When did Air Canada get cheaper than WestJet?

[hdrolfe]

Isn't the current exchange rate about 1 USD = 1.295 CAD? and that's the straight exchange (so what you would get on a Disney Giftcard) while the VISA and MC rates would be higher, only 1.2977 I think for MC at least, except of course you have to then add the 2.5% for the exchange rate fee, so 1.33 it looks like. Not to scare you, but I'd always budget at higher exchange, I normally do at 1 USD = 1.35 CAD which gives more room.

Food budget I do 100 USD per person per day, when kiddo was younger I may have done a bit less for him but he also ate more snacks than meals, and that's only if you are only doing quick service.

Hopefully there will be a discount of some sort to help with your costs.

Any way. I'm also in Ottawa and those are nice flights, sadly it doesn't get a lot cheaper for direct here. The option is to drive to Montreal and fly from there which offers more options. Hopefully AC keeps their direct flights, they have been so bad about that lately. I know travel is a mess but why can't we get direct flights back!

 

[Daddy's 'lil Princess]

Isn't the current exchange rate about 1 USD = 1.295 CAD? and that's the straight exchange (so what you would get on a Disney Giftcard) while the VISA and MC rates would be higher, only 1.2977 I think for MC at least, except of course you have to then add the 2.5% for the exchange rate fee, so 1.33 it looks like. Not to scare you, but I'd always budget at higher exchange, I normally do at 1 USD = 1.35 CAD which gives more room.

Food budget I do 100 USD per person per day, when kiddo was younger I may have done a bit less for him but he also ate more snacks than meals, and that's only if you are only doing quick service.

Hopefully there will be a discount of some sort to help with your costs.

Any way. I'm also in Ottawa and those are nice flights, sadly it doesn't get a lot cheaper for direct here. The option is to drive to Montreal and fly from there which offers more options. Hopefully AC keeps their direct flights, they have been so bad about that lately. I know travel is a mess but why can't we get direct flights back!

hmmm yes I may have to re figure this out. we can go OVER budget we have the contigency but would rather try and stay on track i see alot of people do about $100 per person per day. I could adjust for that i guess Me alone wont touch that number i know breakfast samich (like timmies) lunch CASEY CASEY CASEY DInner CASEY CASEY CASEY lol . right now i dont eat all day as it is Coffee redbull maybe a samich but dins im decent eater. I can adjust as needed. No one will go hungry im not to worried. Our little one is 6 and she is extremely simple dogs mac cheese and pizza chicken nuggets etc.

Oh there are way cheaper flights: look flair and swoop same scenario i have looked at MTL as we are 1.5 hrs away.

These cheap air carriers scare me a bit i can get us all down there for like under 1k cdn non stop. but end up in SFB and then try and arrtange transport to POP really starts to negate the savings and then you are left with AT the mercy of the airline where i hear MANY horror stories... COULD care less about perks its the baggage late cancelled flights and no accountability that scares me. Once i started factoring in those components the decision was much easier to make and swallow. Also AC being a LARGE provider they have better $$ payouts based from the CTA due to this so if they delay past X its X amount of comp. etc. etc.

GC not sure just testing the waters when i did it but i used canadian GC and applied $20usd to reservation and it took $25cdn so for 100 usd = 125 so i know thats current CC is another story I need to check again and verify.

Thanks mate !

Yes adjust ment on the fly if we need to kill 2 days of resort and get 2 days off property IN and OUT i can recoup a bit there for sure and also KILL 1 day off the parks we have sceduled 5 days instead of 6. to meet these demands.

 

[hdrolfe]

hmmm yes I may have to re figure this out. we can go OVER budget we have the contigency but would rather try and stay on track i see alot of people do about $100 per person per day. I could adjust for that i guess Me alone wont touch that number i know breakfast samich (like timmies) lunch CASEY CASEY CASEY DInner CASEY CASEY CASEY lol . right now i dont eat all day as it is Coffee redbull maybe a samich but dins im decent eater. I can adjust as needed. No one will go hungry im not to worried. Our little one is 6 and she is extremely simple dogs mac cheese and pizza chicken nuggets etc.

