Why don't you fly out of Buffalo?

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have read a lot posts about how everyone says it's great when flying from Buffalo - Orlando. Now I want to ask the opposite question, why don't you fly out of Buffalo? Here is my reasons. The past few years my Dad has had enough Aeroplan miles so we got 3 seats (Mom, Dad & I), so that we had to pay is the airport taxes & all those other fees. I do agree Air Canada does suck when it comes to their check in lines, however we usually do express check in which is a lot faster. This December we decided to go West Jet because we wanted to do something new & I compared their fare to that of Air Canada, which was a bit cheaper. We also like flying out of Toronto better because to us it's much more convient & a lot easier. My Dad also said he would not want to fly back to Buffalo, then drive the 2 hours back to Toronto. So no matter how great of a deal Southwest may have flying out of Buffalo my family & I will continue to fly out of YYZ. So what are your reasons for not flying out of Buffalo?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Come on people. I am sure I am not the only Canadian who fly's from Toronto - Orlando.

 

[tone.def]

I work with some people who don't have driver's licenses. That's their excuse.

 

[Tantor]

Convience for one.Not crazy about leaving my car in Buffulo or the 2 hour drive down.That's just me. We take a limo to the airport and leave the car at home. Plus I have several friends and my DH's best friend is an airline mechanic in the airline industry. Keeping the money in Canada. Also have Aeroplan miles.

 

[Scratch42]

I have read a lot posts about how everyone says it's great when flying from Buffalo - Orlando. Now I want to ask the opposite question, why don't you fly out of Buffalo? Here is my reasons. The past few years my Dad has had enough Aeroplan miles so we got 3 seats (Mom, Dad & I), so that we had to pay is the airport taxes & all those other fees. I do agree Air Canada does suck when it comes to their check in lines, however we usually do express check in which is a lot faster. This December we decided to go West Jet because we wanted to do something new & I compared their fare to that of Air Canada, which was a bit cheaper. We also like flying out of Toronto better because to us it's much more convient & a lot easier. My Dad also said he would not want to fly back to Buffalo, then drive the 2 hours back to Toronto. So no matter how great of a deal Southwest may have flying out of Buffalo my family & I will continue to fly out of YYZ. So what are your reasons for not flying out of Buffalo?

Those were my sentiments up until our March Break Trip! I'm 10 minutes from the Airport! Why would I drive 2 hours

I'll tell you why! Wait unti Aeroplan or Airmiles do wrong by you!

This happened to myself, used Airmiles, and another woman travelling with her son, used Aeroplan. Both our children were left without seats! March Break, Family Travel Time! EXCUSE ME! What do you mean I have a seat and my daughter doesn't? Just becuase I'm 10 mins from the Airport doesn't mean I leave it to the last minute to arrive........I get there 2 hours prior to flight time!

Apparently, when Airmiles booked, they booked Tango Fare which means that you are not guaranteed a seat! They ALWAYS OVERBOOK THEIR FLIGHTS BY 10%! They had people waiting on Stand By from the previous days too! I was told to be guaranteed a place on the airplane, I need to pay the $30.00 each for a seat or book Tango Plus! Which if you notice is exactly $30.00 higher in price. There was another family who booked thru a TA but since they got there before us and was advised to get ahold of their TA, they managed to get the last seat!

Long Story Short, We spent the day travelling from Toronto to Newark, Newark to Orlando.......12 hours! Not a Fun Day!

I did receive a $400.00 Voucher which apparently I still have to pay the taxes when I used this! This is not what I call good customer service.

No I did not write a letter, but I figured the best way to get my dissatisfaction across is to stop flying with them as frequently as I did! They may not care, but I feel better!

I spent the better part of our Toronto to Newark flight explaining to the Hostess just how easy it is to fly out of Buffalo and just how cheap! I also mentioned this to an employee's wife who was waiting standby! Pretty bad if your own people don't want to fly your Airline!

You Don't get anything extra flying with A/C unless you fly First Class! But then you pay thru the nose for that too!

If I can save a few bucks, why not!

Hope you continue to have Good Karma Flying thru YYZ!

j

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I have enough Aeroplan miles to fly my family First Class to Florida from YYZ, but I'm one Canuck (and former Air Canada shareholder) who will glady drive from Kitchener to Buffalo and enjoy the savings on Southwest, JetBlue or AirTran.

It simply isn't worth using Aeroplan miles to fly to Florida. IMHO, anyone who does so simply doesn't fully understand the potential value of an Aeroplan mile. There simply are too many discounted seats available on flights to Florida -- the tax issue is a wash, since taxes are paid regardless of whether the ticket is a purchase fare or Aeroplan redeemed fare. I'm one who will save my Aeroplan miles for trans-continental flights to destinations such as LAX or SFO, but even then Southwest offers some lovely fares to California from BUF.

It's worth the drive to BUF.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Since the two of us can fly out of Buffalo for less than the taxes of one person out of Toronto why wouldn't I fly out of Buffalo? We are about 40 minutes from Pearson and willingly drive 2 hours to save lots of $$$. There is no cost comparison at all. We've had no problems leaving our car in Buffalo for the time that we are away. The parking is cheaper than at Pearson. The staff at Southwest is very friendly as well.

Fiona

 

[RoyalCanadian]

How amazing -- the majority of posters have disagreed with CR Resort Fan 4 Life once again.

