So today Canada and the European Union agreed to open up their skies to each other more, and get rid of restrictions currently in place. The story is found here. Hopefully this will lead to more competition between more air carriers, and therefore result in lower fares for all travellers. I wouldn't expect to see any changes though until this coming summer at the earliest, especially since I don't think many airlines are looking to expand during the current economic recession.
Also, there is a 50% Westjet sale on today for another couple of hours, so if you are looking for a deal, head over there.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
New Round of Canadian Flight Sales
Today only Air Canada is offering 40% off on some international flights from Jan. 5 - Apr. 30th. So if you are flying internationally around the new year, this would be a good chance to get your tickets. The website is here: http://www.aircanada.com/en/offers/air/int_fall08/int_fall08.html
If you are flying later in the spring, as I have said before, wait, because fuel surcharges are going to come down. Also, westjet has 3 sales going on today, so head over there to see if there is anything that interests you.
If you are flying later in the spring, as I have said before, wait, because fuel surcharges are going to come down. Also, westjet has 3 sales going on today, so head over there to see if there is anything that interests you.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Holiday Flights Across Canada Just Got Cheaper
So today when I was checking some flights on Air Canada, I discovered that they've lowered all their fares during the holiday season! Previously, flights on January 5th and 12th that were to/from Calgary and Fredericton cost over 750 bucks. Now, they are down to 540 dollars! And flights from Fredericton to Toronto on December 20th and January 1st cost 380 bucks back in October during sales, but now they have gone down to $330. So yea, if you are planning on travelling at all during the holidays, run over to the Air Canada website and book your tickets now, as I am not sure how long these new prices are going to last!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Airline Review #2 - Jet Blue
So today I am reviewing Jet Blue. I have to say from the outset that this is my favourite airline to fly with. Here are the reasons why:
1) Comfortable leather seats and lots of legroom - generally they have more legroom than any other economy airline. One tip is to get a seat in the exit row or near the front of the plane, as they have more legroom than the seats at the back.
2) Free seat-back tv - lots of channels for free right in front of you, making long flights a lot less boring
3) Free snacks and drinks - one carrier that still gives out free drinks like coffee, tea, pop and a free snack. The snack isn't as good as Southwest though.
4) No fee for the first checked bag, and only $20 for the second
Also, the flight attendants have always been friendly on all my flights. I also have had few problems flying with them in terms of delays. I have only had 1 time where my luggage was not on the carousel when I came off a direct flight, but it got delivered to our hotel later that night. The customer service could have been a little better though. The only other con that I can think of is that generally they are more expensive than Southwest, though that appears to be changing since Southwest seems to be getting more expensive.
Overall score - 9/10
1) Comfortable leather seats and lots of legroom - generally they have more legroom than any other economy airline. One tip is to get a seat in the exit row or near the front of the plane, as they have more legroom than the seats at the back.
2) Free seat-back tv - lots of channels for free right in front of you, making long flights a lot less boring
3) Free snacks and drinks - one carrier that still gives out free drinks like coffee, tea, pop and a free snack. The snack isn't as good as Southwest though.
4) No fee for the first checked bag, and only $20 for the second
Also, the flight attendants have always been friendly on all my flights. I also have had few problems flying with them in terms of delays. I have only had 1 time where my luggage was not on the carousel when I came off a direct flight, but it got delivered to our hotel later that night. The customer service could have been a little better though. The only other con that I can think of is that generally they are more expensive than Southwest, though that appears to be changing since Southwest seems to be getting more expensive.
Overall score - 9/10
Monday, November 3, 2008
Flying to Europe next year? Hold off on buying tickets now!
