No Love for Canada? Crazy Expensive Tickets Chicago to Calgary, Ottawa, Halifax

  • Thread starter Greg Bernhardt
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    Canada Love
In summary, the prices for tickets to Canadian cities from Chicago O'Hare are insanely high. The cheapest way to get to any of these cities is to fly to another city in North America and then take a connecting flight. Flying to England costs half as much as flying to any of the Canadian cities.
  • #1
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Why are tickets to Canadian cities from Chicago Ohare so crazy expensive? Calgary, Ottawa, and Halifax are all about $800 RT. WTF mate! rant over
 
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  • #2
Wow, that's crazy. I wonder why. You can fly to England for half that.
 
  • #3
If you can figure out air-fare rates, let us all know. When I was consulting for a mill in south GA, I could buy a round-trip ticket on Delta to Atlanta (their major hub) for about $1000. If I took a connector to Tallahassee (also on Delta) the total round trip fare was about $250. How could I save Delta $750 by taking another ride to Florida? I used to do that routinely, rent a car in FL, and drive back up to south GA. I had a really nice contract with that mill, but Delta wouldn't cut me any slack on bulk advance ticket purchases, so I had to spend more time and fly on to FL every time. I spent one week a month on-site, and saving $750 a month was a pretty big deal. out of a $50K/yr contract. My contract with Westvaco in KY was much sweeter, but it's pretty hard to get there without first flying to Nashville and taking a puddle-jumper to Paducah. Not much in west KY, and the little flights were more expensive than they should have been.

I had a pretty tight relationship with the local travel agency back then, since I was paying for all my travel, lodging, and food, and the ladies worked hard to cut my costs, though I had to jump through some hoops in order to get discounted fares, including staying over weekends in what were considered (destination) cities.
 
  • #4
Hmmm - International, lack of competition.

Acually, if I fly my main airline, it would be ~$612 round trip from ORD to Halifax (8/15/09 - 8/20/09). So in this case, it depends on which airline, when, and how far in advance one purchases the ticket.

Flying from Newark (EWR) to any those cities would be as low as ~$418 to Halifax, $472 to Calgary.
 
  • #5
Evo said:
Wow, that's crazy. I wonder why. You can fly to England for half that.
I just checked some specials flights to England and W. Europe are running between $410-$700 round trip (tax not included).

I could fly to Melbourne, AUS, from NY for ~$1200, and that's a regular fare (nonrefundable).


So Greg - fly to London or Manchester or Paris or Madrid, and then from there to Calgary or Halifax. :rofl:
 
  • #6
Greg Bernhardt said:
Why are tickets to Canadian cities from Chicago Ohare so crazy expensive? Calgary, Ottawa, and Halifax are all about $800 RT. WTF mate! rant over
Typical American. Misjudging the awesome size of Canada. To get to the closest of those cities requires crossing eleven time zones*.

*in Canadian hours
 
  • #7
Have you tried Westjet?
 
  • #8
DaveC426913 said:
Typical American. Misjudging the awesome size of Canada. To get to the closest of those cities requires crossing eleven time zones*.

*in Canadian hours

I thought it was eleven and a half time zones, if you include Newfoundland Labrador.

:smile:
 
  • #9
Greg Bernhardt said:
Why are tickets to Canadian cities from Chicago Ohare so crazy expensive? Calgary, Ottawa, and Halifax are all about $800 RT. WTF mate! rant over

...'cos Canada's really big! :tongue:
 
  • #10
Greg Bernhardt said:
Why are tickets to Canadian cities from Chicago Ohare so crazy expensive? Calgary, Ottawa, and Halifax are all about $800 RT. WTF mate! rant over

Are you being restrictive with you dates, or traveling at a peak time of year?

Try this website I found a bit ago: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ [Broken] It's better than price comparison websites, since they aren't selling the product and so don't have to push certain airlines.

Evo said:
You can fly to England for half that.

I wish you could fly to England for $400!
 
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  • #11
cristo said:
I wish you could fly to England for $400!
Yeah - but I bet you're so close that you could see England through your window. You could walk there, you know. :biggrin:
 
  • #12
Astronuc said:
Yeah - but I bet you're so close that you could see England through your window. You could walk there, you know. :biggrin:

:rofl: You know what I mean!
 
  • #13
Astronuc said:
I just checked some specials flights to England and W. Europe are running between $410-$700 round trip (tax not included).

The guys selling tickets for 410 bucks are the British airlines who charge you 300 bucks in tax.
 
  • #14
Astronuc said:
Yeah - but I bet you're so close that you could see England through your window.
Except it's always raining
You could walk there, you know.
The polar bears would get you
 
  • #15
Here is what I found using Bing. All are round trips on Aug 18 returning Aug 25 economy class.
Chicago - Calgary: 1390 miles $606
Chicago - Ottowa: 645 miles $566
Chicago - Halifax: 1220 miles $567
Chicago - London: 3961 miles $715
Philadelphia - Paris: 3716 miles $609

Obviously, using cost/mile as an indicator, people are more anxious to leave Chicago than Phila. and more anxious to go to Canada than Europe.
 
  • #16
Ever since Canadian Airlines folded, prices have been creeping up. Supply and demand, I guess.
 
  • #17
mgb_phys said:
Except it's always raining
That's why the English perfected the umbrella, and then developed bola hats to go with the umbrellas. :tongue:
 
  • #18
I'm going to go with the peak season theory. July and August are the only months when Canada is defrosted enough to visit. :biggrin:

Throw in a couple hundred bucks more and you could join me here in Mozambique. It's hard to remember it's winter here when it's 70-75 F during the day (don't ask me what that is in C yet). The only way to be aware it's winter is that the sun goes down early, but with the adjustment to the different time zone, I don't know what time it is most of the day anyway.
 
  • #19
Astronuc said:
...and then developed bola hats ...
Are those anything like bowler hats?
 
  • #20
DaveC426913 said:
Are those anything like bowler hats?
No 'bola' hats are worn by the traditional London cowboys to round up llamas - you tie two of them together and spin them around your head (unless it's raining)
 

1. Why are tickets from Chicago to Calgary, Ottawa, and Halifax so expensive?

The main reason for the high ticket prices is the distance between these cities. Chicago is located in the United States while Calgary, Ottawa, and Halifax are all in Canada. This means that the flight distance is much longer, resulting in higher fuel costs for the airline, which is reflected in the ticket prices.

2. Are there any ways to find cheaper tickets for these routes?

One way to potentially find cheaper tickets is to be flexible with your travel dates. Prices can vary depending on the day of the week and time of year. It may also be helpful to sign up for airline newsletters or follow them on social media to stay updated on any sales or promotions.

3. Are there any alternative modes of transportation that are more affordable?

While flying may be the most convenient option, there are alternative modes of transportation that could be more affordable. Consider taking a bus or train, which may have lower ticket prices, although it may also take longer to reach your destination.

4. Why is there no love for Canada in terms of ticket prices?

It may seem like ticket prices to Canada are unfairly high, but it ultimately comes down to supply and demand. There may be fewer flights from Chicago to Canadian cities compared to other popular destinations, making the demand for these flights higher and driving up the prices.

5. Are there any hidden fees or taxes that contribute to the high ticket prices?

In addition to the base ticket price, there may be additional fees and taxes that contribute to the overall cost. These can include airport fees, baggage fees, and taxes imposed by the Canadian government. Always read the fine print and factor in these additional costs when comparing ticket prices.

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