This year, Canadians who want to take in the fall colours are likely to discover a wide variety of affordable travel options to cities like New York or Lake Louise, Alberta. Also, there are plenty of opportunities for cheap flights to fly to other locations for less.
According to Christie Hudson, head of U.S. public relations at Expedia, flight prices frequently decrease by 10% or more in the fall compared to summer. However, “the savings are expected to be even richer in the fall,” she added.
Airlines are reducing costs to fill planes due to increased competition on domestic and Canada-U.S. routes. Along with an anticipated steeper-than-usual seasonal decline in demand for leisure travel, explained John Gradek, coordinator of the aviation management department at McGill University.
Discounting has already begun. For instance, the Air Canada AC-T -2.28% drop was offering $86 one-way tickets to fly from Vancouver to Calgary in October as of August 19.
Flying one way from Toronto to Montreal costs $124 if you fly on October 20.
A few limited-time deals have already come and gone. For example, Flair Airlines Ltd. and Swoop Inc., part of the WestJet Group of Companies, provided 35% and 30% discounts on base travel tickets for fall travel for reservations made during the week of August 15.
There are several particularly noticeable price contrasts between summer highs and fall lows. For example, consider the low-cost airline Lynx Air, based in Calgary. On August 18, a round-trip ticket from Toronto to Vancouver, leaving Pearson airport on November 11 and returning on November 18, was listed for $161.26, taxes and fees included. The same trip cost $867.93 with a departure on August 26 and a return on September 2.
For the off-peak travel between the summer and the holidays, American airlines are likewise cutting ticket costs.
According to travel booking service Hopper data, round-trip flights to domestic U.S. locations in September and October would cost travellers US$238 per ticket, down US$142 on average over the summer, 3 per cent less than in 2019.
Lynx, having taken off for the first time in April, now serves 10 Canadian cities. Canada Jetlines announced that it had received final regulatory permission from Transport Canada on August 18. It is expected to join the country’s growing ultra-low-cost carriers serving locations such as Toronto, Moncton, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
According to FlightAware’s flight tracking website, between June 1 and August 17, about half of planes arriving from Toronto Pearson International Airport and Montreal-Trudeau International Airport were delayed.
Airport congestion will probably ease when passenger volume falls and help new hires at airports to gather three to four months of experience by autumn, said Mr. Gradek.
Source: The Globe And The Mail