Oh there are way cheaper flights: look flair and swoop same scenario i have looked at MTL as we are 1.5 hrs away.

These cheap air carriers scare me a bit i can get us all down there for like under 1k cdn non stop. but end up in SFB and then try and arrtange transport to POP really starts to negate the savings and then you are left with AT the mercy of the airline where i hear MANY horror stories... COULD care less about perks its the baggage late cancelled flights and no accountability that scares me. Once i started factoring in those components the decision was much easier to make and swallow. Also AC being a LARGE provider they have better $$ payouts based from the CTA due to this so if they delay past X its X amount of comp. etc. etc.

GC not sure just testing the waters when i did it but i used canadian GC and applied $20usd to reservation and it took $25cdn so for 100 usd = 125 so i know thats current CC is another story I need to check again and verify.

Thanks mate !

Yes adjust ment on the fly if we need to kill 2 days of resort and get 2 days off property IN and OUT i can recoup a bit there for sure and also KILL 1 day off the parks we have sceduled 5 days instead of 6. to meet these demands.

you could consider the UK tickets, they are park hoppers and come with memory maker, often works out to be cheaper. https://www.attractiontickets.com/en you can look in GBP or EUR whichever would give you the better exchange. Often cheaper than even a 5 day Disney ticket.

As for food, kids are easier to plan for when you know they stick to the basic things breakfast, my kid doesn't like but I need coffee and something to eat. The snacks are what kills my budget mickey pretzels and dole whips and those frozen lemonade things for kiddo (he was obsessed with them our last trip, had at least one a day). We took water bottles to refill, but we also got powerade on occasion when we went in August, it was crazy hot and we needed the electrolytes. Then we'd refill the bottle (easier with the wide top) so we didn't have to carry so much all the time.

 

[Daddy's 'lil Princess]

you could consider the UK tickets, they are park hoppers and come with memory maker, often works out to be cheaper. https://www.attractiontickets.com/en you can look in GBP or EUR whichever would give you the better exchange. Often cheaper than even a 5 day Disney ticket.

As for food, kids are easier to plan for when you know they stick to the basic things breakfast, my kid doesn't like but I need coffee and something to eat. The snacks are what kills my budget mickey pretzels and dole whips and those frozen lemonade things for kiddo (he was obsessed with them our last trip, had at least one a day). We took water bottles to refill, but we also got powerade on occasion when we went in August, it was crazy hot and we needed the electrolytes. Then we'd refill the bottle (easier with the wide top) so we didn't have to carry so much all the time.

yes i think im just getting the nervous nelly vibes. I showed the wife and she just laughed. She was like $200 -$300 forget about it its not even a game changer. SHe knows i have a tendancy to over think stuff when nothing is set in stone. Shes right though our budget also includes over 1k in gifts and trinkets etc. she said there is NO way we hit that number of course she added "unless i see a great bag that I must have " LOL anyways I know alot is NOT in our control and will be forced to mitigate as it arises and im ok with that I just need to slow the brain and be excited for them and not worry to much. It is our first trip ever and it just happens to be the most exhausting place in north america. Maybe i will book a follow up vacation where its just a beach and margaritas lol.

 

[CanucksRock]

Did you book really early? The cheapest I can find (and that's bare-bones with zero extras) is $399 each way.

On June 8 - both AC and WJ had 15% off sale w/ coupon. That's when I booked for mid-September (The economy fare; not basic)

 

[Misha72683]

We booked our November flights a couple months ago with West Jet. $450 pp for a direct flight from Toronto and I got the times I wanted (morning arrival/evening departure).

 

[Jabroniville]

We booked our November flights a couple months ago with West Jet. $450 pp for a direct flight from Toronto and I got the times I wanted (morning arrival/evening departure).