So after searching around many different websites for air fares to go to Europe next spring, I have discovered a huge annoyance: all of the major airlines still have their fuel surcharges applied to trans-continental flights. These fuel surcharges are not small either - on a flight from Toronto to London, UK, the cheapest ticket I found was $366. However, the fuel surcharge on it was $320, and then there was even more fees, which resulted in the total price of the ticket being more than double the advertised price. The same thing happened when I tried flights out of New York to London. Fuel surcharges of around 300 bucks is pretty much the norm. While most companies have started to take their fuel surcharges off of their domestic and North American flights, as well as European carriers taking it off of inter-European flights, it still remains firmly stuck onto international flights. Most of the airlines are now saying that they are making up money that they lost when they didn't have the surcharges on and gas prices were so much higher. Is this fair? Of course not. But who is going to stop them from doing so? The answer to that question is consumers. Assuming the economy doesn't magically shake off the upcoming recession, it is likely that there will be more would-be travellers saying no thanks to Europe or other continents if the prices and surcharges stay high. If less people are travelling, there will be more empty seats that airlines will want to fill, and therefore they will have to start slashing prices if they want to make any money at all on flights. And if oil prices remain near current levels, the airlines will have a hard time next year justifying a "fuel surcharge" to consumers. There could be even more consumer pressure to eliminate the charges, and all it takes is one airline to crack. If one airline takes its fuel surcharges off of inter-continental flights, you can expect others to follow suit or risk being shunned by consumers. My best guess would be this would start sometime in the new year, possibly in February. It can't be too long before it happens, since there will likely be pressure on both European carriers from residents of Europe, and on North American carriers from residents here. So, in a nutshell, while it is sometimes better to book far in advance to get the best deals, this is a case where you should wait and hold off buying until the surcharges come off.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
West Jet and Air Canada Sales
Today only there is a West Jet sale - save 5% off your airfare if you enter the promotional code 'BOO'. This discount applies to all flights from Oct. 31- Dec.18, and expires today (October 30th)
Also, Air Canada has a spring sale on right now, where if you book a North American flight by November second, you get to check 2 bags and no fuel fees, as well as lowered prices generally.
Also, Air Canada has a spring sale on right now, where if you book a North American flight by November second, you get to check 2 bags and no fuel fees, as well as lowered prices generally.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Europe on a Budget - Flights
Many people I know would like to travel to Europe (who wouldn't), but the thing stopping them is money. The good news is that there are ways you can travel for cheap to Europe. I will tell you about my experience with a couple of posts.
Flights
One of the biggest expenses is the flight over to Europe from North America. I was lucky enough to find a flight for CAD$420, round-trip from Toronto to Amsterdam, all taxes included! The flight was on Air Transat, whose website is airtransat.ca The flights were decent - 2 current movies to watch on the overhead tv's on both flights, and a free meal. After traveling without meals for years, it was a welcomed surprise.
If Air Transat doesn't have any flights that work for you, I would suggest using some of the sites I wrote about in my previous blog, and searching for flights into London or Dublin, or Paris. These generally are the cheapest flights from North America into Europe. Once you are in Europe, there are many low cost carriers to get you to your destination from these 3 cities - i.e. Ryan Air or Easy Jet. I took a flight on VLM from Amsterdam to London for around CAD$80, and from Geneva to Amsterdam for $60 on Easy Jet. So there are cheap flights to be found!
Flights
One of the biggest expenses is the flight over to Europe from North America. I was lucky enough to find a flight for CAD$420, round-trip from Toronto to Amsterdam, all taxes included! The flight was on Air Transat, whose website is airtransat.ca The flights were decent - 2 current movies to watch on the overhead tv's on both flights, and a free meal. After traveling without meals for years, it was a welcomed surprise.
If Air Transat doesn't have any flights that work for you, I would suggest using some of the sites I wrote about in my previous blog, and searching for flights into London or Dublin, or Paris. These generally are the cheapest flights from North America into Europe. Once you are in Europe, there are many low cost carriers to get you to your destination from these 3 cities - i.e. Ryan Air or Easy Jet. I took a flight on VLM from Amsterdam to London for around CAD$80, and from Geneva to Amsterdam for $60 on Easy Jet. So there are cheap flights to be found!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Air fare sales on right now
So there are 2 major sales going on right now. The first is with Air Canada, they have pretty substantial discounts on flights right now, and the sale is lating until October 16th. No codes are needed.
There is also a sale on at Porter Air until November 16th. You save 20% off the price of your ticket if you enter the code TIAF20 in the promotion code box area. So if you are flying in Canada, now would be a good time to buy your ticket!
