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Recently have been looking to book personal and business trips to both Europe (next April/May) and the U.S (this year).

Options to Europe are:
1. Through Calgary - Cheapest
2. Through Calgary then Montreal or Toronto - Next cheapest
3. Through Montreal or Toronto - Cheapest but more convenient on timing
4. Depending on the day, through Amsterdam - Most expensive by a several hundred dollars

Flight options to the U.S. east coast were similarly routed and costed.

This topic has been discussed ad nauseum for a decade plus on this and other forums but man YEG and Edmonton continue to struggle with connectivity to the rest of the world. For both personal and business travel we lack options outside of Canada and no amount of increased WestJet flights to Winnipeg and Saskatoon are going to fool me into thinking we are seeing growth.
 
CaptainBL said:
Recently have been looking to book personal and business trips to both Europe (next April/May) and the U.S (this year).

Options to Europe are:
1. Through Calgary - Cheapest
2. Through Calgary then Montreal or Toronto - Next cheapest
3. Through Montreal or Toronto - Cheapest but more convenient on timing
4. Depending on the day, through Amsterdam - Most expensive by a several hundred dollars

Flight options to the U.S. east coast were similarly routed and costed.

This topic has been discussed ad nauseum for a decade plus on this and other forums but man YEG and Edmonton continue to struggle with connectivity to the rest of the world. For both personal and business travel we lack options outside of Canada and no amount of increased WestJet flights to Winnipeg and Saskatoon are going to fool me into thinking we are seeing growth.
Click to expand...

Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa were my go-to jumping off points for Europe before the pandemic, but a lot of those options seem to have been whittled down for connections. Flight availability to Montreal seems pretty spotty nowadays.
 
CaptainBL said:
Recently have been looking to book personal and business trips to both Europe (next April/May) and the U.S (this year).

Options to Europe are:
1. Through Calgary - Cheapest
2. Through Calgary then Montreal or Toronto - Next cheapest
3. Through Montreal or Toronto - Cheapest but more convenient on timing
4. Depending on the day, through Amsterdam - Most expensive by a several hundred dollars

Flight options to the U.S. east coast were similarly routed and costed.

This topic has been discussed ad nauseum for a decade plus on this and other forums but man YEG and Edmonton continue to struggle with connectivity to the rest of the world. For both personal and business travel we lack options outside of Canada and no amount of increased WestJet flights to Winnipeg and Saskatoon are going to fool me into thinking we are seeing growth.
Click to expand...

I think Condor started their direct flights to Frankfurt in May this year - I flew it in June and I was glad to have that option as my first destination was a relatively short train ride to Belgium. I paid $599 one way and then flew back from Portugal (air transat with one stop in Toronto for a great price of $450).
My friend booked a couple months after me and got his Condor flight for $499.
 
TAS said:
I think Condor started their direct flights to Frankfurt in May this year - I flew it in June and I was glad to have that option as my first destination was a relatively short train ride to Belgium. I paid $599 one way and then flew back from Portugal (air transat with one stop in Toronto for a great price of $450).
My friend booked a couple months after me and got his Condor flight for $499.
Click to expand...
The problem with Condor is again the optionality, they fly two days a week so you need to want to fly out on a day they fly and return on a day they fly. On top of that, I havent seen them load any flights for next April/May yet so they arent even an option right now.
 
CaptainBL said:
Recently have been looking to book personal and business trips to both Europe (next April/May) and the U.S (this year).

Options to Europe are:
1. Through Calgary - Cheapest
2. Through Calgary then Montreal or Toronto - Next cheapest
3. Through Montreal or Toronto - Cheapest but more convenient on timing
4. Depending on the day, through Amsterdam - Most expensive by a several hundred dollars

Flight options to the U.S. east coast were similarly routed and costed.

This topic has been discussed ad nauseum for a decade plus on this and other forums but man YEG and Edmonton continue to struggle with connectivity to the rest of the world. For both personal and business travel we lack options outside of Canada and no amount of increased WestJet flights to Winnipeg and Saskatoon are going to fool me into thinking we are seeing growth.
Click to expand...
It seems like one can not beat Westjet prices to Europe through Calgary. $650 to Paris return from Edmonton. It would be nice to have more than KLM and Condor flying direct to Europe, such as having Icelandair.
 
