Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie - Page 51 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Peanut · 03-18-2010, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmyden

It's weird, the best deals given by Air Canada and WestJet are the ones they don't tell anyone about. You would think a $200 flight from Kelowna to Cabo, Cancun, or Puerto Vallarta (round trip after tax!) would be more exciting than a $250 flight to Edmonton.

Is this deal still on?? I'm having trouble finding it on their websites, but I'd like to look at the dates for those flights!

cmyden · 03-18-2010, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peanut

Is this deal still on?? I'm having trouble finding it on their websites, but I'd like to look at the dates for those flights!

Hi Peanut, here's a copy/paste from the Kelowna FB group....

Edit: damn, just checked, looks like they're gone, sorry. It was $209 after tax roundtrip for Cancun, Cabo, and Puerto Vallarta, on select dates in April.

Meelapo · 03-18-2010, 10:49 AM

Looking for a bit of advice/assistance. I'm going to Las Vegas during the first week of April. I've booked my flight there on the 4th but I'm still trying to look for a flight back for the 10th. Right now I'm seeing flights in the $350-$500 range. Is this the norm? I was expecting a flight of around $150 or so.

Based on experience, can I expect the price to go up or down as the day approaches?

Is it better/cheaper to book it through a Canadian site (i.e. Westjet, Air Canada) or go through an American site?

I was actually getting the return for $391 but the advice I got from my 'travel agent' (my mom) was to wait and just book the one way there as it was cheap. Thanks for any help!

cmyden · 03-18-2010, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meelapo

Looking for a bit of advice/assistance. I'm going to Las Vegas during the first week of April. I've booked my flight there on the 4th but I'm still trying to look for a flight back for the 10th. Right now I'm seeing flights in the $350-$500 range. Is this the norm? I was expecting a flight of around $150 or so.

Based on experience, can I expect the price to go up or down as the day approaches?

Is it better/cheaper to book it through a Canadian site (i.e. Westjet, Air Canada) or go through an American site?

I was actually getting the return for $391 but the advice I got from my 'travel agent' (my mom) was to wait and just book the one way there as it was cheap. Thanks for any help!

Hi Meelapo,

Predicting price changes is impossible, but in general I find that with less than 3 weeks to go, prices tend to only go in the upwards direction.

Coming back on the 9th is a bit cheaper, $344 on Alaska. WestJet is cheapest for the 10th, $384. The 8th is $218 on Air Canada if you want to bail early.

Your best chance of coming back cheap would likely be a Mon/Tue/Wed, but unfortunately it looks like you're looking for a Saturday, which could make it tough.

I see there are flights from LAS to SNA on the 12th for $81 after tax (US Airways) and then SNA to YYC for $112 after tax on Delta. Not sure if that would really help you though!

Canada 02 · 03-18-2010, 12:35 PM

Any one ever use Craigslist to find an apartment or condo to stay for a vacation? Is it reliable? What should I lookout for? THX

cmyden · 03-18-2010, 08:59 PM

Some really good deals right now to Mexico from a variety of Canadian cities in April on WestJet. They're almost all $200-$220ish, round trip after tax. Into Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta on select dates.

Unfortunately Calgary doesn't seem to be one of the cities. Edmonton has one to Cabo...

Depart: Apr 20, 21, 23, 24. 26
Return: Apr 28

Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina are the other cities I've seen. Kelowna was yesterday.

Ryan Coke · 03-18-2010, 11:00 PM

Great info on here cmyden, just wondering though do you consider the fact that most US carriers charge for any and all checked baggage into the cost of the trip? I have seen a few people get burned when they booked say USairways yyc-phx-yyc because it was a few bucks cheaper, then paid $100+ US for their checked bags. If it hasn't been mentioned in this thread, keep that in mind.

WestJet doesn't charge for 2 checked bags per person, AC matches that (domestically anyway, not sure internationally), and Southwest in the US doesn't charge either. Most of the US legacy carriers do have bag charges though, so beware.

cmyden · 03-18-2010, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

Great info on here cmyden, just wondering though do you consider the fact that most US carriers charge for any and all checked baggage into the cost of the trip? I have seen a few people get burned when they booked say USairways yyc-phx-yyc because it was a few bucks cheaper, then paid $100+ US for their checked bags. If it hasn't been mentioned in this thread, keep that in mind.

WestJet doesn't charge for 2 checked bags per person, AC matches that (domestically anyway, not sure internationally), and Southwest in the US doesn't charge either. Most of the US legacy carriers do have bag charges though, so beware.

It's definitely a great point. I guess people just need to be aware of the baggage fees, the first post in this thread has a link to a baggage fee chart (updated Feb 15, 2010). Would be nice if it included AC and WestJet.

For me personally I travel pretty light so it's not really an issue.

hmmhmmcamo · 03-19-2010, 08:47 PM

Hey Cmyden,

Any tips/advice/deals for Vancouver to Vegas between May 19/20/21 to May 24/25/26? We've been checking Expedia etc. and the prices seem to fluctuate quite a bit from day to day.

We're going with several friends who are all staying at NYNY or very close by.

We can fly out of Van/Abbotsford/Victoria or even Bellingham/Seattle if the deal is good enough.

