2011, (3rd to 9th to be exact) and have been looking at flights periodically for the past couple of months. They're at the cheapest right now ($460.00 each) on Expedia.

For all you other Canadians out there, who do you usually buy plane tix from? And what rates do you usually find? Would it be worth it to buy the tix now, or wait to see if they go down?

As for Expedia, I'm sure it's a "trusted" company, has anyone used it before? (We're only using it for the flights), are there any hidden costs? (I know something about checked bagged popped up, but that's fine)

Thaks for your help!

 

[dlhvac]

Used them said flight was booked for the price charged my card and two days later said all flights at that amount were sold and i would have to pay 576.00 more . use matrix.itasoftware.com this is just to find the flights you have to call elsewhere to book. sorry they would not let me put in link said i dont post often enough just google above

 

[katt789]

They didn't give you a confirmation number or anything? Did you book online, or?

 

[ccudmore]

Traveller from Ottawa here...
I travel frequently and buy my tickets from a number of places, Expedia (which by the way was founded by Microsoft, and they still own a portion of it), Travelocity, Orbitz, and often directly from the airline web site. Never had a problem with any of them. There's sometimes a few dollars difference between the sources. And some discount airlines don't even participate in places like Expedia and Travelocity.

Also, many cities have charter companies that you have to deal with directly but you have to know that they exist.

Many Canadian cities are close enough to the US border that it's worth it to drive a couple hours to get a much cheaper flight. I drove 3 hours each way in October to get flights for $110/person taxes in. I'm not sure what if anything is close enough to Calgary that may be worth the drive.

 

[ccudmore]

I just did a check for you and came up with a price of $381 taxes it from Calgary to MCO on the dates you wanted on Orbitz.ca flying on American. Also, go to the Calgary airport web site and take a look at the list of what airlines fly out of there and see if any of the charter companies listed offer direct flights to MCO.

 

[gifchick]

Hey!

If you book with the airline directly you can save Expedias booking fee. That is normally how I do it, I look on expedia to give me an idea what airlines fly where and then book directly with that airline.

HTH

 

[dis_guy]

Hey!

If you book with the airline directly you can save Expedias booking fee. That is normally how I do it, I look on expedia to give me an idea what airlines fly where and then book directly with that airline.

HTH

I fly out of Edmonton, so Hi to a fellow Albertan!

I do the same thing to check multiple airlines at the same time. I also use http://matrix.itasoftware.com/. You can't buy the tickets from the site but it gives you a very good idea of what's out there.

For the last 3 times I've found the best price (saved around $300 over the United price) for my traveling time by flying with United but buying the tickets from aircanada.com. You can then access the united.ca site for seat selections, etc., using your eticket number.

 

[dlhvac]

Yes they gave conf no but still stated i would have to pay amount , five days later credited
my card after i refused to pay extra

 

[dlhvac]

i fly out of edmonton, so hi to a fellow albertan!

I do the same thing to check multiple airlines at the same time. I also use /matrix.itasoftware.com. You can't buy the tickets from the site but it gives you a very good idea of what's out there.

For the last 3 times i've found the best price (saved around $300 over the united price) for my traveling time by flying with united but buying the tickets from aircanada.com. You can then access the united.ca site for seat selections, etc., using your eticket number.

the ita software is reco by disney

 

[katt789]

Thanks! You guys have all been helpful
I've gone on expedia to find the deals, then gone straight through the website of the airlines, it looks like AA is the cheapest, we'll be booking next week!!

 

[seashoreCM]

the ita software is reco by disney

Huh? Pardon?

Like the little girl with the curl across her forehead, agents like Expedia, Orbitz, etc. when they are good they are very very good but when they are bad they are horrid.

Problems often arise when an airline changes its schedule and you don't like the alternate flights that Travelocity, Expedia, etc. gives you. It may be that the alternate flights came from the agent's prepurchased bulk inventory but the agent would have to "make a special order behind the scenes" for the alternate flight you really wanted and hand picked as your next choice. Such a special order could well wipe out the profit that the agent would have made on the deal or even make that transaction into a loss.

What shows through to the customer is hassle and dissatisfaction.

The better way:

I've gone on Exp... to find the deals, then gone straight through to the website of the airlines (to book) ...