Swoop Airlines
The Ultra Low Cost Carrier Swoop Airlines (offered by the folks at WestJet, I believe) is now flying from Hamilton, Ontario to Las Vegas.
They are direct flights, but the only catch is that they are not a great times. 7PM departure on Sunday arrives at 8:50PM Vegas time, and 10:40PM return which turns into Friday at 5:40AM as a red-eye flight. 8-(
We usually book flights leaving Sunday morning and returning Thursday afternoon for around $600 per person. The last two years, to get that rate, we've had to fly Southwest out of Buffalo, NY. Three years ago WestJet out of Pearson had them for $626.
Swoop's price $393 per person. Mind you you're paying for everything. Carry-on baggage is $40. A checked bag is $35.
That's going to be hard to beat. I'm going to wait until Southwest has their March fares available, but given the Canadian dollar stinks compared to the US dollar I'm not sure Southwest can beat that.
Choosing similar flight times out of Pearson on WestJet or Air Canada still run you $800 per person or more.
Driving to Hamilton Airport vs. Pearson in Toronto is a bit of a wash. Hamilton might be a tad closer. Pearson does have the nice U.S. Customs pre-clearance at the airport whereas Hamilton does not.
At this point, I think we'll be flying Swoop.
--helpmespock
Quote: DRichWow, I am shocked most flights are that expensive out of Toronto. I would have expected under $400.
To visit my Mom, I started flying into Buffalo after American Airlines stopped flying into Kitchener ( my home town). The taxes for flying into a Canadian airport are outrageous.
Quote: helpmespockWell Mrs. Helpmespock and I may have a new airline to travel on our annual March Break trip.
The Ultra Low Cost Carrier Swoop Airlines (offered by the folks at WestJet, I believe) is now flying from Hamilton, Ontario to Las Vegas.
They are direct flights, but the only catch is that they are not a great times. 7PM departure on Sunday arrives at 8:50PM Vegas time, and 10:40PM return which turns into Friday at 5:40AM as a red-eye flight. 8-(
We usually book flights leaving Sunday morning and returning Thursday afternoon for around $600 per person. The last two years, to get that rate, we've had to fly Southwest out of Buffalo, NY. Three years ago WestJet out of Pearson had them for $626.
Swoop's price $393 per person. Mind you you're paying for everything. Carry-on baggage is $40. A checked bag is $35.
That's going to be hard to beat. I'm going to wait until Southwest has their March fares available, but given the Canadian dollar stinks compared to the US dollar I'm not sure Southwest can beat that.
Choosing similar flight times out of Pearson on WestJet or Air Canada still run you $800 per person or more.
Driving to Hamilton Airport vs. Pearson in Toronto is a bit of a wash. Hamilton might be a tad closer. Pearson does have the nice U.S. Customs pre-clearance at the airport whereas Hamilton does not.
At this point, I think we'll be flying Swoop.
--helpmespock
YHM doesn't have the time of day restrictions that they do at YYZ, so they can land the planes in the middle of the night. Which they do -- there is a lot of cargo that flies in overnight. I know, because I'm within earshot of YHM. That said I would rather take the the afternoon direct into LAS on Southwest and the late night return to BUF and take the 75 minute drive home that way than take any red-eye. I guess the same is true for Pearsob except for the preclearance into Pearson which can add an extra 30-45 minutes.
Quote: rsactuaryTo visit my Mom, I started flying into Buffalo after American Airlines stopped flying into Kitchener ( my home town). The taxes for flying into a Canadian airport are outrageous.
Indeed. On a fairly regular basis, you see a Canadian headline with a title like, "Pearson is the most expensive in the world to land a plane".
I saw another report claiming that the situation isn't going to change anytime soon because Pearson is at capacity for the number of flights in and out.
Some of the surrounding airports like Kitchener and Hamilton are counting on that lack of capacity to boost travel out of their airports.
--helpmespock
Quote: boymimboYHM doesn't have the time of day restrictions that they do at YYZ, so they can land the planes in the middle of the night. Which they do -- there is a lot of cargo that flies in overnight. I know, because I'm within earshot of YHM. That said I would rather take the the afternoon direct into LAS on Southwest and the late night return to BUF and take the 75 minute drive home that way than take any red-eye. I guess the same is true for Pearsob except for the preclearance into Pearson which can add an extra 30-45 minutes.
Yes I understand the time of day restrictions are part of the capacity problem with Pearson. I would bet those restrictions won't be going away anytime soon.
Flying out of Pearson to Las Vegas would be my first choice because of convenience. I can get there in under an hour on that Sunday of March Break door-to-door. You get the U.S. Customs pre-clearance. WestJet and Air Canada run direct flights at good times out of Pearson to Las Vegas -- leave in the morning, return in the afternoon.
The price is forcing me to other airports.
Here's a point of comparison. Mrs. Helpmespock and I will be travelling to Scotland again next summer. Direct flight from Pearson to Edinburgh is costing us $840 per person. It's overnight going there, but that's hard to avoid travelling to Europe. Return is just before 9AM getting back in the early afternoon.
The Air Canada direct flight to Las Vegas leaving in the morning Sunday and returning in the late afternoon Thursday at March Break currently runs $960 per person.
Flying out of Buffalo with Southwest will still be an option for us as long as the flights are at good times and the price can get under $600 CDN per person. We'll see since Southwest isn't booking that far yet.
--helpmespock
