Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Got me really excited there for a moment

Still the cheapest roundtrip June fare out there to Europe though, $700 after tax on Air Transat, June 13-20

Unfortunately you will need to amputate your legs to be comfortable on their aircraft.

Word to the wise, spend the extra couple hundred dollars return and be comfortable. The closest I have ever been to completely going postal was after a flight to Amsterdam on this flying circus.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Flacker

Unfortunately you will need to amputate your legs to be comfortable on their aircraft.

Word to the wise, spend the extra couple hundred dollars return and be comfortable. The closest I have ever been to completely going postal was after a flight to Amsterdam on this flying circus.

I've dropped a few things on the floor on Air Transat flights and there's no chance of ever seeing those objects again. Even Nadia Comaneci wouldn't be flexible enough to reach down with the amount of room they had between the seats.

I think they codeshare with Thomas Cook now though and I've heard their planes are actually decent? Luck of the draw though I guess.

[tvp2003]

If you're willing to drive:

Missoula to Los Angeles - Wed Apr 28 to Sat May 1 - $105 US

Flight is on Allegiant Air -- they had a Wed to Wed trip yesterday but that's gone now. The departing flight is listed at $9.99 plus taxes!

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

If you're willing to drive:

Missoula to Los Angeles - Wed Apr 28 to Sat May 1 - $105 US

Flight is on Allegiant Air -- they had a Wed to Wed trip yesterday but that's gone now. The departing flight is listed at $9.99 plus taxes!

Interesting one! Seems like it would take about 2-3 tanks of gas as well, plus parking. But it's about $159 cheaper than the cheapest flight from YYC.

But for 2 people, they'd probably end up saving about $100 each. Minus their time each way. And the meals they need to eat on the way there and back. And the estimated car depreciation of $120. I kid, I kid. Sort of. Some people think factoring in car depreciation might be anal/ridiculous, but really, if you pay $20,000 for a car and get 200,000km out of it, you're essentially paying 10 cents/km to drive it over the cars lifetime.

[cmyden]

SALE: WestJet is having a two-day seat sale for flights between now and Oct 31.

As an added special bonus, flights booked by April 21 are covered by WestJet's Price Guarantee -- if you find a lower advertised price for your flight after you have booked but before you have departed, WestJet will credit you the difference toward a future flight!

I find that often times these 'sales' don't offer better prices than the usual price.

But you can take a look here and decide for yourself:

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

Just remember the prices are one way and before tax.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by cmyden

SALE: WestJet is having a two-day seat sale for flights between now and Oct 31.

As an added special bonus, flights booked by April 21 are covered by WestJet's Price Guarantee -- if you find a lower advertised price for your flight after you have booked but before you have departed, WestJet will credit you the difference toward a future flight!

I find that often times these 'sales' don't offer better prices than the usual price.

But you can take a look here and decide for yourself:

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

Just remember the prices are one way and before tax.

Interesting, didn't know about the price guarantee but I already booked a flight from Winnipeg to Edmonton for $99 ($151 after tax) today. My only worry was that it would drop to $72 again like it was several weeks ago.

I have a wedding to attend in Winnipeg on July 17. That $72 sale a few weeks ago was only for flights departing through July 16, however. So I just booked the one way out on July 14. Hoped there'd be another sale (and there was) for my flight back.

Also, unrelated - Edmonton to Phoenix is $209 for most days in May. Round trip, taxes in.

[mykalberta]

Not to derail, but has anyone recently been on a flight to the US, just wondering what the security measures are on what you can bring aboard.

Laptops, cameras, etc? I leave on Monday and was just wondering, thank you. +1 to this thread for getting me a return trip to Hawaii for $489 per person.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Okay, so I go to united.ca and a flight from Edmonton to Frankfurt May 17 to May 24 is $1400 round trip.

At one point in my searches I accidentally made it the other way around and it came out to $657 CAD. Departing Frankfurt for Edmonton May 17 returning May 24. Doesn't help me but how does that happen (and how do I get that price?) Very strange.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Okay, so I go to united.ca and a flight from Edmonton to Frankfurt May 17 to May 24 is $1400 round trip.

