Canadians Flying Out Of The US

[bigtmac19]

Nobody in the Windsor area flies out of Canada, they fly from Detroit. You can regularly get deals on flights to Florida for well under $100.

[MrSector9]

even 15 years ago anyone from atlantic canada going anywhere south would fly out of bangor.

it really depends on where you are going and if you can get a good deal, also size of the family flying.

[OldDutch]

I seem to always use my Avion points, so fare price is not as big a deal. That said I did not want to waste my points on a trip to PHX in April. So I just priced it out. $36 cheaper out of Great Falls.

In fact, business class was $400 more! However, I guess you are not going this way if you are going to Great Falls to fly. It still surprised me.

I do know people in Lethbridge, and they fly Vegas from Great Falls. I do know there are some disgusting deals that way, like $100-$200 for flight and 3 nights at a upscale strip hotel. WestJet would do the same deal for $600-$800.

I guess the bottom line is to always shop around. Another option does not hurt.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Thanks! Was that $150 savings after subtracting gas, which would be around $50 from Edmonton to Calgary and back, and another $40-$50 for parking?

Yep. I guess it would be $150x2 since I'd be travelling down with someone.

Though if it was a flight on my own, I'd still consider it by being more economical and park the car at a friend's place and ask them to drive me to the airport.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I do know people in Lethbridge, and they fly Vegas from Great Falls. I do know there are some disgusting deals that way, like $100-$200 for flight and 3 nights at a upscale strip hotel. WestJet would do the same deal for $600-$800.

I guess the bottom line is to always shop around. Another option does not hurt.

Although thanks to Expedia (and Cmyden) I got two nights at Caesar's Palace plus flight this past November for $47 out of Edmonton (WestJet direct).

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by kirant

You must be going to the wrong Korea.

Nope. United Airlines, Roundtrip.

Calgary-->San Fran-->Incheon South Korea.

Return was the exact same except in reverse.

[604flames]

GEG for the win. Most people I talk to here take the 2.5-3 hour drive rather than even try flying out of the airport in Castlegar, especially in winter.

[SebC]

For example, the lowest fare on an American Airlines round-trip flight between Toronto and New York City two weeks before departure is $400, $82.50 of which is for various taxes and fees.

By contrast, an AA flight on the same day from Buffalo to New York City costs $177 round-trip, only $21.40 of which is taxes and fees.

Yep, sure looks like it's the taxes and fees that are making all the difference.

[Ryan Coke]

Fares vary due to the fullness of the flights, as many of you who travel regularly know. Every airline charges more as the flight fills up, so often a large variance in airfares is due to this.

Comparison for yyc-phx on WJ Mar.15-23 vs. Allegiant GTF-PHX

WJ base fare 357.98+123.70 fees=481.68
no charge for 1 checked bag.

AG------------219.98+36.39 fees=256.37
1 checked bag---------------------+70.00
additional fee for sporting equip (golf clubs) not specified
additional fee for assigned seating, otherwise open seating
additional fee for all snacks or drinks

No question in this case their base fare is cheaper. I do know that this flight could have been had for another $40-50 less if booked earlier, but phx is a very busy flight for WestJet so the fares have already started to move up as they fill up.

Fees are $87 more added on to the flight from Canada, mostly on the leg out of Canada.

Be aware of extra charges. Most people have at least 1 checked bag, and for a place like PHX often a set of clubs in addition to that. Suddenly the savings are gone, and that doesn't factor in the gas, motel, and especially the extra time.

I don't begrudge anyone for getting a better deal, and the fees are an issue that is in the hands of the government and other bureaucracies. Just make sure that it is worth it. I have heard from too many people that thought it sounded like a great deal, but after it was all said and done would never do it again.

[Ryan Coke]

Originally Posted by SebC

Yep, sure looks like it's the taxes and fees that are making all the difference.

I am not sure what you are meaning. Since you used the same airline (AA), you seem to prove that it isn't high fares due to lack of competition.

Obviously the large variance in this case is due to the fact that their yyz-nyc is much fuller right now than their buf-nyc.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

I am not sure what you are meaning. Since you used the same airline (AA), you seem to prove that it isn't high fares due to lack of competition.

Obviously the large variance in this case is due to the fact that their yyz-nyc is much fuller right now than their buf-nyc.

