An article at the National Post talks about the rising number of Canadians who drive to US airports. After a recent experiment, I can understand why.
Last weekend, I had a notion to go to Boston for the coming long weekend. I checked the Porter Airlines website. Multiple flights from Toronto Island airport to Boston, great! So I started the booking process. Two people, flying from YTZ to BOS, return trip . . . how freaking much????
Because I wasn’t booking more than two weeks in advance, the flights were going to cost $800+. That’d be bad enough, but that’s per person. One way. But the return flight was cheaper: a doddle at “only” about $690. So about $3,000 not counting taxes, fees, and surcharges.
American Airlines, if I booked right now could get us to Boston from Buffalo for $246 each. Return flight at the same price, or cheaper ($181 each) if we used JetBlue.
So, for the added hassle of driving to Buffalo (and the border crossing, of course), I’d save nearly $2,000 on this little jaunt. If that’s at all representative, then it’s amazing that Canadian airlines are able to hang on to as much of the business as they currently do.
I suspect the reason they’re able to get away with this airway robbery – aside from the lack of foreign competition – is that most of these short-haul / medium haul flyers are doing so on the company dime. Their time is “too important” to be wasted on the hour trip to Buffalo, or in the case of Montreal, Plattsburgh.
Comment by Publius — February 16, 2011 @ 21:51
Props for the highly apposite term.
Yes, that’s a fair observation, too. A few employers ago, I was on a regular shuttle from Toronto (YYZ) to Boston for several months. As it was their nickel, I didn’t need to worry about the fiddly details of how much or booking tickets far in advance to get a better rate — actually, I was usually told less than a week beforehand to “be there”, so the employer-of-the-day probably paid significant premiums for someone’s lack of advance planning.
Comment by Nicholas — February 16, 2011 @ 22:32