PeaSouper

Does anyone here have experience with the fares on AC 823/822, and how low these can get?

I'm planning on travelling to YYT in March (for the Brier) and fares right now are about £580 r/t. My gut instinct from flying AC, BA, and UA TATL is that this is too high - around £400 is my ideal airfare when buying a TATL Y flight.

But the LHR-YYT flight seems like such a special case: there is no direct competition (WS seasonal flights won't start until May), and any connecting itineraries will be a real palaver since they will take at least twice as long to get to YYT. So maybe £580 will be about as good as it gets?

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere - I had a look and couldn't find anything.

navigator4309

Fares come and go, but when I lived in Atlantic Canada, it was very rare that the nonstop to LHR from either St. John's or Halifax would go for less than 1000 CAD return. As of right now, that comes to 588 GBP.

AtlanticXpat

I fly YYT-LHR 8+ times a year. Outside of the seasonal WJ flight, I think my flight cost averages somewhere around $1200. When the competitor flight is running then it can be had for $6-800. On this route you are never going to get a GBP400 fare in the "off" season I'm afraid. Competition is everything! GBP580 for March feels reasonable.

You might get a better fare with a circuitous routing via YYZ, YUL or the US but probably wont save a great deal and will double or more your journey time. (823 is 5-5.5hrs / 822 is 4.5hrs ). In my mind its worth paying a <reasonable> premium for the direct route. The value of <reasonable> is up to you!

PeaSouper

I certainly agree that £580 is a reasonable fare. There are connecting fares that are £350 or so on WestJet through YYZ, but those are ~17 hours, and, well, they're on WestJet, whose transatlantic services are widely reviewed as awful.

I just didn't want to be a mug if fares regularly got much lower. So your feedback is appreciated.

Since you fly the route regularly: I note that the AC page when purchasing the flight advertises onboard wifi. Is that merely based on the aircraft type? I'd be pleasantly surprised if it actually worked anywhere except near YYT.

AtlanticXpat

I'll be giving WJ a go early next week. (as AC wanted $2k return for a trip not involving a Saturday night vs. $600 for WJ!) WJ's generally poor TATL experience is more I think to do with the aged 767's they use for all other routes. On YYT-LGW (& DUB) they use 737's which are more reliable. Whether they are more comfortable than AC's A319 I'll let you know next week!

AC's narrow body fleet - including the A319's used on this route - are fitted with GoGo Air To Ground, Wifi technology. ATG uses ground towers (like cellular phones do). No towers in the middle of the Atlantic(!) so no Wifi I'm afraid. That doesn't stop FA's on those flights routinely announcing that Wifi will be available, routinely telling disappointed customers some time later that they will "reboot the system" and then routinely telling same customers that unfortunately the Wifi isn't working today.

AC is rolling out Satellite Wifi (again through GoGo) on it's widebodies & that'll work anywhere. Unfortunately, I doubt that the two aircraft used on this route - C-GITR & C-GITP - will get Satellite Wifi so it'll never be available. (AC only has two ETOPS certified A319's so it's either one or another of these aircraft on this route).

jc94

My visitors last week paid £374 pp with AC last week to YYZ. Admittedly the $367 to YYT makes that a little more pricey. You could drive it of course, though perhaps not in March.

Are you dates flexible? Flying mid-week like Weds/Thurs tends to be cheaper, not to mention better odds on an LMU offer.

AtlanticXpat

Drive it? Google Maps gives a 37hr drive time. That includes a 6hr Ferry crossing. Who the hell would want to do that? Especially in March.

Wpgjetse

With the Brier on, you would think the flights would be fuller than normal, making the prices higher.

jaysona

So how long does that WJ flight take? Do they fly the 1900D or DHC-6 accros the pond? How many stops required? You must either be a real sucker for punishment or the WJ flight must be hella cheap compared to the AC flight.

AtlanticXpat

You've lost me but in answer, B737 & 5hrs. Or is there some awfully clever point you are making that I've missed?

Edited to add WJ is ICAO code for Air Labrador so that's the point you are making? Sorry, I prostrate myself in front of the FT gods. WS of course is what I meant.

jaysona

WJ = Air Labrador
WS = Westjet

PeaSouper

I'm flying over for the Brier, and have my accomodation booked, so the dates aren't flexible. The flights will get busier with the Brier, of course, though I can't imagine that there are very many people from the UK travelling to St. John's to see it.

I imagine that on this route, an LMU offer probably isn't great value (for me). Given that it's on an A319, there will be no flat-bed seats. I've already got *G so I should already have departures lounge access at both ends (though no arrivals lounge at LHR on the way back). And finally, I suppose that the the alcoholic drinks will be free in economy as they are on other AC TATL flights, though now that I think about it, as it's a short-haul aircraft I suppose that AC could do something different.

AtlanticXpat

LMU on this route is a lousy deal as its a short flight and you are correct, no lie flat seats. IMHO it is worth buying preferred seats for a little bit of extra legroom. (But not Row 12 as the arm rests are fixed). I've had reasonable success with shoulder season flights in getting a whole row to myself - so flip up the armrests and you can lie down. Booze and food is free as its an International Flight. Food is poor though so I eat in LHR before boarding.

Adam Smith

You may be the only one

willflyforfood

Remember the bad old days when that would be about 400 GBP? Don't miss that nonsense!