CaptainBL said:
The problem with Condor is again the optionality, they fly two days a week so you need to want to fly out on a day they fly and return on a day they fly. On top of that, I havent seen them load any flights for next April/May yet so they arent even an option right now.
Click to expand...
That's the way of Condor. They run a fairly small long-haul fleet, and focus on leisure travel. Weekly seasonal flights and charter flights are how they do things, and they tend to change up their schedules every so often to try new destinations.
 
Last edited:
CaptainBL said:
Recently have been looking to book personal and business trips to both Europe (next April/May) and the U.S (this year).

Options to Europe are:
1. Through Calgary - Cheapest
2. Through Calgary then Montreal or Toronto - Next cheapest
3. Through Montreal or Toronto - Cheapest but more convenient on timing
4. Depending on the day, through Amsterdam - Most expensive by a several hundred dollars

Flight options to the U.S. east coast were similarly routed and costed.

This topic has been discussed ad nauseum for a decade plus on this and other forums but man YEG and Edmonton continue to struggle with connectivity to the rest of the world. For both personal and business travel we lack options outside of Canada and no amount of increased WestJet flights to Winnipeg and Saskatoon are going to fool me into thinking we are seeing growth.
Click to expand...

Edmonton is horrible for flying out of no matter what anyone says or feels is improving. It is very difficult to business/leisure travel from Edmonton for a 2 day trip outside of going to LA, Phoenix or Vegas. People believing avoiding connecting out of Calgary will somehow magically get us more direct flights is dumb. Calgary has a ton of direct options and makes flying places very convenient but very frustrating as an Edmontonian for not having the same options.
 
CaptainBL said:
Recently have been looking to book personal and business trips to both Europe (next April/May) and the U.S (this year).

Options to Europe are:
1. Through Calgary - Cheapest
2. Through Calgary then Montreal or Toronto - Next cheapest
3. Through Montreal or Toronto - Cheapest but more convenient on timing
4. Depending on the day, through Amsterdam - Most expensive by a several hundred dollars

Flight options to the U.S. east coast were similarly routed and costed.

This topic has been discussed ad nauseum for a decade plus on this and other forums but man YEG and Edmonton continue to struggle with connectivity to the rest of the world. For both personal and business travel we lack options outside of Canada and no amount of increased WestJet flights to Winnipeg and Saskatoon are going to fool me into thinking we are seeing growth.
Click to expand...
If I may suggest, keep an eye on KLM. Sometimes they'll have seats for really good sale prices, especially business class.

A few months ago, I was looking at flights to a central European city (that requires a connection) and one-way business was something like $8500 on Air Canada and Lufthansa.

I ended up seeing a KLM deal and got round-trip business for roughly half the cost of that one-way flight above. I'm not a Skyteam member but I'll forego earning aeroplan points for a flight that is so much less expensive.
 
Offworld said:
If I may suggest, keep an eye on KLM. Sometimes they'll have seats for really good sale prices, especially business class.

A few months ago, I was looking at flights to a central European city (that requires a connection) and one-way business was something like $8500 on Air Canada and Lufthansa.

I ended up seeing a KLM deal and got round-trip business for roughly half the cost of that one-way flight above. I'm not a Skyteam member but I'll forego earning aeroplan points for a flight that is so much less expensive.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

There is also Air Transat that can take you to many European destinations beyond just London, Paris, Amersterdam, Barcelona - such as Greece, Croatia or Portugal - in just one stop (via Toronto). You can't do those flights with Westjet in less than 2 stops from YEG.

The Toronto flight is with Porter, their partner airline.

As noted before, my Porto flight was $450 one way, one stop. A great option. As with any airline, just had to watch for deals.
 
About 10% of westjet planes out of commission from hailstorm down south. As of yesterday, 248 flights cancelled with more to come.

As per usual with the airlines, it doesnt seem like people can get answers from customer service.

Prices expected to rise in immediate future.

calgaryherald.com

Calgary hailstorm fallout could include high airfares due to WestJet cancellations, expert says

WestJet says it grounded 10% of its fleet for inspection and maintenance after Calgary was battered by hail on Monday night.
calgaryherald.com calgaryherald.com
 
Looks like Air Canada de-branded their shitty little hangar
IMG_2053.jpeg
 
Maybe they will change their name soon to Air Eastern Canada and be gone. Both of the cozy duopoly seem to be retreating to their fortress areas.
 
Heh, I saw it too while driving on Calgary Trail past 23rd Ave. Although I though they only fly on Tuesdays and Thursdays?
 
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