Millions of Canadians head to U.S. airports for cheaper flights

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/...2012/10/millions-of-canadians-head-to-us.html

Remember when it was cheaper for Western New Yorkers to fly out of Toronto? That's no longer the case.

A new Conference Board study says millions of Canadians now come to the United States in search of less expensive flights, as reported by the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Higher airfares and taxes in Canada are to blame, says the study, which estimates that it's 30 percent cheaper to fly out of American airports.

Read More: http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/...2012/10/millions-of-canadians-head-to-us.html

 

Interesting reversal.

 

Are the Canadian news sites also losing out to the US news consolidator sites?

 

Not a real news item

This has been common at DTW for years -- and there also are traffic jams at the border, particularly on weekends, with people coming over here to shop.

DTWBOB

 

The taxes (from both sides of the border) and fees are a real killer. For one person, it may not be worth the extra time and hassle of flying out of a border city (eg Buffalo for YYZ), but for a family of 4, the savings becomes considerable.

 

That's why Allegiant lists Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal as cities on their list, when in truth, the airports they fly out of are BLI, IAG and PBG respectively. On my return from Montreal, we flew out of MHT since I was on award flights from WN, but we saw tons of Quebec plates stopping in Plattsburgh which we assumed were trying to fly to SFB, FLL, LAS or PIE.

 

I used to fly Allegiant's BLI-Mesa flight a lot and I can tell you it's mostly Canadians. Especially in the winter when all the snowbirds are in Arizona.

 

Hmm, I wonder if this will wind up pushing down the prices in Canada; if legions of your citizens are heading to another country to fly, that means substantial lost revenue. Time, maybe, to alter ones business strategy?

 

It isn't only always higher airfares charged by the airline.

I think the Cdn govt is looking into the tariffs on TB travel but there is no willpower to lower the charges users pay for aviation on the Cdn side. In addition to the US taxes and security fees, on the Cdn side you also have several fees, incl airport fees which vary by airport, vs the US which uses a one-fee-for-all model of $4.50. For example, my LGA-YYZ fare is $268. My YYZ airport fee is $25, or about 9% of the total fare. Total fees and taxes is $87, or 33% of total cost - 40% on the US side, 60% on the Cdn side (most of which goes to Pearson Mahal!)

 

I would imagine the exchange has swung to their favor. When I was attending UB in the mid 90's, we would go up there all the time to Toronto. The rate was 1USD - ~$1.70 at its peak. It is now on par +/- a few pips. So from that perspective, I am not at all surprised that we are seeing more of our Northern neighbors coming down to fly and shop. They were doing that before the rate was terrible for them....shopping that is.