WestJet Rewards - Flight Fare from Regina

Hi, I'm new to this forum, and have a question for some of you who may know...

We are planning on flying to Vegas from Regina on April 25th to 29th (Easter week). The fares for the direct flight just seem so high compared to other weeks and other originating cities. It's going to be about $1600 for flights alone return for myself and my husband. Am I crazy, or is this a huge rip off? What are the possibilities on a sale coming up on these tickets? I know that no one has a crystal ball, but here I am sitting, waiting for a seat sale to come up on these tickets, and the price keeps inching higher and higher every other day.

Thanks for any insight, I really appreciate it!

Hi, I'm new to this forum, and have a question for some of you who may know...

We are planning on flying to Vegas from Regina on April 25th to 29th (Easter week). The fares for the direct flight just seem so high compared to other weeks and other originating cities. It's going to be about $1600 for flights alone return for myself and my husband. Am I crazy, or is this a huge rip off? What are the possibilities on a sale coming up on these tickets? I know that no one has a crystal ball, but here I am sitting, waiting for a seat sale to come up on these tickets, and the price keeps inching higher and higher every other day.

Thanks for any insight, I really appreciate it!

It is a holiday period so I wouldn't expect a huge decrease in price. I wouldn't say its a rip off but its higher than what I would pay for Vegas.

Have you looked at other options?

http://matrix.itasoftware.com

I expect it is because it is Easter that fares are high. It is likely that they have sold many seats on the flights you want so fares go up. United through Denver has decent connections on this route, though not as good as WS. I booked the WS LAS flights for early March and noted that the return fare was quite high, but that it dropped from one day to the next by about half. Hard to know how these things work. Rip off? Mostly supply and demand. They run the only non stop and only weekly so can charge what the market will bear.

Thanks Calgary Jay and Arf, I kind of figured that the prices were higher because of Easter (not the week I would pick to go, but brother in law is a teacher, therefore the only time they can go). I have looked to Delta and Air Canada, and it looks like I have to choose between paying WJ prices and getting home quick, or going with another carrier and taking all day, and possibly an overnight to get back to Regina. Wish we were in Edmonton or Calgary, and had more direct flight choices!

Does Westjet ever have system wide sales? I'm know that they probably won't put these specific tickets on sale, but what are the chances a blanket discount would apply? I'm not all that familiar with WJ seat sales, how often do they happen?

Thanks again for your input, I'm starting to feel a little panicked about booking, but I feel like if I book now, a great sale is coming up down the road! :)

I haven't been able to figure out the ins and outs of the sales at WS so I can't give you any advice there. The IATA matrix tool the poster above notes is very helpful so you could look daily. One thing is that WS does allow you to take a flight credit if you cancel a flight. I think it costs around $50 per ticket. If the fare drops after booking you could do that and use the remainder for future tickets. If you are willing to drive to MOT (Minot) you can take Allegiant. They often have very good fares. It may not take longer than changing in MSP or DEN in any case.

We were trying to avoid allegiant if at all possible, hoping to be able to fly right into Regina instead of facing a 4-5 hour trip after our flight. I may just book, and do as you suggest, take the $50 hit if prices drop by quite a bit. Thanks for your advice, being in a smaller market is tougher, but at least there are a couple of direct flights a week.

We were trying to avoid allegiant if at all possible, hoping to be able to fly right into Regina instead of facing a 4-5 hour trip after our flight. I may just book, and do as you suggest, take the $50 hit if prices drop by quite a bit. Thanks for your advice, being in a smaller market is tougher, but at least there are a couple of direct flights a week.

Just looked on Westjet and your $1600 fare for 2 has dropped to $1300 (hey it's a start). Allegiant was $930.......How far is Minot from Regina?

Just looked on Westjet and your $1600 fare for 2 has dropped to $1300 (hey it's a start). Allegiant was $930.......How far is Minot from Regina?