$450 COMBINED? Jeez. Too bad I book so close to the time these days owing to never knowing what my plans are going to be. I kinda knew generally I wanted to go later this year but never WHEN until recently. And now everyone's bouncing their flights up and down a hundred bucks constantly.

 

[Misha72683]

$450 COMBINED? Jeez. Too bad I book so close to the time these days owing to never knowing what my plans are going to be. I kinda knew generally I wanted to go later this year but never WHEN until recently. And now everyone's bouncing their flights up and down a hundred bucks constantly.

Yeah, so the total was $2630 for all 6 of us, but that was round trip with all the taxes and fees. I jumped as soon as I saw the price.

My husband had to submit vacation at the beginning of the year, so we had to have dates firm by then.

 

[Daddy's 'lil Princess]

We booked our November flights a couple months ago with West Jet. $450 pp for a direct flight from Toronto and I got the times I wanted (morning arrival/evening departure).

It took me a while of bouncing the calander around at AC and picking days that were good for the value I kept finding that Tuesday was a good day to fly for some reason. and compared them to the days of the resort prices FInally got to the point of PURCHASE flights tuesday - tuesday Direct flights from Ottawa to MCO BASIC - and then did several refreshes and compared BASIC vs flex (seats + bags incl) I found NO matter how i did it it was cheaper to ADD seat selection purchase for $59 ($21/$17/$21) (for all 3 of us) and just pay for the bags at the airport. Saved about $125 total this way. As if I got the flex it COUNTED for 3 x bags each way and what ever they charged for the seats Unknown) when i called the airline the agent did the same thing and said NICE you did save some money for sure.

 

[Misha72683]

It took me a while of bouncing the calander around at AC and picking days that were good for the value I kept finding that Tuesday was a good day to fly for some reason. and compared them to the days of the resort prices FInally got to the point of PURCHASE flights tuesday - tuesday Direct flights from Ottawa to MCO BASIC - and then did several refreshes and compared BASIC vs flex (seats + bags incl) I found NO matter how i did it it was cheaper to ADD seat selection purchase for $59 ($21/$17/$21) (for all 3 of us) and just pay for the bags at the airport. Saved about $125 total this way. As if I got the flex it COUNTED for 3 x bags each way and what ever they charged for the seats Unknown) when i called the airline the agent did the same thing and said NICE you did save some money for sure.

I defintiely didn't have that flexibility because I had to work with my husband"s vacation schedule and how his time off works. We are going Saturday - Saturday.

 

[Daddy's 'lil Princess]

I defintiely didn't have that flexibility because I had to work with my husband"s vacation schedule and how his time off works. We are going Saturday - Saturday.

Oh of course. have to work within our real world life circumstances Still I spent about 3 weeks floating between sites checking flights different scenarios etc. but still $2600 for 6 ? thats a good price i think considering i paid 1900 for 3 so logistically you did better than me and get to travel on a weekend which i feel the airlines make more $$ as more people are accessible to those times.
Jeleous and excited you going before us
Originally i wanted to go in October then realized Wife is prohibited from extended vacation between October 15-January 1st so Iwent to september lol look earlier NOT later lol she got mad and said you arent taking the little one off school her first year of NEW school grade 1 so...moved to January.

Keep me posted how things planning wise and or hiccups you come across and i will reciprocate as well.

Have a great day!

 

[Misha72683]

Oh of course. have to work within our real world life circumstances Still I spent about 3 weeks floating between sites checking flights different scenarios etc. but still $2600 for 6 ? thats a good price i think considering i paid 1900 for 3 so logistically you did better than me and get to travel on a weekend which i feel the airlines make more $$ as more people are accessible to those times.
Jeleous and excited you going before us
Originally i wanted to go in October then realized Wife is prohibited from extended vacation between October 15-January 1st so Iwent to september lol look earlier NOT later lol she got mad and said you arent taking the little one off school her first year of NEW school grade 1 so...moved to January.

Keep me posted how things planning wise and or hiccups you come across and i will reciprocate as well.

Have a great day!