Thanks for any help you can give us!

cmyden · 03-20-2010, 10:41 AM

Air Canada is offering 15% off ANY within Canada fare

The promo code is CQN6GKM1

Must book by tonight at midnight.

Full details: http://www.aircanada.com/en/offers/a..._ca_mar10.html

cmyden · 03-20-2010, 02:20 PM

And as to be expected, WestJet has matched Air Canada's promo code with 15% off any flight within Canada.

Both the Promo code PCR21 and Coupon code RMNS4WZ are required at time of booking on the first page of the booking process.

cmyden · 03-20-2010, 02:47 PM

Edit: WestJet screwed up and put out the wrong promo code this morning, here's the one that works now:

Promo code PCR22 and Coupon code 5Q3DLAE

cmyden · 03-22-2010, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hmmhmmcamo

Hey Cmyden,

Any tips/advice/deals for Vancouver to Vegas between May 19/20/21 to May 24/25/26? We've been checking Expedia etc. and the prices seem to fluctuate quite a bit from day to day.

We're going with several friends who are all staying at NYNY or very close by.

We can fly out of Van/Abbotsford/Victoria or even Bellingham/Seattle if the deal is good enough.

Thanks for any help you can give us!

Hi hmmhmmcamo.

From the Vancouver area, Alaska Airlines is cheapest, $229 after tax out of YVR with May 19-25 being the cheapest date combo. Orbitz is showing flight + hotel packages for $528/person for NY NY. It's actually one of the best deals for that date in terms of decent strip hotels.

Don't see anything out of Seattle that is cheaper (didn't check SouthWest though, since they're not listed in search engines).

Bellingham is about the same as Vancouver. Could try Allegiant Air, sometimes they have cheap flights out of Bellingham. They have also been having a 'buy 1 package, second person flys free deals', can see it here: http://www.allegiantair.com/FlyFreeLASMarch2010.php (deal ends on March 24th, but available for fares until September)

So at this point, I would say, out of Vancouver, unless Allegiant Air is way cheaper with that 2 for 1 deal they're offering out of Bellingham.

cmyden · 03-22-2010, 07:34 PM

Calgary to London $640 after tax, roundtrip

May 6-13 on Air Transat - http://www.airtransat.ca

The decent deals to London have moved forward to May, hopefully there will be some for June, July and August.

Draug · 03-22-2010, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmyden

Calgary to London $640 after tax, roundtrip

May 6-13 on Air Transat - http://www.airtransat.ca

The decent deals to London have moved forward to May, hopefully there will be some for June, July and August.

Amen to that!

I have Farecompare set to alert me of any drops in August (thanks for that advice Cymden), but so far, it has held steady at about $1040 for over a month now.

How good of a deal is $640? What would you hold out for if you were hoping for a recreational trip to England for the last two weeks of August? I do know one thing; I wont be paying $1000+ ... I'd rather stay home!

cmyden · 03-23-2010, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draug

Amen to that!

I have Farecompare set to alert me of any drops in August (thanks for that advice Cymden), but so far, it has held steady at about $1040 for over a month now.

How good of a deal is $640? What would you hold out for if you were hoping for a recreational trip to England for the last two weeks of August? I do know one thing; I wont be paying $1000+ ... I'd rather stay home!

$640 is pretty decent for May. The lowest I've seen it this year was around $520. For peak summer travel though, I'd consider it a good deal if anything shows up at $700-$800, hopefully something will.

icarus · 03-23-2010, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmyden

$640 is pretty decent for May. The lowest I've seen it this year was around $520. For peak summer travel though, I'd consider it a good deal if anything shows up at $700-$800, hopefully something will.

I've got a wedding in Canada I'd like to attend so yes please keep us informed if you spot anything for the end of July into early August! Unlikely, I know.

cmyden · 03-23-2010, 08:27 AM

Calgary to Ixtapa, Mexico - $209 after tax roundtrip

This flight has been around at a decent price for a while, but now it's gone even lower.

April 20-27
Can see it on WestJet - http://www.westjet.com

Most people don't know where Ixtapa Zihuatanejo is. Here's the Wikipedia Article to help you out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zihuatanejo

It has some nice hotels, some all inclusives, but obviously has a lot
less resorty feel to it than more well known destinations in Mexico.

Fleury2005 · 03-23-2010, 08:36 AM

Love that travel maps thing. Was looking at Calgary to Bali and the map showed me that it was way cheaper to go to Jakarta (which is only like a $40 flight to Bali). Wicked. Thanks.

cmyden · 03-23-2010, 08:42 AM

Calgary to Charlotte, North Carolina - $318 after tax, roundtrip

This is an interesting one, Charlotte North Carolina (CLT) just dropped to $318 after tax on United. It usually hovers around $500.

This fare is available for virtually every date, including peak summer travel and peak Christmas dates.

So what is there to do in Charlotte? I'm sure it's a fine enough city, I've never been myself, so I can't give any recommendations.

Myrtle Beach is a 4 hour drive which I know is a popular destination, especially for golfers.

Or I guess you could use it as a starting point for an east coast road trip. Washington DC is 6 hours. Then 3 hours to Philly. Then 90 min to New York. Then 4 hours to Boston.