Flying out of Canada...

[Striker 0]

As you can guess by my post... I want Flight info... for Canadians...

 

I have never flown out of ... well... Ever... so have a few questions about booking a flight... FYI - I am flying out of Canada one way or another on October 5th - Evening flight prefered

 

When to Book... how early/late... when is the best time to get good prices... October is the end of low season/Rains... I assume that reflects in the price ?

 

any suggestions on getting the best out of the hell of flying would be appreciated... I am as ready as any /\/ oobie can be for the experience... but I have no clue about flying/booking and ANYTHING would be appreciated... and Canadian Specific will be VERY Appreciated...

 

Thanks again...

 

 

CDK

 

Ken

[mbrucie 0]

So where do you live in Canuckville?

 

Bruce

[jimmac 66]

Which side of the country do you live in? If you're in the west you can go through Hong Kong or Narita in Tokyo. Air Canada have codeshares with Thai through both. Or, I think Eva fly into Vancouver and many guys on this board use them. They'd go through Tapei.

 

If you're in the East you can use Air Canada or any of the big European carriers like British Airways, Lufthansa, or Ar France and fly through a European city. Air Canada would connect you to Thai Air in London or Frankfurt on code shares.

 

Go on expedia.ca and see what kind of prices you can get. You might also try expedia.com or travelocity.com and see what prices you get on American carriers like United or Northwest as they are sometimes cheaper. They would mean an extra stop somewhere south of the border before you continue to the Far East. That would add time and the delight of their customs and security bs but if time is not a problem and you're looking for the best price it might be a good deal.

[BigDUSA 71]

September thru December 15 prices go down. They go up till January then back down thru May. Summer is the high season. With gas prices real high book early. Try and fly with one airline as the frequent flyer miles pile up real fast. I pay for two the third one is free.

 

2 days until wheels UP.

[randolpho2 0]

One word of advice just from a quick once over of flights for that date range... if you live near the border (as most of our Canuck friends do), wherever you may be, drive south, and start from a US airport, preferably one serviced by United, if you are not near Seattle, where you can pick up EVA. Fares are far more expensive on most flights from YYZ or YVR compared to flying from Seattle, Detroit, or Chicago, just for instance. What you will find is that in the October time frame, if you can get to an airport serviced by United (or United Express) you essentially get the flight to the hub (be it Chicago, San Francisco, etc) free, and can then make the hop across the pond from there. If you are not near a major hub in Canada, and have to fly Air Canada Jazz, Tango, WestJet, or even worse Bearskin Airlines (yes there is an airline called that in Ontario ) into Toronto or Vancouver, you are looking at quite a steep add-on to your fare right up front.

 

Just my two baht, but of course only you know the true value of your time in the hassle of crossing the border, and the drive from wherever you call home to the nearest two-bit US airstrip.

 

Happy travels!

 

Randy

[Greg_B 306]

I'm hoping BigD agrees with this one, since we both live on the East Coast of the USA. Going to Europe to get to Thailand may get you a 6 to 8 hour layover between flights. I tried that from Charlotte NC and I spent a miserable 7 hours in FRA to connect to Thai Airways {LH codeshare}

 

East Coast USA flights leave in the PM and arrive in the early AM to Europe {6 to 8 AM}. Most flights depart Europe in the afternoon to make an arrival of 6 AM in Thailand. Now if you can handle a 7 hour layover go ahead, but it may be wiser to go westbound out of Canada to make NRT, HKG or TPE.

 

I did the European thing one time and it was a "killer". Also most connections in the UK are via LHR, so don't go to LGW and expect to make an easy transfer.

[Striker 0]

sorry for not including such vital info in my prior post...

 

I live in Kingston, Ontario... 3 hrs from Toronto or Ottawa... so can fly out of either...

 

as for using the online companies... am a bit nervous... I hear good and bad... but always from "my Brothers, Cousins, Nephews, Daughter got a great deal" have you tried them ?

 

as for flying out of a US city... is it really cheaper... taking into concideration getting to the city in the first place...

 

as I said... I am a Complete NOOBRAINER when it comes to flying...

 

Thanks for your patience and tolerance...

 

 

CDK

 

Ken

[tangent 42]

Ken,

 

I am flying out of Toronto on the morning of Oct. 6 and arriving in BKK on Oct.7 8:30 pm landing time, I am returning on Oct 24. It cost me $1029. 00 this is on United Airways. I used Cheapflights.com, great service.