Next topic!

 

[F4disneyfan]

I have read a lot posts about how everyone says it's great when flying from Buffalo - Orlando. Now I want to ask the opposite question, why don't you fly out of Buffalo? Here is my reasons. The past few years my Dad has had enough Aeroplan miles so we got 3 seats (Mom, Dad & I), so that we had to pay is the airport taxes & all those other fees. I do agree Air Canada does suck when it comes to their check in lines, however we usually do express check in which is a lot faster. This December we decided to go West Jet because we wanted to do something new & I compared their fare to that of Air Canada, which was a bit cheaper. We also like flying out of Toronto better because to us it's much more convient & a lot easier. My Dad also said he would not want to fly back to Buffalo, then drive the 2 hours back to Toronto. So no matter how great of a deal Southwest may have flying out of Buffalo my family & I will continue to fly out of YYZ. So what are your reasons for not flying out of Buffalo?

First off your speculation about 2 hours to drive to Toronto is a bit off. We drove from London to Buffalo in just over 2 hours and it is quite a bit further than TO to Buffalo I make TO to Hamilton in less than 30 minutes usually. That said we never fly from Buffalo or Toronto or Detroit or anywhere actually when driving for us is far more convenient and cheaper.

 

[madonna31]

Hummm...well when it's just DH and I, it's not worth it for us to drive to Buffalo.

I get discounts on Canadian carriers, not American ones. After I factor that in, it's simply not worth the drive to Buffalo. It's cheaper for us out of Toronto.

However when it's our whole family going, that's a whole other ballgame.

They ALWAYS OVERBOOK THEIR FLIGHTS BY 10%!

As a side note, ALL airlines overbook their flights by 10%. Each and every one of 'em. If they tell you that they don't, they are lying. Simply because it's like a wedding - 10% of the people will not show up.

 

[Tantor]

We have used Aeroplan points for travel in the States and never had a problem. But that is just us. Wouldn't know about Airmiles though.
I think it's great that people like to travel from Buffulo and are getting good airfare but there are some people like ourselves that are not comfortable doing that.

 

[pxlbarrel]

We don't fly out of Buffalo (yet) because I don't usually feel like driving 2 hours for the trip back. I'm usually very tired (great vacation - I need another vacation to recover from the Disney vacation) and would rather drive 20 minutes home or have somebody drive me. Maybe if somebody else would drive us home, I'd feel differently.

We usually go to Florida in the winter so I'm also paranoid about snowstorms interfering with my drive to Pearson let alone a 2 hour drive to Buffalo through snow belt territory.

We may try it some day (in the summer) but I really do enjoy the convenience of Pearson and I haven't had a bad experience with Air Canada or West Jet.

 

[OntFamily]

I have done both - fly out of YYZ and BUF.

YYZ Pros

- Close to Mississauga - much easier when coming home


BUF Pros

- Only have to be at the airport one hour before departure (YYZ 2 hours minimum)
- dependent on airline, can use Resort check-in portion of DME
- airfare less than 40% of YYZ pricing
- quick baggage pickup - bags are coming out at the claim area by the time you walk from the gate to the claim area (YYZ bags can take 45 - 50 minutes after touchdown to be received)
- US and Canada customs easier (airport customs people at YYZ both Canada and US always seem to be grumpy, plus can be long lineups at US Customs)
- fast, efficient security check

 

[wee-haggis]

We have done both also and as far as Buffalo is concerned....there are no cons !
The 2 hour (or less) drive is a breeze.
The border crossing through customs is like night and day (the difference between Peace Bridge and YYZ).
The ease of using a small airport like Buffalo (its more like getting on a bus than a plane).
The online check-in (with the likes of SWA)means that its literally 15 minutes to sign in on the computer terminal ,dump your bags,and your off to the departure area.
As for the price?......well, there is no argument. Personally, I would rather drive for a couple of hours to Buffalo and (for a family of 4) have close to a $1000 more in my pocket to enjoy at WDW.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

Haven't ever flown from Buffalo - first trip in 2004 was my first time flying since I was 3yo - sad I know and this trip in October we are taking the IL's and it's my 65yo fil's first ever time flying so we went with the short 20 min drive to the airport rather then prolong his wait by heading to Buffalo the day before. Plus we only paid $347 PP return with Westjet direct flight which isn't too bad for YYZ prices.

Sounds easy to fly from Buffalo and I'll definatly be trying it next time.

 

[Anjiebaby]

We love Westjet from Hamilton! Priced on par with Toronto but such a simple trip to and from this airport. We could leave the car parked for a week in long term and it is totally reasonable. Usually DFIL picks us up or if we fly in late just drops our car for us, we have extra keys and we're on our way home. The airport is 20 minutes from our door. Westjet is great TV's in the seatback and we have never been overbooked.

 

[maddiel]

. So what are your reasons for not flying out of Buffalo?

Because I, like a lot of other Canadians, don't live in Toronto or Southern Ontario.

We did the 12-hour each way drive to Manchester last August because 1) it was summer so snow wasn't an issue, 2) with five of us it was financially a good choice and 3) we had enough time that adding an extra day on each end wasn't an issue.

It's absolutely frustrating how high the taxes/fees have gotten on Canadian flights. It looks like even the "free" points flights are double what they were two years ago. And YHZ is one of the worst....

M.