A new study shows that Canadian travellers can do basic math (which means bad news for Canadian airlines and airport authorities):
It’s not just the cheap fares, many Canadians report it’s simply easier to pass through United States customs via land than air. They also report security lineups at the small regional hubs offer a fraction of the waiting time of their Canadian counterparts.
Self-employed Toronto business owner Mike Payer says the past two years he has flown out of Buffalo’s airport for Christmas vacation because the price difference has been too hard to ignore.
“I saved $3,000 flying to Fort Lauderdale. It was $4,500 [for a family of four] to fly from Toronto but only US$1,200 from Buffalo. On top of all that it’s just so much simpler with U.S. Customs. You stay in a hotel overnight and most of them will even let you leave your car there [while on vacation]. I guess the only risk is the weather and missing a flight.”
I suspect there’s a mistake in the second paragraph of the linked article: no matter how much you can save, I strongly doubt that 18% of Canadians flew out of their closest US airport. 18% of Canadians who flew, maybe, but not 18% of the whole population.
Some regional airports are booming with the new Canadian traffic:
The pitch has been probably the strongest in Plattsburgh, a little town of 25,000 that spent millions in 2007 to convert a former air force base into an airport that would attract Quebec passengers. The airport, which is 100 kilometres from downtown Montreal, is fully bilingual.
“They don’t even call us Plattsburgh. We’re known as Montreal’s U.S. airport now,” said Michele Power, vice-president of marketing with the Plattsburgh-North County Chamber of Chamber of Commerce.
It’s already happening here. I routinely consider flights out of Buffalo. The trip via the QEW and Highway 405 isn’t much longer for me (driving from Kitchener) than it is to access Pearson. The customs crossing is usually quite easy, and the security procedures at Buffalo are much less onerous. There’s a savings on fares as well, although not nearly as much as the fares described above.
Mind you, Torontonians can also benefit from the airports around them. Hamilton and London both offer flights to such hubs as Detroit and Pittsburgh, giving them access to the rest of the network. Security clearances are quicker (and customs clearances usually happen on the American side — which might be an issue for some). Fares are comparable to Toronto, but the airport experience is much better. When my mother-in-law flew Northwest from London to Des Moines, she was the only passenger on the flight between London and Detroit.
Waterloo also offers domestic flights to Ottawa and Calgary via WestJet and smaller carriers.
Comment by James Bow — February 12, 2010 @ 14:42
I used to fly regularly on business, but over the last ten years, my flights have become fewer and further apart. I haven’t been on an aircraft since 2007, now that I think about it. Between the insane (and totally ineffective) security theatre, the extended waiting times (how many hours ahead of the flight to be at the airport?), and the (almost total) lack of amenities on flights these days, if I can’t drive there, I generally don’t go.
Comment by Nicholas — February 12, 2010 @ 15:00
Well, I do that too. Even with two kids under the age of five, driving to Des Moines, Iowa is better than flying there. It’s less expensive, and it only takes two days. The Bluewater Bridge crossing isn’t bad (Peter Watts aside), and we’ve gathered together a database of mall play areas, to give the kids somewhere to run after a couple of hours couped up in the car.
We typically make it to Kalamazoo or Benton Harbour, Michican on the first day, and Des Moines late on the second.
Comment by James Bow — February 12, 2010 @ 15:16
Not having younger kids along, we usually make it as far as the Mason-Dixon line or Louisville before stopping for the night. Haven’t tried going any further into the Midwest than Chicago, so far (and me a life-long Vikings fan . . .)
That database idea is surely something that many, many parents would love to share! I know we would have been delighted with it when Victor was a pre-teen.
Comment by Nicholas — February 12, 2010 @ 15:33