Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[cmyden]

And yet another cheap flight to Jamaica has come out. March 21-28, $228 roundtrip after tax. Try Calgary to Montego Bay on AirCanadaVacations.com

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by Hi-Psi

I've been keeping my eye on flights for a Dive trip with the girlfriend. Been looking at mainly Belize and Cozumel but would consider Costa Rica or really anywhere with great diving.

Have you heard of any really good flight deals at all for either of those places or anywhere else with great diving? Best we have seen is $500 return to Cancun. From there we can get to Belize or Cozumel

Thanks

Jason

Jason, my buddy went diving in Bonaire a couple of years back, and was really impressed. Not sure what flight deals exist, but it could be another option.

http://www.infobonaire.com/scubadiving.html

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

Jason, my buddy went diving in Bonaire a couple of years back, and was really impressed. Not sure what flight deals exist, but it could be another option.

http://www.infobonaire.com/scubadiving.html

Curacao (CUR) in the Netherlands Antilles is likely where you'd need to fly into. The cheapest flights from Calgary are usually around $700 roundtrip after tax. I think you need to take a little local airline to get to Bonaire from there.

[3thirty]

I have a co-worker looking for flights to Chicago Aug 4-8th from Calgary. Leaving the evening of the 4th, or early on the 5th.

So far he has found $1000 roundtrip a person, and it is a popular weekend due to a giant music festival that he is going for.

Anyone see anything better?

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

I have a co-worker looking for flights to Chicago Aug 4-8th from Calgary. Leaving the evening of the 4th, or early on the 5th.

So far he has found $1000 roundtrip a person, and it is a popular weekend due to a giant music festival that he is going for.

Anyone see anything better?

$898 leaving on the 5th, coming back on the 8th on United.

$851 leaving on the 4th, coming back on the 8th on United.

$599 on Delta if he can drive to Great Falls, MT and fly from there.

If you have 4 people going, that's $3400 from Calgary, or $2400 + gas and parking from Great Falls. Definitely worth it if you have the time to drive before you fly.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

I have a co-worker looking for flights to Chicago Aug 4-8th from Calgary. Leaving the evening of the 4th, or early on the 5th.

So far he has found $1000 roundtrip a person, and it is a popular weekend due to a giant music festival that he is going for.

Anyone see anything better?

Lollapalooza, woo-hoo! Chicago's lineup hasn't even been announced yet has it? Not that it matters, it'll be awesome.

I think the real culprit though is just summer in general, as fares the next weekend don't look to be a whole lot better. And the fact that Chicago is almost always an expensive city to get to from Calgary.

He could fly in/out of Milwaukee for $800ish but I doubt that helps much (90 min drive).

Or out of Great Falls for $599 if the drive is worth it for him.

[cmyden]

Flights to Vietnam are a good deal right now - $1017 roundtrip after tax

Flights to Vietnam are the cheapest they've been in a (love you) long time.

I was really hoping to find one that was sub-$1000, but $1017 will have to do. Air Canada has dropped the price of their flights to a few Asian cities today, notably...

- Saigon, Vietnam (SGN)
- Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
- Singapore, Malaysia (SIN)



The most significant price drops have been in April and May. Here's April 14 to 23 for example, from AirCanada.com

screenshot:



The fact that there was an earthquake today in Thailand is probably coincidental. But there is certainly the possibility the price drops are a reaction to recent events in Japan and perhaps the general fear some might have of flying to Asia at the moment.

[worth]

really tempting...

[Sheva #7]

Hello,

Any advise please on when is thecheapest time to fly to Houston?? Trying to visit a gf and can book some days of work bit everything seems soo expensive right now...should I look for something 1-2 months ahead? I'd prefer to go over weekend and take 1 day off work any advise is greatly appreciated, thx

[Freeway]

If I'm planning on traveling to Chicago in August, when should I book to get the "best" deal?

[Codes]

Hi cmyden,

I'm a huge fan of what you do here. I'm always checking to see if there are any exciting deals, despite the fact that at this point I am woefully planted in Lethbridge.

However, I am seriously considering a trip to NYC in September. As the previous member asked, where and when is the best place and time to be looking for deals or packages? Any information and advice would be greatly appreciated.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Sheva #7

Hello,

Any advise please on when is thecheapest time to fly to Houston?? Trying to visit a gf and can book some days of work bit everything seems soo expensive right now...should I look for something 1-2 months ahead? I'd prefer to go over weekend and take 1 day off work any advise is greatly appreciated, thx

If I'm planning on traveling to Chicago in August, when should I book to get the "best" deal?

Hi cmyden,

I'm a huge fan of what you do here. I'm always checking to see if there are any exciting deals, despite the fact that at this point I am woefully planted in Lethbridge.

However, I am seriously considering a trip to NYC in September. As the previous member asked, where and when is the best place and time to be looking for deals or packages? Any information and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi guys,

What we have here are 3 people that want to know 'when' is the best time to book an airfare, so I'll go try to give a more detailed explanation of why airfares can't be predicted.

