Flying out of Hamilton?

[mommylo]

Hi Fellow Canadians,
Has anyone flown out of Hamilton before with Westjet? How is the airport? I hate flying out of Pearson so much! We are thinking of redeeming Airmiles for travel next time and am thinking of flying out of Hamilton. Is it worth the drive?

 

[disneyvacationmom]

We flew out of Hamilton with Westjet last year. The airport is small but we had no problems other than we had to go through customs when we arrived in Orlando-had to pick up our luggage, talk to the customs guy, send our luggage back through screening(x-ray) and pick it up again at the luggage area. It was a bit of a pain I will say. Coming home all was well except it took a long time for our luggage to come through(go figure, only plane landing) and then there was only 2 customs agents for the plane full of people. It was worth it for us since we live in Hamilton but truthfully I much prefer flying out of Buffalo.

 

[belle1627]

Drive the extra hour down the QEW and fly out of Buffalo.
Even by redeeming Airmiles you are going to be paying approx $120/person for taxes
For that amount per person, you can fly out of Buffalo with none of the worries about clearing customs and luggage, and you keep all of your Airmiles for other things.
Redeeming your Airmiles for flights really isnt the best way to maximize them.

We'll only fly out of BUF for this family anymore

CPC

 

[briarberry]

We flew out of Hamilton last month, not with WestJet though. We were going to England with Globespan. It was the first time I have flown out of Hamilton and it was great. It is a small airport which I liked. It's easy to find and get in and out of. We left our car there for 2 weeks in the long term parking and it was only $50 a week which I thought was reasonable. When we came home there were 5 customs officers on duty so we really cleared customs quickly. They didn't even look in our luggage and we picked it up after customs.
I hate Pearson and don't like leaving my vehicle in the states when I fly so Hamilton works for us. I guess you will just have to decide what works best for you.

 

[disneyfan2]

i flew out of Hamilton and with Westjet and i lovvveeed it.
The airport is small but not busy and nothing like Pearson which i won't do especially with small kids. I would recommend Hamilton to anyone. Coming back was awesome got thru customs quick, get bags walk outside and out ride was waiting 1 row over.

 

[mommylo]

Thanks for all your advice. I guess I was hoping Hamilton to be like Buffalo, being a smaller airport, so we don't have to walk 2 miles to get to the plane

 

[disneyfan2]

I also flew from Buffalo and the leaving the cars (especially in mid winter) i did not want to leave the car either. And if there is a winter storm(Buffalo gets it worse) then i would be worried. Like the rates from Buffalo, but if you could save the time(never know how long you will wait at border to cross) Hamilton is an excellent alternative.
With Buffalo, we spent the night at Hotel just to be sure we would get there on time. So that was an extra cost

 

[fuzzy164]

I have flown out of Hamilton many times on buisness in Canada and find it great. The airport is small and has one check-in counter for the two airlines. I try and get there early if flying west (They recommend 2 hours prior). There's not alot to do in the terminal itself but there is a nice coffee shop/ resturant before you go through security. There is a company renting portable dvd players but I think that's just within Canada and their not cheap.
The airport is easy to get to and lots of parking.
We usally fly out of Buffalo if going state side as it's cheaper and just as nice. We stay overnight at a hotel and take advantage of the free parking for up to 14 days, plus free shuttle and breakfast.

Leaving today for AllStar Sports WHOO HOOO !!!!

Fuzzy164