For those who remain undeterred by the daunting lines and flight delays at Canadian airports, questions remain about how to save money on air travel amid mounting fuel costs and inflation.
Airfares B次元官网网址� often the biggest line item on a vacation B次元官网网址� jumped 11.6 per cent year over year in May, according to Statistics Canada. Tickets are now above pre-pandemic levels, up 15 per cent from 2019 to $960 on average for international flights from Canada, says Montreal-based Hopper Inc., with no sign of a dip in the coming months.
B次元官网网址淎irlines are raising ticket prices to cover higher fuel and labour costs,B次元官网网址� said Helane Becker, an airline analyst for investment firm Cowen.
Flexibility is helpful when looking to save cash, since the times you choose to book and travel B次元官网网址� and which airport you take off from B次元官网网址� can play a key role in the cost.
Weekends are often pricier, and flights scheduled early in the morning and late at night are frequently cheaper, as fewer folks want to fly then, said Duncan Dee, former chief operating officer at Air Canada.
B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 plan to leave on the first few days after the school year ends B次元官网网址� and also donB次元官网网址檛 return home on the weekend before Labour Day, because thatB次元官网网址檚 going to be a huge demand weekend,B次元官网网址� he said.
Dee also recommends travelling in the off-season rather than peak summer months, or to consider less sought-after spots. B次元官网网址淟atin America, for example B次元官网网址� our summer is their winter, and a Southern Hemisphere winter B次元官网网址� is very pleasant,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淧aris in the summer or London in the summer B次元官网网址� that equals high airfares, high hotel prices and fully booked restaurants.B次元官网网址�
Booking one to three months in advance for local flights and three to four months for international ones may also yield cheaper fares, he added. However, B次元官网网址渄ynamic pricingB次元官网网址� means there are no hard and fast rules, as algorithms respond to demand and booking curves on the fly.
B次元官网网址淢any consumers will report being quoted one fare and a totally different B次元官网网址� higher or even lower B次元官网网址� if they search an hour later,B次元官网网址� Dee noted.
One way around attentive algorithms are alternative airports. Those in Hamilton, Ont., Buffalo and Plattsburgh, N.Y., and Bellingham, Wash., can present more palatable prices and fewer delays.
But voyages within Canada may be the safest option, and the softest on the pocketbook. The average one-way domestic fare was $159 in May, down from $168 in May 2019, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
B次元官网网址淚nternational travel, outside of North America is just really a crapshoot,B次元官网网址� said McGill University aviation lecturer John Gradek, pointing to a friendB次元官网网址檚 recent trip.
B次元官网网址淭o get a car rental in Italy B次元官网网址� a little gas car, a Fiat B次元官网网址� and a mini-house for him and his wife and his two daughters for one week was $1,200 (per day) B次元官网网址� plus $200 a day for the car rental,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e going to go to Europe, youB次元官网网址檝e got to really want to go.B次元官网网址�
Gradek recommends classic Canadian getaways this summer. B次元官网网址淕o to Banff, go to the Rockies, go visit PeggyB次元官网网址檚 Cove.B次元官网网址�
In Ontario, several cities are offering to reward tourists for overnight stays. Ottawa, Kingston, London and Guelph are among the municipalities promising to hand out gift cards of up to $100 or ensure a nightB次元官网网址檚 stay on the house at participating hotels.
The incentives come on top of the provincial staycation tax credit, which grants up to $200 in credit per person for travel within Ontario.
Low-cost Canadian carriers such as Flair Airlines, WestJetB次元官网网址檚 Swoop and recent entrant Lynx Air offer another route to savings B次元官网网址� though the smaller fleets can mean fewer options in the event of a cancellation, with some passengers rebooked days later on less frequent routes.
A handful of travel hacks offer more clever savings.
So-called hidden city fares, where passengers skip out on the second leg of a trip to disembark at the connection point B次元官网网址� their actual intended destination B次元官网网址� allow travellers who found cheaper fares on a roundabout route rather than a direct flight to save cash, though carriers frown on the practice.
B次元官网网址淗acker fares,B次元官网网址� which refer to two one-way tickets, can also yield savings. Search engines including Kayak and Google Flights offer round-trip queries for a pair of one-way flights. Kayak and Hopper also provide price alerts, and recommendations on whether to buy immediately or wait for lower fares.
For the more tech-savvy, bargain hunters can mask their computerB次元官网网址檚 address with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to sniff out fares that target local residents in other countries, though deals arenB次元官网网址檛 necessarily better. For the less digitally inclined, finding a foreign travel agent may be an easier option.
B次元官网网址擟hristopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
