scrubbedexpat091

Not sure about Toronto, but out of YVR for the last year US airlines have been using the weak loonie to their advantage and offering fares on par and sometimes cheaper when compared to Bellingham and Seattle.

Our flight to San Diego my dad got for us in November $220 round trip per person from Vancouver, same price as from Vancouver, and cheaper then Bellingham.

Downside is YVR is a pain to get to where Bellingham is close and easy, but for the savings it was worth going to YVR.



$300 I agree is far from cheap and not what I call affordable.

xxdb

I said that the fares in Canada are really expensive.

You responded by posting an expensive fare as an example of "reasonable" and ALSO you have to drive to the USA to get it.

PS I don't have to get used to it: I'm SIX HOURS away by car.

You're probably still confused as I laugh out loud.

dbd33

Well, you may live in the middle of nowhere but most people in Canada live along the border and, of those, most are to the east so they can use Detroit or Buffalo. For most people in Canada there's no reason to take a flight that originates at an airport in Canada unless, as jsmth explains, there's a special promotion.

Fares aren't as cheap as in Europe but, so long as one isn't limited to using airports physically in Canada, they're not massively expensive either. I accept that your location is awkward but the same would be true if, for example, you lived in the Hebrides; somewhere that Easyjet and Ryanair don't go.

xxdb

That's exactly what I'm arguing about and you can't seem to get it.

They ARE massively expensive. 5X more is massively expensive.

This is exactly the type of baffled advice you get on this forum: people say "it's cheap in Canada" and then they post this sort of stuff.

You should just surrender right now and hang your head in shame.

But I know you won't because they never do.

BristolUK

Yes, it's a pain not having cheap flight options. Or even reasonably priced holiday options.

But - and this will vary according to circumstances - the additional cost can be more than made up in those areas where housing costs are cheap.

In my part of Canada (and others) one can be very nicely housed at a fraction of the costs of worse accommodation in the UK and that saving more than covers the aditional costs of flying.

xxdb

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

The rose coloured glasses brigade are out in full force.

"A fraction" i.e. 1 divided by something, what a half? a third?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

dbd33

Flights from Canada are, I accept, massively expensive. However, $300 for four hours in the air doesn't seem massively expensive to me. Yes, there are knock down fares in Europe but they're a relatively new and temporary feature, one it would be nice to have, but they're not a reasonable standard by which to judge fares elsewhere in the world.


I'm not, of course, saying that "it's cheap in Canada".

Stinkypup

Probably, yes, a fraction in NB- are you having a boring Christmas Day and trying to get a rise out of everyone?

BristolUK

That's pretty moronic.
You can rent very nice one bedroom apartments here for under $600 a month. Current exchange rate makes that 360 quid.

A sample of average UK one bedroom rents:
Bristol £756
Birmingham £570
Manchester £651
Norwich £555.

So, yes you're right, some of the fractions are a half.

What a pity you don't have the wit to multiply that £200 to £400 saving each month by 12 and think about how handy that £2,400 to £4800 might be.

GermanytoCanada

Air fares of $300 for a four hour flight sound very reasonable. I regularly pay more than double that to fly from Germany to the UK at short notice. Sure Ryanair probably offer something cheaper, but like many people, I would rather not eat on Christmas Day than fly Ryanair regardless of the length of flight.

As someone who will soon move to Canada, it is obviously great to hear that Canada is awful and that anyone who says otherwise is clearly deluded or wearing the wrong tint of glasses. I have found that this forum generally contains a good balance of opinion and that the majority can provide a more rounded view of their Canadian experience.

As Stinkypup has already mentioned, a little more Christmas cheer may be required...

Merry Christmas!

Gozit

For me, airfare from Canada to Europe is always cheaper than flying from Detroit/Buffalo, but yes flying from the US to another destination in the US or even North America is cheaper than flying from YYZ/YVR.

dbd33

Since I glanced at that $300 fare, I'm now seeing ads for $200, even $150, though the $150 probably goes between two tiny airports only vaguely near the places wanted.

A greater criticism of the travel options from Canada might be that there's nowhere different to go. The US, while scenically compelling, is culturally just the same as Canada.

dbd33

I don't know how this can be the case. I suppose I've flown home 100 times and it's always been cheaper to go from Buffalo and cheapest to go Buffalo-Hub-EuroHub-London. Of course, sometimes that's too much bother but when the difference is $1000/seat, I'll go via everywhere.

Gozit

What airline/booking agent? I don't really care if I go on the milk run if i'm just flying by myself.

Snowy560

I think you understand that you have to give it a good length of time to settle. It took me longer than the rest of my family. But clearly most of us wouldn't be here if we thought Canada was that awful. Sure I miss stuff from the UK, and I get insecure about the future but, as my husband reminds me, what a gift to have been able to immigrate.

S

PS I'm with you on Ryanair!