There is also a sale on at Porter Air until November 16th. You save 20% off the price of your ticket if you enter the code TIAF20 in the promotion code box area. So if you are flying in Canada, now would be a good time to buy your ticket!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Guide to using Priceline.com
So as I was talking about before, Priceline is a good website if you know how to use it. I have used it numerous times myself for hotels, and have scored some awesome deals. For example, getting a 4 start hotel in Montreal for 55 bucks a night, or getting a Marriot in London, UK for $130/night (regular $700!). So yea, deals are there to be had with the Name Your Own Price tool! Here are my suggestions for using this:
1. It works better the closer you get to the date
Hotels are more willing to sell you a hotel room at a substantially discounted cost if they know it is likely to go unsold at all if they didn't. Therefore, the best deals will be available the closer you get to the date that you want. However, be advised that you are taking a big risk in the event that rooms are all sold out if it is a popular travel time (i.e. Christmas break, holidays, long weekends, etc...)
2. Make small changes
You can only make 1 price offer every 24 hours if the only thing you change about your search is the price. Therefore you have to make smaller changes so you can try a couple of prices to have a greater chance of success. For instance, if you are willing to have either 3 or 4 start hotels, in 2 or 3 parts of the city, my strategy would be this. Start with just 4 start hotels in your first choice area. If price is too low, raise it a bit then search with your 2nd area as well. If too low, try again in your third area. If too low, include 3 star hotels at a price you would be willing to pay for them. You can also try changing the days if you are staying for more than 1 night, since they will give you the option to extend your stay before and after your accepted bid.
3. Make sure your dates and criteria are what you want! It is final!
Because your travel arrangements for a successful bid are binding when it is accepted, and can't be changed, make sure you have bid for what you actually wanted because there is no looking back! I made a mistake in the past reserving a rental car, since I wanted an SUV but I accidentally picked standard car and didn't realize this until my bid was accepted! Luckily for me they had an upgrade option for $6/day more, so i took it. But yea, I was extremely fortunate, and I'm guessing that doesn't always happen! I cannot say it enough - check EVERYTHING before you submit your bid!
My closing advice is this. I usually only pick 3 stars or above when using priceline for hotels, because it is anonymous. Most of the hotels that I've stayed in have been wonderful, and the majority have been Marriots which are very nice. For cars, I have had Avis and National, both of which are very reputable companies and good picks, so you can be pretty sure you will get a good car with priceline.
Happy Bidding!
1. It works better the closer you get to the date
Hotels are more willing to sell you a hotel room at a substantially discounted cost if they know it is likely to go unsold at all if they didn't. Therefore, the best deals will be available the closer you get to the date that you want. However, be advised that you are taking a big risk in the event that rooms are all sold out if it is a popular travel time (i.e. Christmas break, holidays, long weekends, etc...)
2. Make small changes
You can only make 1 price offer every 24 hours if the only thing you change about your search is the price. Therefore you have to make smaller changes so you can try a couple of prices to have a greater chance of success. For instance, if you are willing to have either 3 or 4 start hotels, in 2 or 3 parts of the city, my strategy would be this. Start with just 4 start hotels in your first choice area. If price is too low, raise it a bit then search with your 2nd area as well. If too low, try again in your third area. If too low, include 3 star hotels at a price you would be willing to pay for them. You can also try changing the days if you are staying for more than 1 night, since they will give you the option to extend your stay before and after your accepted bid.
3. Make sure your dates and criteria are what you want! It is final!
Because your travel arrangements for a successful bid are binding when it is accepted, and can't be changed, make sure you have bid for what you actually wanted because there is no looking back! I made a mistake in the past reserving a rental car, since I wanted an SUV but I accidentally picked standard car and didn't realize this until my bid was accepted! Luckily for me they had an upgrade option for $6/day more, so i took it. But yea, I was extremely fortunate, and I'm guessing that doesn't always happen! I cannot say it enough - check EVERYTHING before you submit your bid!
My closing advice is this. I usually only pick 3 stars or above when using priceline for hotels, because it is anonymous. Most of the hotels that I've stayed in have been wonderful, and the majority have been Marriots which are very nice. For cars, I have had Avis and National, both of which are very reputable companies and good picks, so you can be pretty sure you will get a good car with priceline.
Happy Bidding!
