Flights from Ottawa

[EllenMurphy]

Hello Ottawa people!

Thank you for your kind welcome I hope you are enjoying like I am the mild weather this week!

Just curious and I am sure this could change before 2022 but is it still or ever was worth it to drive across the border for flights? I thought I had read that Ogsdenburg had an airport with flights and I know Syracuse...

 

[ottawamom]

It depends. How many people in your travelling group? Are you going in winter weather or good road conditions? How price sensitive are you? Do you need a direct flight?

We've flown out of Syracuse (United), Albany and Buffalo (Southwest) (driving from Ottawa). We are a family of 5 and at the time the savings on flights was worth the drive to each of those locations. We made the drive into part of the trip (outlet shopping etc) At the time of year we flew there were no direct flights from Ottawa and the road conditions were good. Rochester NY (4hr drive) is another option.

I enjoyed flying out of the US and would do it again for the right deal.

If you are only 2 people, fly from Ottawa (assuming a direct flight comes back). If you are flying in winter, direct flight from Ottawa is a bonus. Once you're in the air you'll make it to your destination.

The Ogdensburg airport flies a discount airline with only 2 flights per week. If something happens to your flight you could find yourself waiting a while for another one.

I don't know when the direct flight (south) from Ottawa will return. Try looking at flights from Montreal. They are direct and sometimes the prices are competitive with a flight out of the US (when you factor in hotel, parking gas, food etc)

 

[hdrolfe]

So far it has been better for us to fly direct from Ottawa, however I always price compare to Syracuse, and Montreal. Since I'm able to Uber from home to airport here I have to factor in parking and possible hotel stay before the flight, or after it depending on timing of things. I'm not keen on driving in the dark in strange places, especially in winter.

 

[TammyLynn33]

We are in Kingston so halfway between Toronto and Ottawa and 2.5 to Syracuse and it’s always been beneficial for us to drive to Syracuse and fly JetBlue .
Now that said I have a really large travel bank with JetBlue now and obviously can’t apply that to domestic travel here so this may be a consideration for my future travel ..

 

[samsteele]

I haven't flown out of Syracuse (Jet Blue) since the Cdn dollar fell. By the time I factor in a hotel and parking fees, its comparable to flying out of Toronto. I know friends in the Kingston area who never stay in a hotel and fly same day. The problem with this is the border crossing. It can be quiet and a smooth drive through. But I've also been in long lines and sat in my car for well over 2 hours. A crash on the 401 can also lead to huge delay and rerouting. If flying out of Syracuse in the winter, also keep in mind the white outs and lake effect snow near Pulaski NY. That will bring traffic to a crawl as well. Really depends on how concerned you are with border and traffic delays and missing the flight.

 

[EllenMurphy]

Its the four of us and we are planning a fall visit. Way too many chances of cancellation in Ottawa during winter!

 

[ottawamom]

Fall visit with 4 of you, fly out of the US if you can find flights that work. I've enjoyed flying Southwest but you'd have to drive to Rochester to do that (it's only 4 hours, not much further when you already commit to 3 to get to Syracuse).

I wouldn't fly out of Ogdensburg during hurricane season because of the limited flights should something go wrong.

Direct flights start up again from Ottawa mid September (in usual times). It really just comes down to price at that point. Add up all the costs for both options (as well as something for your time) go with the cheaper option. I do this everytime we holiday down south.

 

[kuhltiffany]

We've been flying out of Montreal when we go to DL, Air Canada has direct flights to California. I miss when we lived in Guelph, we used to get cheap Southwest flights out of Buffalo, haven't found the comparable here...

 

[TammyLynn33]

Honestly the $80 US for a Syracuse hotel which includes parking and shuttle is priceless to avoid the hustle and bustle of YYZ.. we flew to Calgary a couple years ago and flights were delayed both ways , parking was expensive park and fly luggage took forever.. ( maybe it’s me being a single mom to 4 kiddos)
But the ease of a small airport is so nice

 

[ottawamom]

We've been flying out of Montreal when we go to DL, Air Canada has direct flights to California. I miss when we lived in Guelph, we used to get cheap Southwest flights out of Buffalo, haven't found the comparable here...

Southwest out of Rochester is about as good as it gets in Ottawa.

 

[Chickinvic]

I lived in Ottawa for 7 years, and honestly never was able to justify flying out of the US. Never found those real "savings". I flew out of Montreal a couple times, but usually just wound up flying out of Ottawa.