At one point in my searches I accidentally made it the other way around and it came out to $657 CAD. Departing Frankfurt for Edmonton May 17 returning May 24. Doesn't help me but how does that happen (and how do I get that price?) Very strange.

You think both should be the same price I take it?

They're different flights, each subject to a price based on supply and demand. Apparently a lot more people want to go from Edmonton to Frankfurt and back then from Frankfurt to Edmonton and back.

Just looked and you could do YEG to London Gatwick from May 18-25 on Air Transat for $759 after tax. And then see how much it would be from Gatwick to Frankfurt and back on Skyscanner.net

OR, if you can drive down to Calgary, there is a YYC to Manchester flight for $562, May 16-23, Air Transat.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by cmyden

You think both should be the same price I take it?

They're different flights, each subject to a price based on supply and demand. Apparently a lot more people want to go from Edmonton to Frankfurt and back then from Frankfurt to Edmonton and back.

Just looked and you could do YEG to London Gatwick from May 18-25 on Air Transat for $759 after tax. And then see how much it would be from Gatwick to Frankfurt and back on Skyscanner.net

OR, if you can drive down to Calgary, there is a YYC to Manchester flight for $562, May 16-23, Air Transat.

I figured they should be - the price is the same pretty much all month in each price range. With the Worlds in Germany I can see why it isn't, though. It's not like WestJet or Air Canada where you can just hand pick one-way flights.

Thanks for the tips, though. The best I've found is May 14-24 on United for $1200 which is actually pretty good. I've had my eye on fares for awhile.

EDIT: That London Gatwick idea might work out. $73 return from London to Cologne. Thanks!

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

I figured they should be - the price is the same pretty much all month in each price range. With the Worlds in Germany I can see why it isn't, though. It's not like WestJet or Air Canada where you can just hand pick one-way flights.

Thanks for the tips, though. The best I've found is May 14-24 on United for $1200 which is actually pretty good. I've had my eye on fares for awhile.

EDIT: That London Gatwick idea might work out. $73 return from London to Cologne. Thanks!

Nice, yeah if you can stand sitting in a cramped Air Transat plane you could definitely save some cash there. Just remember to factor in baggage fees though as well with whoever you take to Cologne. As well as the possibility that you might have to spend a night in London depending on the timing of your flights.

Have you been to Cologne before? If you happen to be walking through the giant shopping district they have there, this store is worth checking out:

Globe Trotter
http://www.globetrotter.de/

It's like MEC on steroids, with some interesting things inside, like a freezer chamber where you can try on jackets and check out a thermal image of your body temperature. And a storm chamber to test out jackets.

And if you're into war history at all, this self-guided Gestapo prison tour is really well done.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...estphalia.html

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Nice, yeah if you can stand sitting in a cramped Air Transat plane you could definitely save some cash there. Just remember to factor in baggage fees though as well with whoever you take to Cologne. As well as the possibility that you might have to spend a night in London depending on the timing of your flights.

Have you been to Cologne before? If you happen to be walking through the giant shopping district they have there, this store is worth checking out:

Globe Trotter
http://www.globetrotter.de/

It's like MEC on steroids, with some interesting things inside, like a freezer chamber where you can try on jackets and check out a thermal image of your body temperature. And a storm chamber to test out jackets.

And if you're into war history at all, this self-guided Gestapo prison tour is really well done.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...estphalia.html

That's very cool. How about Mannheim? I'll be in both cities (covering the World Hockey Championships). I'm hoping to at least have a day in each city.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

That's very cool. How about Mannheim? I'll be in both cities (covering the World Hockey Championships). I'm hoping to at least have a day in each city.

Hmmm sorry can't help you there, I've never been to Mannheim. For tourist type things I usually look at TripAdvisor under 'Things to Do' to see how they rate...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...rttemberg.html

But for Mannheim, there doesn't seem to be anything except for a really great park! Not much on the forums either.