I'm alluding to the fact that out of the $223 difference, only $61.10 is due to taxes and fees. The example given in the original article doesn't support the argument being put forth by original article.

Both the Hotel Association and National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) — which represents Air Canada, WestJet Airlines Ltd., Air Transat and Jazz — have argued for years that the burdensome taxes and fees charged here on air travel are making Canadian airports less competitive than their U.S. counterparts.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by 604flames

GEG for the win. Most people I talk to here take the 2.5-3 hour drive rather than even try flying out of the airport in Castlegar, especially in winter.

Ah yes, good old Cancel-gar.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by SebC

I'm alluding to the fact that out of the $223 difference, only $61.10 is due to taxes and fees. The example given in the original article doesn't support the argument being put forth by original article.

Well you can't just cherry pick a flight here and there either, as stated above fares will move depending on the demand on the route. I would expect the fare from yyz-nyc to be higher than buf-nyc based solely on the route.

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by cmyden

What's the minimum you would have to save to make it worth the 5 hour drive each way to Great Falls?

Would you make the drive to save $200 ?

another example for you cm
this winter I waited too long to book my flight to Salt lake, and the cost was going to be around $500. I found a flight at that same time from Great Falls for $300, a savings of $200. factoring in two and a half tanks of gas ($100) and parking for the week ($35) I still saved $65. of course there is the time it takes to get there and originally I had planned to visit family in Leth to break up the trip, but they ended up being away at that time. the time difference isn't that huge, as other posters mentioned because there are no lineups, less hassle etc at Great Falls. I would consider doing it again, but the better option for me would be to look more ahead of time for deals! after this experience if I could save $100 or more (after factoring in gas/parking) I would do it again
the big problem I think is that as more people do this, the costs of flying out of Calgary stay the same but less are contributing so the fees go up more, forcing more people to seek savings in places like Great Falls. also more airlines flying out of Great falls attracting Albertans to take advantage. the bigger savings is of course for families, who could save multiples more than I would as a single guy

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

additional fee for assigned seating, otherwise open seating

Westjet's seat selection fee table is here: http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/trav...election.shtml

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

additional fee for all snacks or drinks

I've attached the link for Westjet's buy on board menu of snacks. Non-Alcoholic beverages are free, estimated value of two cokes, $4 if you had to buy them post security in the airport.

http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/trav...election.shtml

So you have to consider the savings on checked baggage, plus a couple of bucks for a coke if you want one.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by cmyden

What's the minimum you would have to save to make it worth the 5 hour drive each way to Great Falls?

To me it would depend on the time of year. My wife gets limited vacation most of the time, so an extra 2 days on either end probably means we don't get to go. In the summer (when she gets more time off) I'd probably want to save ~500 for the two of us (after considering gas, parking, and maybe a hotel in Great Falls if necessary) to make it worth a 5 hour drive before a long flight.

[bossy22]

When do big bike trips and don't want to drive, eg: Moab, Durrango, Breckenridge, Zion, etc, we drive to Kalispell, ship the bikes via UPS (because the airlines rape you) and then fly from Kalispell. It saved us over a $3000 last time we went (4 of us). This more than covered the condo for 10 days, truck rental and meals.

[Fire]

I live in Calgary so I would never drive to Montana to fly out, no matter the savings, because it would waste a day of vacation. If I lived in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and area then it would make sense because you have to drive a good distance anyway.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

another example for you cm
this winter I waited too long to book my flight to Salt lake, and the cost was going to be around $500. I found a flight at that same time from Great Falls for $300, a savings of $200. factoring in two and a half tanks of gas ($100) and parking for the week ($35) I still saved $65. of course there is the time it takes to get there and originally I had planned to visit family in Leth to break up the trip, but they ended up being away at that time. the time difference isn't that huge, as other posters mentioned because there are no lineups, less hassle etc at Great Falls. I would consider doing it again, but the better option for me would be to look more ahead of time for deals! after this experience if I could save $100 or more (after factoring in gas/parking) I would do it again
the big problem I think is that as more people do this, the costs of flying out of Calgary stay the same but less are contributing so the fees go up more, forcing more people to seek savings in places like Great Falls. also more airlines flying out of Great falls attracting Albertans to take advantage. the bigger savings is of course for families, who could save multiples more than I would as a single guy

Sure you saved 65$ in the short term, but when you factor in the costs of vehicle ownership you probably lost a significant amount of money long term if indeed you went down there from Calgary by yourself. These things obviously vary significantly for each person depending on their ride.

