Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[tvp2003]

I always thought of Kelowna as more of a summer destination, whereas I think Victoria can be enjoyed year round. The weather in Victoria is also better in the winter, and depending on where you're staying and where you're visiting, getting around isn't an issue either.

P.S. Be sure to visit Sidney (near the airport), and stop by the Sidney Bakery. Those donuts.... << drool >>

[MoneyGuy]

Thanks, everyone. We were leaning toward Victoria and the comments confirm that preference. We just have to find a long-term rental, non-hotel.

[Madman]

Flying to the US early tomorrow morning - 0630 departure. How early should I be there nowadays? Does US Customs still only open at 4?

Thanks

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Madman

Flying to the US early tomorrow morning - 0630 departure. How early should I be there nowadays? Does US Customs still only open at 4?

Thanks

Granted this isn't recent or during covidiot times, but for those early departures it used to be about how early the gate checkin staff arrives. Now with so much automated you probably don't even need the checkin staff before the security. Still, I'd suggest you follow the 3hour rule... worst case is you get through quickly and are bored enough to go pay for expensive food/coffee or spend an hour attempting to get comfortable on an airport chair.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Madman

Flying to the US early tomorrow morning - 0630 departure. How early should I be there nowadays? Does US Customs still only open at 4?

Thanks

I left for Kauai 2 weeks ago, just returned. I suggest being there at 4 am.

My flight was at 7 am and I was there at 4 am when things opened up. People were already lined up at check in points and it took a long time to get through security and US customs. I had maybe 20 minutes to find my gate and then loading started.

[tvp2003]

According to the Herald, 290 Westjet employees -- approx 4% -- have been suspended as they are not vaccinated (as now required by federal law).

Not sure if/how that will impact operations, but I know there was mention earlier about them running short-staffed. I'll add that we recently flew via Westjet to BC and it was fairly uneventful (and both flights were quite full).

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

According to the Herald, 290 Westjet employees -- approx 4% -- have been suspended as they are not vaccinated (as now required by federal law).

Not sure if/how that will impact operations, but I know there was mention earlier about them running short-staffed. I'll add that we recently flew via Westjet to BC and it was fairly uneventful (and both flights were quite full).

Not just WestJet.
Transat has suspended 47 and Sunwing 30 - and those are just the members of CUPE union. If I'm not mistaken those would be flight attendants. Air Canada currently has over 1000 employees who have not complied.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/busi...ted-for-covid/

[sleepingmoose]

Looking like good news if you're planning a trip to Hawaii after November 8th - they have aligned with the new Federal regulations for international travel. That means if you're flying directly from Canada, you can enter with an antigen test instead of needing a PCR through their trusted partner. This decision alone saves me $440 for our December trip for a family of four, and I don't need to enter info into their Safe Travels system; all checking is handled by the airlines.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/...in-at-130-p-m/

[chedder]

Just like above for Hawaii. Here's a printed news piece. Good news.

https://www.khon2.com/coronavirus/go...vel-to-hawaii/

[Lubicon]

Here's hoping the Canadian government gets on board with antigen testing too.

[tvp2003]

Don't know if this will help anyone but I was on the Westjet app late last night, looking at flights in the spring of 2022. Finally figured out the right combination of days/times, and after checking with my better half this morning, went to book the flight on my PC... only to see that the prices for that particular flight had apparently gone up significantly.

After being annoyed for a couple of hours, I checked the app again and it turns out the price on the app (at least for that flight) was back at the lower price and that the higher price was only if you went to their website. I'm not sure why that would be the case, but needless to say I quickly booked it on the app at the lower price.

TLDR: Check flights on the Westjet app because they may be cheaper than what you get online???

[FurnaceFace]

Or when you check for flights do it from an incognito or in private window. Cookies/caching sometimes explain price bump. A rarely used browser might help or while it could be annoying, use the browser from your TV or fire stick.

Edit: regarding PCR vs antigen to get home, don’t expect a change soon.

[alexle]

New ULCC airline Lynx Air (originally Enerjet) launched https://www.flylynx.com, with first flights sometime in 2022

Headquarters will be based in Calgary, so hopefully that means more flights out of YYC to compete with Flair.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by alexle

New ULCC airline Lynx Air (originally Enerjet) launched https://www.flylynx.com, with first flights sometime in 2022

Headquarters will be based in Calgary, so hopefully that means more flights out of YYC to compete with Flair.

I believe they already had a MAX or two ready to go, but in a different livery. Sitting at Boeing field, unless they moved them somewhere else during the whole MAX/Covid situation.

[sureLoss]

reported that Lynx has 46 planes on order/leased over the next 7 years

https://twitter.com/user/status/1460668567188242433

[Fuzz]

I see they've gone with the Russian /HAAS F1 livery. Not great.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Anybody found any good black friday vacation / flight deals they can share? Or know where I should look? Trying to book a couple of trips.

[MoneyGuy]

Were starting to seriously look at travel opportunities over the winter and spring. Considering a two-week tour of Arizona and a cruise from Chicago to Toronto that covers all of the Great Lakes; that’d be amazing.

[calgarygeologist]

I actually just booked a cruise for August for my family. Some cruise lines are being really aggressive with offers right now in particular Carnival. We managed to get two cabins on an 8 day cruise for just over $1000USD and it includes $400 in onboard credit plus $200 in casino cash. I will add the caveat that this was not a public sale and instead it was a targetted casino offer.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Well, that sounds awesome, but I was hoping for something I could book! Just trying to get a few days of diving in somewhere without spending much...