It's impossible to predict when a price drop may occur, as it's subject to so many variables. Factors that can affect fare prices include:

- price of jet fuel
- the willingness of the travel consumer to spend
- the popularity of a given destination at the time
- how many seats have been sold for a particular route
- the overall economic health of an airline
- economy in general

Note that these 'current' factors are what usually affect the current price, which is why historical data is mostly meaningless when it comes to airfares and makes them impossible to predict. It's also the reason why Joe Smith can't understand why the sale he saw last year isn't showing up this year to the same destination.

On the major airlines, I find you're usually safe watching prices up to 2 months before departure in hopes of a sale. After that point, it can become increasingly likely to see prices go up and never come back down. As you get down to a month to go, prices can become very expensive, especially if the plane is nearly full.

On charter flights, you're more likely to see a large discount with 4 weeks to go before departure, but of course there's no guarantee of that.

[cmyden]

Blue Tag Thursday is to Hawaii this week, for anyone that can go between May 24 and June 29. Works out to about $475 roundtrip after tax from Calgary, definitely decent.

http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deal...thursday.shtml

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Hi guys,

What we have here are 3 people that want to know 'when' is the best time to book an airfare, so I'll go try to give a more detailed explanation of why airfares can't be predicted.

It's impossible to predict when a price drop may occur, as it's subject to so many variables. Factors that can affect fare prices include:

- price of jet fuel
- the willingness of the travel consumer to spend
- the popularity of a given destination at the time
- how many seats have been sold for a particular route
- the overall economic health of an airline
- economy in general

Note that these 'current' factors are what usually affect the current price, which is why historical data is mostly meaningless when it comes to airfares and makes them impossible to predict. It's also the reason why Joe Smith can't understand why the sale he saw last year isn't showing up this year to the same destination.

On the major airlines, I find you're usually safe watching prices up to 2 months before departure in hopes of a sale. After that point, it can become increasingly likely to see prices go up and never come back down. As you get down to a month to go, prices can become very expensive, especially if the plane is nearly full.

On charter flights, you're more likely to see a large discount with 4 weeks to go before departure, but of course there's no guarantee of that.

Blah blah blah. Yeah, that's all great and all.

I just wanna know the best time to book a flight to PV for next winter?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

Blah blah blah. Yeah, that's all great and all.

I just wanna know the best time to book a flight to PV for next winter?

On Dec 7 of 2010, there was a last minute deal to Puerto Vallarta for $197 roundtrip after tax.

And then on Feb 18, Air Canada Vacations dropped a PV flight down to $348 (for March 5-12).

In between, there wasn't a whole lot that was too exciting.

Jamaica was the tropical destination deal winner this year.

[Buzzard]

^Hope you know I was just kidding.

Wow, that $197 was awesome. Westjet I assume?

I'm actually seriously considering the September seat sale that you'd posted on the flight deals map - $159 both ways. From what I've seen, it's about as cheap as it gets, sans the last minute fill ins.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

^Hope you know I was just kidding.

Wow, that $197 was awesome. Westjet I assume?

I'm actually seriously considering the September seat sale that you'd posted on the flight deals map - $159 both ways. From what I've seen, it's about as cheap as it gets, sans the last minute fill ins.

Haha yeah I know, the emoticon clued me in but I thought I'd respond anyways. Since you were probably just half kidding!

It was on Westjet, but it was a charter flight I believe.

Sorry, where are you seeing something for $159 both ways to Puerto Vallarta in September? On my deals map? Right now it seems like the cheapest are the US Airways ones in June for around $400 roundtrip after tax.

In September there are some Westjet ones for $450 roundtrip after tax which seems to be the cheapest.

[Buzzard]

Sorry I meant $159 both ways, as in $159 there, and $159 back. Some $440 or so all in. It's not on your deals map anymore as you've got a better one there in April or May sometime.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by cmyden

The fact that there was an earthquake today in Thailand is probably coincidental. But there is certainly the possibility the price drops are a reaction to recent events in Japan and perhaps the general fear some might have of flying to Asia at the moment.

Are flights to NRT getting cheaper due to the Earthquake in Japan? I'm curious because where I'd want to go in Japan is about as far away from the Earthquake epicentre as possible and if they're at their lowest right now, I may consider buying tickets.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

Sorry I meant $159 both ways, as in $159 there, and $159 back. Some $440 or so all in. It's not on your deals map anymore as you've got a better one there in April or May sometime.

Ah ok, just to explain, the data used for the map is from the last 48 hours of flight prices. I used to use data from the last 7 days, but that meant a much greater possibility of someone trying to find the fare and not being able to.

Airfare prices are in constant flux so it's kind of a balancing act between the amount of data, and the accuracy. I find with using the last 2 days of data the fare is usually still kicking around.