[Firepole 181]

Do I understand that you've NEVER flown anywhere at all? If that's the case then you've chosen one Hell of long flight to pop your flying "cherry". I hope you don't suffer from air sickness or, worse yet, claustrophobia. Wouldn't that be a bitch. I'd take a test flight soon to make sure. If you want to do that go to Travelocity.com and check their "Dream Map". Click here: http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap.ctl?Service=TRAVELOCITY Don't forget to input your "Departure City" in the box in the upper left hand corner(YYZ is the code for Toronto).

 

Flying direct from Canada is more costly than from the U.S. I'd suggest flying from Los Angelos(LAX) to Bangkok(BKK). I think flights out of LAX are in the $650-750 range for Oct. Getting to LAX will cost you $250-350 round trip. Total $1000-1100.

 

I travel from the east coast of the U.S. and book a round trip(on Delta) to LAX arriving in L.A. the day before my flight to BKK. I book a hotel for 2 nights near LAX because of the late night departure to BKK on EVA Airlines. I book the hotel through Priceline but find out the best hotel rate at http://www.biddingfortravel.com

 

On the return I only get a hotel for 1 night near LAX because I book my return flight on Delta for the next day.

 

For 2 separate RT tickets and 3 nights in a hotel it only costs me $200 more than 1 round trip ticket from Newark to Bangkok and I'm fairly well rested when it's over. Well worth it to me. If you like the idea you need to keep time zones into consideration when making plans.

 

I'm really bored right now so I just checked flights to to see how close I was. As of 06/29/04 at 17:30 o'clock the following was true.

 

Dep: Toronto 10/05/2004 on America West to LAX

Ret: LAX 10/19/2004 on America West to Toronto(you didn't mention length of stay in your post so I just put in two weeks)

Total price= $254 incl. tax & fees(according to http://Travelocity.com )in economy class.

 

Dep: LAX 10/06/2004 on EVA Airlines to Bangkok

Ret: Bangkok 10/18/2004 on EVA Airlines to LAX

Total price: $712 incl. tax & fees(according to EVA website http://www.evaair.com ) in economy class. Evergreen Deluxe class, which, at 6ft3in tall, I highly recommend, will cost you $936 all in.

 

Total in Economy= $966.

A 3 star hotel in the LAX zone on Priceline will cost you about $40 per night plus tax and fees. You'd need a 3 star hotel to ensure a shuttle between the hotel and LAX. See the biddingfortravel link above and read through their site.

 

Travelocity.com shows a flight from Toronto to Bangkok via San Francisco AND Narita, Japan using the above dates for $1061. TOTAL TRAVEL TIME IS 39 HOURS AND 35 MINUTES!!!!! OW! The "regular" 23-24 hour total time flights start at $1900 and go up from there.

[LBJ 533]

If you can get to Detroit by either car or air, it's a major hub for Northwest airlines. From there you can get direct flights to Tokyo and then to Bangkok. Their prices are usually comparable with other US airlines depending on the days you fly.

[Emil 0]

Cathay Pacific flies out of Toronto. Check their website for fares. They have an All Asia promotion that costs $999 USD if you don't stay over 21 days.

 

Emil

[Flyboy 0]

It may cost a little more to fly from Canada but you avoid all the B.S. and hassle with US Immigration, Customs and the Infamous TSA if you route thru the U.S.

 

I've just completed a booking with destina.ca (The Cheapest fare I could find) Toronto - Bangkok return for $1557. CAD(Approx $1150 U.S.) departing on Oct 28. Routing is Toronto - Narita non stop on AC Narita - Bangkok with ANA. Bangkok - Hong Kong with Thai, Hong Kong nonstop to Torontop on AC. Good connections both ways. Flight Dearts T.). at 1:00pm arriving next night in Bangkpk at 1030 PM. Departs bangkok at *00AM arriving T.O. at 6:30 PM same day.

 

Routing via Eurpoe is always significantly more expensive than via Asia.

 

I also live near Kingston!

 

Good Luck

[randolpho2 0]

Good luck to all on their bookings. I have to agree with centcm on the routing through the west coast with an overnight stay. I did that last time going through San Francisco, and got a room at the Hyatt Regency Airport for $38USD + tax with free airport shuttle on Priceline. It makes the travel time significantly longer, but I would much rather do that and arrive rested (if I have the extra day to spare) versus slogging the whole 28-30 hours westbound in one go.