2022
24
June
Cheap Flights from Ontario to Canadian Cities : Spring, Summer, Fall Travel
24
June
Due to intense competition from low cost carriers, flying within Canada has 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 or less.
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.
Not to mention Lynx Air (formerly Enerjet) who plans to fly between major Canadian cities starting in April 2022 using the low cost carrier model.
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, Lynx
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. (Update: Currently available in the neighbourhood of $150 roundtrip or less!)
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.
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
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
Toronto to Kelowna
^^ Explore prices on Google Flights. Look for dates in the $500s roundtrip. Try the same dates on FlightHub to book them for $149 roundtrip.
Kitchener-Waterloo to Kelowna
Toronto to Penticton
Alberta - Calgary (YYC) / Banff
Toronto to Calgary
Toronto to Calgary
Toronto to Calgary
Kitchener-Waterloo to Calgary
Kitchener-Waterloo to Calgary
Hamilton to Calgary
^^ note: the Calgary flights have an issue with the price jumping when you click through to the WestJet website. Try the same dates on FlightHub.
Alberta - Edmonton (YEG) / Jasper
Toronto to Edmonton
Toronto to Edmonton
Toronto to Edmonton
Kitchener-Waterloo to Edmonton
Hamilton to Edmonton
London to Edmonton
Prince Edward Island - Charlottetown (YYG)
Toronto to Charlottetown
Toronto to Charlottetown
Kitchener to Charlottetown
Hamilton to Charlottetown
Nova Scotia - Halifax (YHZ)
Toronto to Halifax
Toronto to Halifax
Toronto to Halifax
Toronto to Sydney
Kitchener-Waterloo to Halifax
Hamilton to Halifax
Newfoundland - Deer Lake or St. John's
Toronto to St. John's
Toronto to St. John's
Toronto to Deer Lake
Kitchener to Deer Lake
Hamilton to Deer Lake
Hamilton to St. John's
New Brunswick - Moncton or Saint John
Toronto to Saint John
Toronto to Saint John
Hamilton to Moncton
Ontario - Thunder Bay (YQT)
Toronto to Thunder Bay
Manitoba - Winnipeg (YWG)
Toronto to Winnipeg
Toronto to Winnipeg
Toronto to Winnipeg
Saskatchewan
Toronto to Saskatoon
Toronto to Saskatoon
Toronto to Regina
Live deal discussion & travel advice
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YYZ Deals Facebook Group.
^^ click the 'Join Group' button when you arrive.
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June
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Flying to Canadian cities with lower wait times for passports
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June
Toronto to Cancun, Mexico - $225 to $327 CAD roundtrip [nonstop flights]
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June
Toronto to Los Cabos, Mexico - $283 to $385 CAD roundtrip including taxes [nonstop flights]
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June
Toronto to Fort Lauderdale, Florida - $198 CAD roundtrip after taxes [nonstop flights]
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17
May
Toronto to Montego Bay, Jamaica - $252 to $352 CAD roundtrip [nonstop flights]
17
May
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15
May
Toronto to Panama City, Panama - $252 CAD roundtrip after taxes
15
May
2022
13
May
There's a reason I didn't post the $250 CAD roundtrip FareStore 'price error' fares
13
May
This is a different type of price error (than, say, the $178 roundtrip fares to Rome) where I don't believe in this case there's a chance of the tickets actually being issued. It's something I consider carefully, with the number of people it can potentially disappoint. And FareStore seems like the type of online travel agency where there could be a lot of headaches with refunds. But best of luck to those that give it a shot!
2022
26
April
Toronto to Rome, Italy - $178 CAD roundtrip after taxes [nonstop flights]
26
April
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