Cheap flights to Canada

[MadameBalls]

Afternoon all! We are a family of 6 (4 kids, 2 adults) and we are looking to fly to Canada next summer in mid July. I am keeping my eye on air fares but they all seem so expensive. Does anyone know when the sales happen? Preferably for Air Canada or BA... or even which sites are the best for cheaper deals. Expedia and ebookers don’t seem to have anything at the mo!
Thanks in advance.

[StonedRoses]

I’ve got family in Canada so fly there fairly often and the really isn’t a lot of choice or ways to do it cheaply. Basically although vast in population terms it’s pretty small, especially compared to the US. So there just aren’t the flights, especially outside London.
Basically your choice is AC or BA from Heathrow or WestJet from Gatwick. Or a charter op from Glasgow or Manchester.

WestJet are a budget airline so the price doesn’t include seat reservations, luggage or food. When they say complimentary snack they mean a packet of pretzels. On a 9hr flight! Apart from the food (which is dire - eat on the terminal) I’ve found AC fine and usually fly with them.
If you go via the US you’ll need to collect your luggage and clear US customs and indigestion at your stop over which can takes while and you need an ESTA. Even if just changing planes
Personally despite living in Yorkshire I’ve always found it easiest to drive to Heathrow and fly direct. The other alternative is KLM via schiphol. No cheaper but easier than changing in the US

[lovelyupnorth]

It cost us 2000 quid for 4 air Canada last summer into Calgary back from Vancouver. Travelling hand luggage only. Worked well and was impressed with AC. We only booked on April though.

Also used westjet in the past worked out cheap but they where more expensive last year.

Look at staring in Dublin or the Netherlands/ Sweden can reduce prices.

[MadameBalls]

I’d never even heard of AC Rouge! And I hadn’t thought of going via Iceland. Thank you 😊

[habipprtyh]

Air canada rouge may be an option for Manchester

[chemenger]

When we went to Nova Scotia we flew with Iceland air via Keflavik, and had a couple of days in Iceland as well.

[MadameBalls]

Thank you, all. I know I am not going to get what I want but you’ve all given me some options I hadn’t thought of.

[BIWI]

Those are actually pretty good fares too - the return ones are less than £300 each!

[BIWI]

I chose dates at random, assuming that a) your DC will have to pay full fare, and b) they're at state schools, and c) that you're going for 2 weeks (26 July - 10 August).

With Westjet, it comes to £3,875.08 - more than double your desired fare!

see here

[BIWI]

From memory, we hired our car in Boston from Enterprise, and there was no issue taking it into Canada. (Nor was there an issue crossing the border).

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

BA have not long since had their sale and will probably do another one between December and March.

Try KAYAK as well re fares to Halifax

[BananaBooBoo]

Sorry that was 4 of us. I'd say 1500 is very unrealistic! Unless you fly with Norwegian air no frills into America first.

[BananaBooBoo]

We flew to Toronto with Aer lingus with flights included both ways to Dublin from London for 2000 last July.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Canadian affair/transat as a company still exist and they have a London office. However, they do not fly direct into Halifax.

You won't pay £1500 for the six of you; those days have sadly long since gone (those sorts of fares have not been seen since Freddie Laker's days). Also July is peak season. Bear in mind that children pay adult fare at around 12 years of age on some carriers.

Its just under 665 miles from Boston to Halifax and you may well encounter some problems in driving the car from the US into Canada.

Not all companies will allow cross border travel, and in fact, there may be different rules between different rental locations for the same company. You will be violating your renters agreement if you cross without their approval, and all kinds of very expensive problems will come up if you get a ticket or have an accident. In addition, U.S. Customs actually requires that the rental company has given their consent for the car to leave the country so it had better be in the rental agreement.Most auto insurance will cover you in both countries but you must confirm this with your provider.
You must always carry your usual insurance card but you may need to get an insurance card for the country you are visiting as well. Your carrier should provide this at no charge. If you take out the rental agencies insurance they should issue you a non-resident insurance card which must be kept in the rental vehicle. Given all this potential hassle I would avoid the car rental idea.

Make sure you understand how the mileage rates will work when converting between metric and U.S. standard measurements.
Keep in mind that rental agencies are never responsible for legal fees, fines or tickets. You may see additional penalties or fees if they end up being assessed against the vehicle.

You will also each need an ESTA for all travellers coming into the US and if you are not Canadian citizens also an ETa for Canada for each person travelling.

Given you have children as well I would look at direct flights to Halifax (think Swiss fly there) or alternatively flights to the nearest airport that someone like BA flies into in Canada (probably Montreal).

[BIWI]

this is interesting too

[BIWI]

If you fly to Boston, you can get a ferry from Bar Harbor in Maine, to Yarmouth in Nova Scotia. It takes 3.5 hours on the CAT ferry

[MadameBalls]

Halifax is the final destination... Family live there x

[MadameBalls]

Ooooh lots to think about and investigate here. I like the idea of flying into Boston and then travelling up . I think I’m looking for a price of about 1500 (I know! I know!) That’s what it was about ten years ago when we last went. Think I am going to have to do some adjusting in my mind. Thank you so much for all your suggestions and ideas.

[BIWI]

Is Halifax your final destination or are you travelling on somewhere else?

I have family in Eastern Canada, just over the border from Maine, and have always found it really expensive to fly there - and internal flights can be really costly.

We flew to Boston and then drove, allowing a couple of days to cover the journey. The drive up the coast is a lovely one, so it made it part of the holiday - but obviously don't know if that's an option for you.

Another time we flew direct to Halifax with Canadian Affair - no idea if they still exist! - but they only had 2 planes, so there were often long delays if one/both ended up being held up by air traffic controls etc. They were cheaper, but not really sure it was worth it.

[xyzandabc]

We are a family of 5 with relatives near Vancouver. Most recently we flew air Transat as they were £2k cheaper than BA/AC. They were perfectly fine to travel with and really good with the kids club/kids. Don't discount them just because they are seen as a budget airline I would use them again.

[GrumpyHoonMain]

flights to vancouver were coming up to 580 at the same time

[GrumpyHoonMain]

I paid 380 / each this year in august from London to Toronto. Flew with BA but AC was coming up similar. We booked approx 4-6 months in advance. No extra charges.

[Soontobe60]

How much do you think is reasonable?
We flew Air Transat Manchester to Vancouver a couple of years ago and paid £750 each.

[GrumpyHoonMain]

Westjet and air transat from London aren’t actually cheaper than BA or Air Canada. Both are like easyjet and charge you for everything. So when you add everything up you end up paying the same.

Your best bet for a reasonably comfortable journey to Toronto with kids is to go via New York or Chicago. I found the entire experience a lot easier even though it was an indirect flight.

[Bellebp]

Forgot to say, we flew last August and it was around £2700 (ish) for return flights for 2 adults and 3 kids Manchester to Toronto

[Bellebp]

We flew with air Transat, there’s a kids club that you can sign up for before you fly and they give free snacks and headphones to the kids. Don’t pay extra to buy seats together as they automatically put families of 5 or more together. We booked using Canadian Affair website, it was the cheapest I found.