2021
28
November
Cheap Flights from Ontario to Western Canada : Spring & Summer Travel Edition
28
November
Despite what Sabrina at the National Post seems to think, flying within Canada has actually become significantly cheaper over the last few years.
It was not that long ago you would easily be paying a minimum of $500 roundtrip after taxes to fly from Ontario to Western Canada or vice versa. Those same routes are now routinely in the ballpark of $250 roundtrip.
Back then you had two choices, WestJet or Air Canada. Then Air Transat started flying certain domestic routes, which helped with prices between major cities, such as Toronto to Calgary/Vancouver. Then Flair entered the mix, starting with cheap flights from smaller Canadian airports, and gradually worked their way into the larger airports.
WestJet responded to this new upstart named Flair by creating Swoop to compete in the low cost carrier space.
And then there's Porter, who has been biding their time in Eastern Canada, but now appears poised to finally expand across Canada next year with their 80 new aircraft.
It's conceivable that by this time next year Canada will have 5 or 6 airlines competing on some domestic routes.
Yes, many routes within Canada are still dominated by 1 or 2 airlines, keeping prices high on those routes. Anywhere with less than 200,000 people is still going to have expensive domestic flights and limited choices.
But I think to say that Canada's domestic market has a real lack of competition is no longer true like it once was.
WestJet, Air Canada vs Flair, Swoop
When it comes to comparing prices between WestJet / Air Canada versus Flair / Swoop, if you have intention of bringing *any* luggage (checked OR carry-on), you should probably add about $100-$120 to Flair and Swoop's roundtrip prices, to give you a fair comparison.
Flair and Swoop's base prices will buy you just a seat on the plane, so don't be fooled by the first price you see on search engines. They're not telling you the whole story.
As a general rule, somewhere around $250 CAD roundtrip including taxes and fees has been the rock bottom price you'll find for non-stop flights between Ontario and B.C./Alberta with WestJet or Air Canada.
And with Flair or Swoop, the bottom price will be around $100-$125 CAD roundtrip *before* adding any luggage, and not by coincidence, around $220-$250 CAD roundtrip with checked luggage or carry-on.
So at the end of the day, if your grand total price is in the ballpark of $250 CAD roundtrip per passenger, you're doing very well. It's still a lot better than the $500-$600 roundtrip that Canadians have traditionally paid for summer travel within our own country over the years.
Are there any requirements such as a negative covid test result for flying within Canada?
There have never been any special requirements, such as having a covid test result or quarantine, when flying between any combination of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, or Alberta.
Flying between these 4 provinces is essentially identical to pre-pandemic times, and always has been.
Starting October 30th, travellers will need to provide proof of vaccination in order to board a domestic flight in Canada.
Between October 30th and November 30th there will be a grace period where someone who is not fully vaccinated can provide a recent negative PCR test result instead of proof of vaccination. After November 30th this will not be an option.
Exploring for cheap flights
If you click on the links below, it will take you to an example Google Flights search you can start with.
When you get to Google Flights, you can click on the departure date box to open the calendar view and browse for the cheapest dates to fly.
If you open the calendar view on Google Flights you can adjust the trip length at the bottom.
British Columbia - Vancouver (YVR) or Abbotsford (YXX)
Abbotsford is east of Vancouver, and about a 45-60 minute drive into downtown Vancouver (depending on how bad traffic is).
Toronto to Vancouver
Toronto to Vancouver
Kitchener-Waterloo to Vancouver
Toronto to Abbotsford
Hamilton to Abbotsford
British Columbia - Victoria (YYJ)
Toronto to Victoria
Toronto to Victoria
Kitchener-Waterloo to Victoria
British Columbia - Kelowna (YLW) & Penticton (YYF)
Toronto to Kelowna
Toronto to Kelowna
Kitchener-Waterloo to Kelowna
Toronto to Penticton
Alberta - Calgary (YYC) / Banff
Toronto to Calgary
Toronto to Calgary
Kitchener-Waterloo to Calgary
Kitchener-Waterloo to Calgary
Hamilton to Calgary
Alberta - Edmonton (YEG) / Jasper
Toronto to Edmonton
Toronto to Edmonton
Kitchener-Waterloo to Edmonton
Hamilton to Edmonton
Prince Edward Island - Charlottetown (YYG)
Toronto to Charlottetown
Toronto to Charlottetown
Nova Scotia - Halifax (YHZ)
Kitchener-Waterloo to Halifax
Live deal discussion & travel advice
For live discussion of this deal, or to get some amazing travel advice (about anywhere) from your 112,000 fellow passengers in Toronto, join us in the
YYZ Deals Facebook Group.
^^ click the 'Join Group' button when you arrive.
Hit Like if you like this deal! Click Share to show your friends on Facebook.
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Join The YYZ Deals Facebook GroupWhat happens when over 95,000 people from
Toronto...
* crowdsource the best travel deals from YYZ?
* offer up their amazing travel advice?
Join the group and find out!
(click the 'Join Group' button, when you arrive)
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