I shall use myself as an example and use round numbers cause they're fun/easy. I drive a truck so its obviously more expensive for me. we'll say the purchase cost with financing was 40k and i expect to get 250k out of the truck, another 10k for general maintaince(50 oil changes at $60 each is 3k, another 1k for a decent set of rubber at 125k, 6k for various maintainence related items and repairs after the warranty period), we'll ignore insurance and registration because those are sunk costs regardless of the amount you drive.

total cost to drive 250k is $50,000 or around 20cent per kilometer, not including gas. so a 1500km round trip to great falls from my house is going to cost me $300 in vehicle costs, $200 in gas, and $35 for parking.

So i need to save $535 to break even before we consider the 12 hours spent driving and the probability of having to take extra time off work.

Next let's look at spending 12 hours driving to save $65, next time you want to save $65 let me know and I'll put you to work for 12 hours and you can fly out of Calgary instead. The government might take issue with me paying you essentially half of minimum wage but we don't need to inform them of our special little deal.

To me, I'd put the threshold at around $800 savings for me to drive down there. Obviously if there were 3 other people with me $200 a head would do it. And obviously most people are driving cheaper vehicles.

If this thread is any indication there seems to be 2 types of people flying out of the us, those like superflyer saving a #### ton of money and those people who think they're saving money but in reality probably aren't and are just wasting their time. Kinda reminds me of people who lookup the cheapest gas prices on gas buddy then go way out of their way to drive there not realizing the gas they burnt getting there was worth more then the $1.20 they'll save with 3 cents cheaper gas in their 40l fillup.

anyways Calgary in particular is far enough from any reasonable American airports that it is essentially insulated from price discrepencies.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

another example for you cm
this winter I waited too long to book my flight to Salt lake, and the cost was going to be around $500. I found a flight at that same time from Great Falls for $300, a savings of $200. factoring in two and a half tanks of gas ($100) and parking for the week ($35) I still saved $65. of course there is the time it takes to get there and originally I had planned to visit family in Leth to break up the trip, but they ended up being away at that time. the time difference isn't that huge, as other posters mentioned because there are no lineups, less hassle etc at Great Falls. I would consider doing it again, but the better option for me would be to look more ahead of time for deals! after this experience if I could save $100 or more (after factoring in gas/parking) I would do it again
the big problem I think is that as more people do this, the costs of flying out of Calgary stay the same but less are contributing so the fees go up more, forcing more people to seek savings in places like Great Falls. also more airlines flying out of Great falls attracting Albertans to take advantage. the bigger savings is of course for families, who could save multiples more than I would as a single guy

Thanks for the example Calgaryrocks!

Finding a good price to Salt Lake City from Calgary is very rare. As you point out, there are various factors that can affect whether it's worth it or not to a person. They might want to visit someone on the drive down, etc.

Personally, I can't imagine driving 10 hours solely to save $65. I mean the depreciation on the vehicle alone...

Regarding more people flying out of the U.S. driving up fees here, it's tough to say, but I've always believed in markets and voting with your wallet.

If enough passengers decide to use the competition, it forces Westjet and AC to respond, either by lowering their fares or pressuring the government to lower taxes & fees.

I don't think it's a huge issue for YYC passenger numbers, mainly because of the distance to the closest U.S. airport for us. And Great Falls rarely sees prices that are worth the drive with the exception of a few destinations within the U.S. Most of their international flights have crazy flight lengths and stopovers, since they're not a big hub.

From Vancouver it's less than an hour to get to Bellingham, where you have extremely cheap flights to Vegas and soon Hawaii. Not to mention Seattle and everything it offers, about 2.5 hours away.

From Toronto, you have Buffalo just across the border.

From Montreal you have Burlington and Plattsburgh, 90 minutes away.

From south western ontario, Detroit routinely has some of the cheapest flights anywhere, international or domestic.

These are the areas of Canada where it could have a noticeable impact first.