I guess you wouldn't have time to make it to Stuttgart or Frankfurt ? Stuttgart has the Mercedes and Porsche museums if you're into cars. Frankfurt, well, I've always thought was kind of plain, just a banking city.

Or just past Stuttgart is Tubingen, which is a very nice university town.

pics: http://tinyurl.com/y563x79

If nothing else, go for the women.

But if you just have the day, might be too far, it's about 100km. Strasbourg is also supposed to be very nice, but I remember picking Tubingen over Strasbourg as it seemed less touristy.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by cmyden

I guess you wouldn't have time to make it to Stuttgart or Frankfurt ? Stuttgart has the Mercedes and Porsche museums if you're into cars. Frankfurt, well, I've always thought was kind of plain, just a banking city.

Or just past Stuttgart is Tubingen, which is a very nice university town.

Perhaps a little bit of time in Frankfurt (coming in or going out). I was also there last year on a 12 hour layover on my way to Barcelona. My first European experience so it seemed pretty cool.

Sounds like I need to do an actual vacation in Germany sometime very soon!!

[Ryan Coke]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Not to derail, but has anyone recently been on a flight to the US, just wondering what the security measures are on what you can bring aboard.

Laptops, cameras, etc? I leave on Monday and was just wondering, thank you. +1 to this thread for getting me a return trip to Hawaii for $489 per person.

Everything is normal. The usual gel/fluid restrictions, but no issues with computers or electronics. No carry on restrictions either, the normal 2 pieces. At least it is on WestJet, and I assume any other airlines.

[cmyden]

Forgot to mention this...

Lonely Planet is offering free city guides for European cities for your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, iWhatever. They normally cost $16.

It's a good publicity stunt for helping stranded travelers affected by the Iceland Volcano. But, even if you're not there right now, you may as well grab them for free if you're planning to be in Europe sometime in the future.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/press-ce...release_id=471

They will be free until April 22.

[cmyden]

WestJet Vacations is offering a $200 bonus towards any WestJet flight when you book one of their vacation packages.

Book a minimum 7-night WestJet Vacations package by June 15, 2010, for travel until October 31, 2010 and receive a $200 WestJet air only online promo code.

Details: http://www.westjetvacations.com/early-booking-bonus

[Fobulous]

Thanks again for all the help cmyden.

The wife and I are looking to make a trip to Europe this year. We aren't overly picky on where we go but we do have a few locations of choice. England, France or Italy. We are also flexible on dates any time after August 1st. We are looking to go for roughly 10 days. Any deals out there for us?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Fobulous

Thanks again for all the help cmyden.

The wife and I are looking to make a trip to Europe this year. We aren't overly picky on where we go but we do have a few locations of choice. England, France or Italy. We are also flexible on dates any time after August 1st. We are looking to go for roughly 10 days. Any deals out there for us?

No problem Fobulous. When it comes to Europe, there hasn't been anything cheap past May. Your best chance of getting to Europe cheaply is almost always through Air Transat/Thomas Cook to London Gatwick, and then figuring out a cheap way to get from London to anywhere in Europe.

SkyScanner.net is great for flights within Europe, or just chunnel it over to Paris.

But you won't find any cheap charter flights to Europe at the moment. In fact, it looks like for August, you might be hard pressed to find much under $1200 after tax. Hopefully there will be some deals as we head into late spring.

If you take a look at the YYC Deals map and then click on August it can give you some idea of what you're looking at for prices. Europe was already expensive for summer before the volcano incident, and from what I can see, it looks even higher now.

[cmyden]

Those flights to Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT) are back, for $292 after tax, roundtrip on United airlines. Should be able to see them on United.com, Kayak, wherever.

All of the peak travel dates are available, summer, Christmas, whatever you want.

I've had a few people ask why I don't mention in my posts when these deals will expire, how long they will last, etc. The truth is, nobody knows. Some deals have specified expiry dates. But some (like this one) are just unadvertised, and unannounced by the airlines, and could be here today, gone tomorrow, or stick around for a month, it's impossible to say.

It also looks like United has flights to Philadelphia at the same price ($293 return after tax), although not on every date.