I felt pretty lucky to find that price especially as it met our needs (direct flight, right times). My mother was far more concerned about making sure our needs were filled than cost (but I like saving money).

We actually couldn't go in January as it is the one month my husband absolutely can't travel. We also can't be away on the first of any month (I had considered a repeat Halloween trip, but he can't do that). So with Halloween off the table, we decided on November.

 

[Misha72683]

Duplicate post.

 

[chimo2u]

I'm in Edmonton, which leaves a few options, some going south to Denver and stuff and crossing to Orlando from there. Anything to avoid Pearson, lol.

But yeah, the late flight into Pearson followed by a 6-7 hour wait until the morning flight seems REALLY annoying.

We're in Edmonton too...we chose to fly into YYZ the night before and stay at the Gateway Sheraton in the Toronto airport, then take the 10:10 am flight the next morning. I did NOT want to fly at 0:05 and arrive at 5:25 am then have a 4.75hr wait in the airport! I sure hope nothing goes awry as we have MNSSHP tickets for our arrival night.

 

[Jabroniville]

Okay, I booked my flight there! Air Canada flying into Toronto at night and staying overnight, leaving in the early morning. A 6+ hour layover at midnight seems both kind of bad but also necessary given what I've heard about Pearson in particular (and how 90% of my flights through it have been). And really, a 6+ hour layover is really an hour or so less than that given you have to disembark, do post-flight stuff, then get on the plane ages before it's ready to go. Plus the fact that flights nearly always seem late these days (I was once saved BIG-TIME by choosing a 3+ hour layover when my connecting flight sat on the tarmac for more than an hour before takeoff).

So while not ideal, it's not THAT bad and lets me get into Orlando very early in the morning for more time at Disney Springs or even another hotel (I've kinda wanted to see some of the other ones).

Unfortunately the ticket still cost a ton ($400 base plus the extra tier for seat selection/bag/etc)- though I forget what last year's were (seriously my email receipts don't even seem to say) so I'm not sure what's more or less expensive these days.

We're in Edmonton too...we chose to fly into YYZ the night before and stay at the Gateway Sheraton in the Toronto airport, then take the 10:10 am flight the next morning. I did NOT want to fly at 0:05 and arrive at 5:25 am then have a 4.75hr wait in the airport! I sure hope nothing goes awry as we have MNSSHP tickets for our arrival night.

yeah my flight is somewhat similar, but leaves earlier in the day.

 

[chimo2u]

Okay, I booked my flight there! Air Canada flying into Toronto at night and staying overnight, leaving in the early morning. A 6+ hour layover at midnight seems both kind of bad but also necessary given what I've heard about Pearson in particular (and how 90% of my flights through it have been). And really, a 6+ hour layover is really an hour or so less than that given you have to disembark, do post-flight stuff, then get on the plane ages before it's ready to go. Plus the fact that flights nearly always seem late these days (I was once saved BIG-TIME by choosing a 3+ hour layover when my connecting flight sat on the tarmac for more than an hour before takeoff).

So while not ideal, it's not THAT bad and lets me get into Orlando very early in the morning for more time at Disney Springs or even another hotel (I've kinda wanted to see some of the other ones).

Unfortunately the ticket still cost a ton ($400 base plus the extra tier for seat selection/bag/etc)- though I forget what last year's were (seriously my email receipts don't even seem to say) so I'm not sure what's more or less expensive these days.


yeah my flight is somewhat similar, but leaves earlier in the day.

I tried to see if there where flights earlier an the 10:10 is the first one.... so we are stuck unfortunately doing it this way, and hoping for the best!

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I just logged into our Westjet flights to see how many seats have been purchased so far as we haven't booked ours yet.

The Halifax-Toronto leg is still wide open and are around $33 each, but the Toronto-MCO leg is about half taken. For two seats on that leg it will cost $102.90 (!). The return flight direct from MCO to Hfx are...wait for it...$115.50 for two!

I know we purchased the lowest fair seats (through air miles), but I mean, like, WHAT? We still haven't purchased our checked baggage yet either.