NBJW

Hi all,

Been trawling the flights fro next week and was astonished to find Air Canada charging £709 for one way! Surely this cannot be right? How are they getting away with it? Surely they must be losing out astronomicly to the so called budget airlines?

Any thoughts or experiences anyone?

Nigel

G77

If you're searching for next week then the prices will be astronomical - that's how airlines work.... the closer you book to the departure date, the higher the cost. Unless it's really really last minute and they're looking to dump seats, they might be cheap then.

Surrey Expat

If you are looking to travel next week, the lower price class of seat is likely sold out. Book late pay more as a rule.

Air Canada is a schedule airline, the budgets that fly trans Atlantic are charters. They operate differently. Did you check the return fare and also O/W & Rtn with British Airways?

BA are £844 o/w £348 each way for return, LHR to YVR
AC is less than your one way for a return.

Also take a look at e-bookers.com

Biiiiink

Was it a full fare refundable/changeable economy seat?

grumpyhaggis

It's always been the same with airlines - particularly scheduled airlines - that one way tickets are generally more expensive than a return for the same leg. I've noticed this over the last 30 years or so - nothing unusual in that today.

LiffyB

If you want pricey try Iceland Air for August to Halifax - came up with £1,333 return - yeah like we're all going to take them up on that one!

Oh for transatlantic Easy Jet! Anyone know Stelios?

dbd33

Just wait until you want an internal flight in Canada. Anywhere far enough off the beaten path that it can't be reached by hubbing through the US is crushingly expensive to get to.

G77

It's a bit perverse that it's cheaper to get to Canada from the US rather than from within Canada.... what's the reason for this? Taxes?

Surrey Expat

It is not quite that bad, but cost per mile in Canada is quite high. Remote locations that are served by commuter airlines cost more as there are fewer people traveling these routes, so fewer pax to cover the costs. In the US there is more competition between airlines so this keeps fares in check, not so in Canada.

I've picked up tickets from Vancouver to Toronto for $99 return on sale, but they can go up into the hundreds. You cannot buy a ticket from say Vancouver to Toronto with a US airline then go through the US. You would have to buy a ticket to a US destination and a separate ticket back into Canada. How much you save i guess depends on what value you put on your time. This can easily double the journey time if not more.

dbd33

Yes you can. I routinely do that. It's only cabotage and so not allowed if a US flagged plane goes directly from one Canadian city to another. For example, to get to Calgary I went Toronto-Chicago-Calgary, to Vancouver Toronto-Minneapolis-Vancouver, to Halifax Toronto-Boston-Halifax.

I've long since given up trying to make sense of airfares but always take the cheapest regardless of how much the route meanders.

G77

Won't be an issue for me as I'm moving to Windsor, so can fly from Detroit to wherever, was just curious.....

dbd33

Don't fly NW Detroit to Toronto late at night. Oh no. Take the bus.

jonfrank123

Just paid $585 inc taxes to fly Montreal to Gatwick return, next week, on Air Transat. I know it will be a sardine can but for that price I can live with it

G77

Any reason why? Not that I would, just curious.... by the time you'd got through the tunnel and checked in etc, doubt you'd save much time anyway.....

dbd33

I didn't enjoy the company on those flights, they attract the queueing challenged.