I just checked also, looks like the direct flights are back up to $1650, when did they go down?? Looks like I'm going to have to live on my computer to catch the price drops! ha! It's about 4 hours driving from Regina to Minot, plus the time spent at the border. Not a trip I want to make. Thanks for checking prices for me!:)

I just checked also, looks like the direct flights are back up to $1650, when did they go down?? Looks like I'm going to have to live on my computer to catch the price drops! ha! It's about 4 hours driving from Regina to Minot, plus the time spent at the border. Not a trip I want to make. Thanks for checking prices for me!:)

I was just choosing the cheapest flights/prices they offered on the days that you mentioned.....
Cheers!

I was just choosing the cheapest flights/prices they offered on the days that you mentioned.....
Cheers!

Thanks so much for taking the time to check for me! Cheers!

Why does it have to be direct?


Orbitz shows April 25-29 for $621 on United (through Denver)

Alternatively, are you stuck to April 25-29?

24-28 gets you $453

26-30 $546

etc...

Why does it have to be direct?


Orbitz shows April 25-29 for $621 on United (through Denver)

Alternatively, are you stuck to April 25-29?

24-28 gets you $453

26-30 $546

etc...

We need to be home by a certain time, and those are the dates our travelling companions are able to go. I have done some looking around at other flights, dates, etc. and the direct seems to work best for us. Thanks!

The Minot drive isn't one I would want to make either to catch a flight, actually.

I do understand the desire to fly non-stop as it is convenient and for me it would really come down to a) how much the extra cost was worth it to me and b) in the case of any specific destination, how badly I really wanted to go to a specific location. I like Vegas well enough but for that kind of money I would probably just head to San Diego or somewhere else on California for less. Still get good weather and lots to see and do.

Cheers, Arf

Booking further in advance can help. We go to San Diego during the university break week in February. The fares have been creeping up every week since we booked in November. I got about $550 return all in; book it today (still a month before departure) and it'll set you back about $1,800.

Your willingness to endure less direct flights affects the fares, too.

One other option: how are WS's fares to PHX? Non-stops on Saturdays from YQR. If it's cheaper, maybe you'd enjoy it just as much as Vegas.

It is a holiday period so I wouldn't expect a huge decrease in price. I wouldn't say its a rip off but its higher than what I would pay for Vegas.

Have you looked at other options?

http://matrix.itasoftware.com

I'll bet they sell every single seat at those prices. Its a long weekend and if you don't buy a ticket at that price, someone else will!

:)

Look at Westjet Vacation air and hotel packages. Westjet Vacation is one of the largest hotel providers in LAS. To get the full commission from the hotel, WS jacks up the proce of air only flights on westjet.com. This entices pax over to the vacation product where prices for a package are not much more than air only.

That said if you traveling on an Invited Guest hotel deal, I would select AC or another airline.

Look at Westjet Vacation air and hotel packages. Westjet Vacation is one of the largest hotel providers in LAS. To get the full commission from the hotel, WS jacks up the proce of air only flights on westjet.com. This entices pax over to the vacation product where prices for a package are not much more than air only.

That said if you traveling on an Invited Guest hotel deal, I would select AC or another airline.

I don't disagree with this completely as more than one company (Air Transat for one) has done very well marketing like this, but I have been tracking the weekly LAS fares for a while and notice that they do have some really low fares sometimes on this route, so they do discount it for flight only purchases. I think because it is the only non-stop they are well positioned to charge higher fares and get them.

When I booked our upcoming weekend in LAS I priced out their hotel and airfare prices versus booking separately and the all in prices for the hotels I looked at (MGM Grand, Signature, Bellagio, and a few others) were significantly higher than booking separately. I guess if you don't care where you stay, then a deal can likely be had but even then you might still do better booking separately as many of those hotels offer ultra cheap rooms off their websites.

AC doesn't have a great schedule out of YQR to LAS (via YYC usually), though UA is pretty decent. It is hard to beat the 2 1/2 hour non-stop flight though and I expct that is why people are willing to pay a premium.