Air Fare

[mom_rules]

Our local paper has air transat to Orlando or
St. Petersburg for 1st Adult $248 - 50% off
for 2nd ($124) good for travel from Jan 18
to April 30.

 

[sammi]

LOL........We too saw the ad so I called a travel agent and gave her my dates for March/April and she came back with fares at $433.00 each! I had to laugh at that. Where's the "deal" in those rates?

We're still thinking we'll leave out of Buffalo and escape those dreaded Canadian taxes.

 

[mom_rules]

Aren't those fees and taxes unreal?!?
What was your base rate?

 

[sammi]

I forget what the TA said but I know it's 50% over the regular fare just for taxes etc.

I know that my brother and his wife (who are going to Flroida with us in March) got the same rate when they booked the same flight last month for the regular price!

So far I've found JetBlue out of Buffalo (rate $444.00 US return) for DH and myself to be about the cheapest so far for our dates.I'm also liking the fact that JetBlue is a scheduled airlines and we can take 2 pieces of luggage each weighing 70 lbs versus Air Transat (charter) that says 1 piece of luggage each weighing only 44 lbs! It's not that I take a lot down there but I sure do like to bring back tons of great things! LOL!

My DH and I are having a "difference" of opinion as I want to take (between the 2 of us) 4 checked-in bags but he's insisting on only 2! LOL!

I wonder who'll win this war?

 

[sammi]

mom_rules what price did you get for your air fare and what airport are your flying out of?

 

[mom_rules]

I booked a "seat sale" with Air Canada
direct from Toronto a couple of weeks
ago - just over $1400 for 4 adults (electronic
tickets?). I'd been watching
rates for about 6 months and they were always
around $588 up to over $600 around Xmas for AC.
Air Transat fares weren't out yet but I agree, I
like the extra luggage idea also. The next day
AC rates were up around $588 again
(so in my situation I thought I had a great deal
saving about $200 each).

 

[bunnyfoo]

I'm waiting for AC to drop the price so I can pick up one more plane ticket. Their current sale doesn't include my dates so I'm hoping they prices will come down in a couple of months. It's so hard to be patient sometimes

I think I may fly out of Buffalo next time too ... I was looking at the breakdown of taxes and I noticed that a big chunk of the taxes was for US Immigration, transportation etc. I wonder if that's because we get pre-cleared and our luggage checked in Canada.

sammi - I didn't know about the luggage restrictions on different airlines. I'll have to remember that for my next trip!

 

[mom_rules]

Got this email today:
QUOTE
Air Canada is pleased to kick off the year with some news that is sure to make you smile.

Until January 24, 2003, we are offering exceptionally low fares across Canada, to the U.S. and the Caribbean—with fares each way from $49 to $199 (fares are based on a round-trip purchase).

So now is the time to surf, ski, shop. Or see some friends. With fares this low across the board, now is the time to get away!

But hurry, these fares are only available until January 24, 2003, for travel until March 15, 2003.

Also got one from Travelocity.ca.

 

[mom_rules]

An example for you:
Itinerary and Price



Your requested flight

All prices are in Canadian dollars. All times local to each city.

4 adults @ CAD 310.97 each (310.97 includes taxes/fees/airport charges) Total: CAD 1243.88



Flight: Air Canada flight 906 on a Airbus Industrie Jet
Depart: Toronto, Canada (YYZ)- Fri, Feb 28 7:15am
Arrive: Orlando, FL (MCO) - Fri, Feb 28 10:04am




Flight: Air Canada flight 913 on a Airbus 321 Jet
Depart: Orlando, FL (MCO)- Fri, Mar 07 2:00pm
Arrive: Toronto, Canada (YYZ) - Fri, Mar 07 4:45pm


This is an even better price than I got (April/May $334 per person)

 

[epicureangirl]

I never realized how much I LOVE Air Canada until I flew with Air Transat!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hmm... I have to ask ... what's the difference

 

[SandraC]

Hi ~ We flew AT in 2001 and AC is 2002 ~ although we found they both got us there happy and in one piece AND ON TIME! YIPPEE! I like AC better too. AC has more of a vacation-feel, AT has a LOAD 'EM UP, SHIP 'EM OUT-feel. AC has seat selection included in the price, AT charges $10 per person per direction. That's $80 more! The costs were the same for both 2001 and 2002, but in 2002 AC was less expensive that AT. The aircraft seemed nicer with AC too. The flight attendants were a little more professional, not saying that AT flight attentants were not good, because they were great, but AC was a little better. The AC landing was smooth, AT landing was shakey and scary. I imagine air traffic control saying, "Air Transat, Welcome to Toronto....welcome again.... welcome again..." as we bounced down the runway. I would fly both again, but AC is a bit better for my family's liking. S

 

[mom_rules]

Please tell me more about AC.
We used to fly Canada 3000 (much the same as Air Transat)
Are AC seats bigger, what kind of food do you get, Do they
show movies etc, what about duty free onboard? Love to hear all about it.
Anyone flown recently?

 

[mom_rules]

Anyone?

 

[lilsonicfan]

You live in ON and you've never flown AC? well i might have to congratulate you

I have never flown air transat before, but as far as I know air canada isn't bad. dunno if seats are bigger. movies are only on long flights (i think i saw a movie on my way from Vancouver to Montreal.) as for food, like every airline they are cutting down on what they offer in terms of meals, and i don't recall their food being particularly good.

i think the advantage to flying with a non-charter airline is that they have an obligation to book you on another flight if something happens (eg delayed connection) - even if the flight is on another carrier. but i think with charter airlines, this obligation doesn't exist.

However, i may be entirely wrong!!

 

[mom_rules]

Thanks for the info-We always flew
Canada 3000 because the rates were outstanding
at the time-always on time-great staff. Do you think the
latest AC news re: losses etc. will create any problems?

 

[northernmouse]

Well, being from 'out west', I'm still pouting about the acquisition of Canadian Airlines by AC (though it's long past time to 'get over it'!)

I don't think you have to worry too much, just yet, about AC's financial troubles. . . transportation is too important to the government for that. If worse comes to worst, we, the taxpayers, will be bailing them out.

But you might find that the number of flights and variety of destinations changes. I wouldn't worry too much about losing popular flights like the one to Orlando. But what might happen is fewer seat sales to the popular spots as AC fights with the bread and butter business from domestic airlines like Westjet.

What I'm paying more attention to is AC selling a large stake in Aeroplan. Points tickets for popular spots were already hard to come by, and I suspect they 'may' get harder. Just MHO, I'm not an expert.

I'm also envious of the option of being so close to Buffalo you can fly from there -- it's getting pretty expensive to go south from here!

Anyway, the big difference between charters like AT, and regular carriers like AC, is the selection and regularity of flights, the variety of destinations, the baggage and seat selection options, regular check-in procedures and the seating space that the regular carriers provide.

 

[SandraC]

I looked at April rates at Air Transat and they aren't took bad. You have to play with the dates, but I could get to $395 all taxes included. I am interested in April because we will likely go next April 2004 and I like seeing the airfares now so I can budget for next year. I figure anything around $400 is good. S

 

[bunnyfoo]

I was just thinking of that today Sandra! I was on Expedia.ca and noticed they had some really great rates. I'm just a little worried about what some of the other posters were saying about the charter flights. I never realized that they don't have the same obligations as a non-airline like Air Canada.

 

[dsneygirl]

We just booked on Air Tran (not to be confused with Air Transat) out of Buffalo for $164 return US for each of us, or about $490.