My tools for getting a good deal: The best websites
So there are many, many websites out there that you can look at to try and find a good deal for your trip. The following are a couple that I use regularly to find a good deal:
Kayak.com
This is a good website for comparing a lot of different websites and companies at once. I generally use them first to get a sense of how low I can go, or what is average for a flight. They also do hotels, and cars, and packages. I found looking for a rental car using the site was not that great, so I would stay away from that function.
Farecast.com
Farecast is a good site if you are traveling between major cities which they have forecasts for. If the cities are indeed ones that can be predicted for, I have found the predictor was accurate, and when they said buy, the fares did indeed go up the next day which would support their accuracy. The downside of this site is that smaller airports and many larger airports do not have the prediction function. Same applies to hotels - good site for predicting, but only if you live or are travelling to one of the major cities.
CheapoAir.com
I have just started looking at this website and using it. It is especially good for flights to far apart places, or places overseas. I believe that they look at flights that you can connect to, that do not code share - so essentially finding you deals that you wouldn't normally see. I am not positive on this because I haven't booked with this site yet. But I was going to book a flight I found on the site, from Toronto to New York for $120 round trip, but sadly I waited to long and it was gone by the time I decided to book it. So yea, it is worth taking a look at.
Priceline.com
Priceline is good for its 'bid your own price' function which I have used many times. I will write a post about that specifically in a later blog, but it does work if you know how to bid smart and are careful. The regular functions of the website are covered more adequately by the sites listed above though, in my opinion.
Hotwire.com
Similar to Priceline in the sense that you don't know what hotel or flights you are getting before you buy. There are sites out there that can help you decipher what hotel it really is, and you can do it yourself sometimes based on the tripadvisor.com rating and using the amenities listed. Haven't used it myself yet to book a trip though.
Couponcraze.com
If you go to the travel section, they have various deals by different travel companies, including codes for things like 20% off, $30 off, etc...Worth looking for codes for sites that you are going to be buying from anyways.
So there are just a few to start out with. The regular ones like expedia and orbitz are also good for scanning. Also, individual airline's websites can often have the best deals, and some do not have their fares included in the other sites search engines. This would be Southwest, JetBlue for the most part, and Allegiant Air. All 3 can have good prices. And I am sure there are other good websites out there to find deals, so hopefully I can find some more and post them in another post! Happy deal hunting!
Kayak.com
This is a good website for comparing a lot of different websites and companies at once. I generally use them first to get a sense of how low I can go, or what is average for a flight. They also do hotels, and cars, and packages. I found looking for a rental car using the site was not that great, so I would stay away from that function.
Farecast.com
Farecast is a good site if you are traveling between major cities which they have forecasts for. If the cities are indeed ones that can be predicted for, I have found the predictor was accurate, and when they said buy, the fares did indeed go up the next day which would support their accuracy. The downside of this site is that smaller airports and many larger airports do not have the prediction function. Same applies to hotels - good site for predicting, but only if you live or are travelling to one of the major cities.
CheapoAir.com
I have just started looking at this website and using it. It is especially good for flights to far apart places, or places overseas. I believe that they look at flights that you can connect to, that do not code share - so essentially finding you deals that you wouldn't normally see. I am not positive on this because I haven't booked with this site yet. But I was going to book a flight I found on the site, from Toronto to New York for $120 round trip, but sadly I waited to long and it was gone by the time I decided to book it. So yea, it is worth taking a look at.
Priceline.com
Priceline is good for its 'bid your own price' function which I have used many times. I will write a post about that specifically in a later blog, but it does work if you know how to bid smart and are careful. The regular functions of the website are covered more adequately by the sites listed above though, in my opinion.
Hotwire.com
Similar to Priceline in the sense that you don't know what hotel or flights you are getting before you buy. There are sites out there that can help you decipher what hotel it really is, and you can do it yourself sometimes based on the tripadvisor.com rating and using the amenities listed. Haven't used it myself yet to book a trip though.
Couponcraze.com
If you go to the travel section, they have various deals by different travel companies, including codes for things like 20% off, $30 off, etc...Worth looking for codes for sites that you are going to be buying from anyways.
