Is Air Canada Sun Pass a better deal?

[biggroofy]

I was looking for 5 tickets from Toronto to Orlando in Mar 2008. The total is close to 4.5K

I noticed there is a Sun Pass - Central Canada - One Payment - 20 credits (Up to 5 Travelers) for 5.9K valid for 1 year.

Anyone used these passes before? I wanted to know if Air Canada applies limited seats, blackout period etc restrictions to these passes?

 

[Valjean13]

It probably depends on the dates you are going. Is $4500 the best you could find on any airline, or only air canada? I believe the flight passes require you to book specific fare categories, so if that category is sold out on the flight you want, even if there are other seats, you can't book it. Perhaps checking that out first would help you decide. Also did you check West Jet? They fly from Toronto and Hamilton, although the Hamilton flights are only on the weekends. The charter companies usually have better prices than Air Canada, although getting them during spring break might be tough.

 

[biggroofy]

It probably depends on the dates you are going. Is $4500 the best you could find on any airline, or only air canada? I believe the flight passes require you to book specific fare categories, so if that category is sold out on the flight you want, even if there are other seats, you can't book it. Perhaps checking that out first would help you decide. Also did you check West Jet? They fly from Toronto and Hamilton, although the Hamilton flights are only on the weekends. The charter companies usually have better prices than Air Canada, although getting them during spring break might be tough.

Thanks! That was exactly my concern. On their web site they say "Tango Plus Class H Tickets" - but even I called Air Canada Help Desk, they were not able to tell me if all Tango Plus fares = Class H.

I don't want to buy the Flight Passes and then realized they are not available on the dates of my travel.

I am also checking out WestJet now.

 

[phabric]

Check out www.sunwing.ca for flights also.

 

[biggroofy]

Thank you! I checked Sun Wing, Air Transat, and also WestJet.

Sun Wing has a better deal but the flight time is a little difficult for us (departing 06:30 is impossible with a DD4 and an infant).

I may consider taking WestJet (10:30am flight) to Orlando (only $2XX), and returning via Air Canada (13:55 flight).

Any other suggestions?

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Have you considered flying out of Buffalo? It's much cheaper than flying out of Toronto or Hamilton.

For eg. we are flying Southwest Dec 5-12 for $265 US return for the two of us. I checked Air Canada/Tango and it was $878 CDN return for the two of us for the same dates.

There's also AirTran and Jetblue that fly out of the Buffalo airport.

Just a thought. The Buffalo airport is very user friendly since it's only one terminal. We've never had a problem.

Fiona

 

[biggroofy]

Have you considered flying out of Buffalo? It's much cheaper than flying out of Toronto or Hamilton.
For eg. we are flying Southwest Dec 5-12 for $265 US return for the two of us. I checked Air Canada/Tango and it was $878 CDN return for the two of us for the same dates.
There's also AirTran and Jetblue that fly out of the Buffalo airport.
Just a thought. The Buffalo airport is very user friendly since it's only one terminal. We've never had a problem.

Fiona

Thanks Fiona - I've heard about that but haven't really looked into it. How long would be the drive from Toronto to Buffalo? Also what is the rate for parking over there? Wanted to see if flying from Buffalo is feasible for us, with an infant + a 4-year-old.

I checked the Air Canada price for Mar 2008, and it is $910 per person for direct flight (YYZ <-> MCO).

 

[iluveeyore]

We fly Southwest out of Buffalo all the time - I just booked for December at $99 each down and $79 return, and with our dollar that means it's even cheaper than that. Plus, you don't pay the phenomenal taxes that Toronto airport charges.
Parking in Buffalo is $9 US per day or $45 per week.
From Toronto on the QEW it should only take you 2 hours tops, maybe less depending on where in Toronto you're coming from.
Southwest has non-stop flights and so does Jetblue (which currently has deals for $60 each way, but not the times I wanted - we leave early and return late since our kids are older).
Sign up online for DING for Southwest, prices will drop as time gets closer - you can always book now and if the prices go down Southwest will give you the cheaper rate and credit you the rest for future travel.
Happy hunting!

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Parking at Buffalo is about $38/week with the coupon that you can get on their website. We usually park in the Preferred Long Term A parking lot and have had no trouble using the shuttles. Since the airport is much smaller than Pearson it's much easier to get around.

We've always flown Southwest out of Buffalo and have actually flown enough times to earn a free flight which we used in August -- total for the two of us $10 in airport security taxes so the free flight is really close to being free.

Southwest is great for flying with kids and I wouldn't hesitate to fly with young kids out of Buffalo -- lots of people here on the boards have done it.

The drive to the airport is about 2 hours from Toronto. We live north and east of Toronto and it takes us around 2 hours door to door as long as the border is fairly clear. The great thing about flying out of Buffalo is that you have already gone through customs at the border rather than doing it at the airport.

Sign up for Ding and you should pay way less than $908/person for March 2008. The most we've paid is $129 each way and that was because we left it too late and were flying on a holiday.

No matter which airline you fly you should sign up for their frequent flyer program as well.

Hope this helps.

Fiona