So there are just a few to start out with. The regular ones like expedia and orbitz are also good for scanning. Also, individual airline's websites can often have the best deals, and some do not have their fares included in the other sites search engines. This would be Southwest, JetBlue for the most part, and Allegiant Air. All 3 can have good prices. And I am sure there are other good websites out there to find deals, so hopefully I can find some more and post them in another post! Happy deal hunting!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Airline Review #1 - Southwest
Alright, so Southwest is arguably the most travelled airline in the US these days. I have to admit that I have probably flown Southwest more than any other airline in the past 8 or so years. There are a couple of things to note about them.
First off, the only place you can find their fares are on their own website, southwest.com. While my understanding is that this enables them to have lower fares, it is a bit annoying having to check their website in addition to using a multi-airline website since it wastes time.
Secondly, although I have used them in the past for great deals (i.e. flying from Manchester, NH to Los Angeles last year for less than $400), it seems that recently they have upped their prices a bit more and they are not the great deals that they once used to be. For example, in comparison to the $400 I paid last year for a flight, the cheapest round-trip fare at the same time for the same locations cost $580 round-trip. This is far from cheap in my books, and as a result, I've slowly been moving away from using them.
Thirdly, the in flight experiences I've had have been mixed. Generally the flight attendants are very friendly and helpful, but there isn't any entertainment on flight! That can make long flights quite the boring times (by the end of my 7 hours of flying on the LA trip, I was bolting to the door to get off!). One upside of Southwest is that they do have free snacks onboard, and free pop or juice, and they are generally pretty good. I've uploaded a picture of the pack I got when I flew them last time - quite tasty. Although not very healthy.
Lastly, the boarding ticket and seating process. I find it to be good, since it rewards people who are on the ball and sign in at the first possible chance online. However, more people are now coming online right at the moment they can, and even after refreshing multiple screens repeatedly right before it started until you could check in, I still only managed to get in A16. So yea, intense. But I find it good because then you aren't stuck waiting around the gate to get a seat you want (personally because I'm tall, I like to get the exit row, which generally go fast).
Last words: All in all, Southwest is a good airline. No major complaints, and generally I've had smooth flying experiences. They are losing their reputation as the cheapest flight option in my opinion though. Overall, I would give them a 7.5/10.
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Air Fares
Alright, so living in Canada, it can be pretty expensive to fly. That is why most times I drive down to the United States and find the closest major airport and fly out of there because the savings can be substantial. Take for example my upcoming trip to Florida in March. Leaving out of the Canadian airport would've cost me $800 to fly to Orlando and back with all taxes and fees included. So I searched through the U.S. airports, and found a flight for $204 round trip, all taxes included, from Boston to Sarasota, Florida on Delta (who is having a sale right now). When I'm in the Toronto area, I usually fly out of Buffalo since it is usually much cheaper. So yes, tip one is to travel across the border for Canadians and fly out of a border city or further if you can manage the drive. As for individual carriers, I will post about the ones I have taken one by one later, as well as various travel sites.
That being said about cheaper airlines in the US, sometimes you have to travel within Canada and that isn't an option, or sometimes Canadian airlines have decent deals as well. One current travel deal I wanted to let you in on is the Air Canada sale going on right now. It seems that they've lowered the prices on their Christmas and winter flights. For example, my flight from Toronto to Fredericton was $330 yesterday for a flight on January 1st, but today when I checked it was down to $169! So yea, I think this is going to be around for maybe 4 or 5 days, though fares can change in a minute! So if you are looking to travel over the winter in Canada, take a look there. The website is aircanada.ca (in case you didn't know).
That being said about cheaper airlines in the US, sometimes you have to travel within Canada and that isn't an option, or sometimes Canadian airlines have decent deals as well. One current travel deal I wanted to let you in on is the Air Canada sale going on right now. It seems that they've lowered the prices on their Christmas and winter flights. For example, my flight from Toronto to Fredericton was $330 yesterday for a flight on January 1st, but today when I checked it was down to $169! So yea, I think this is going to be around for maybe 4 or 5 days, though fares can change in a minute! So if you are looking to travel over the winter in Canada, take a look there. The website is aircanada.ca (in case you didn't know).
Hello all!
Hi everyone!
I have to say I'm a little excited to be starting this blog. Hopefully I can save you a couple of bucks in your travels, and give you some good advice! I will try to update this frequently, though I'm not sure how that will work out! Anyways, lookin forward to bloggin with you, and happy travels!
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