Budget Travel - London to Vancouver

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to fly to Vancouver for a wedding on the 21st of August and return on the 26th but all my searches so far are coming up pretty expensive (£800/$1700+) and are rising by the day. I'm not too savvy on looking for flights, so i wondered if anybody on here knew of any god routes that would make the flight cheaper, or of any airlines/packages/deals that might make this flight cheaper as it's two of my best friends and i am going to be master of ceremonies so i have to go no matter what. Only thing i have to do is be back early-ish on the 26th as i have to go straight back to work...boo!

Thanks for taking the time and i would appreciate any advice!

ps. sorry if this crops up twice, i wasn't sure where to post it.

Try Travelsupermarket (http://www.travelsupermarket.com), a price comparison engine for flights & hotels. Also Expedia and the like sometimes offer cheaper flights when you book a hotel so select "Book Flight + Hotel".

Well you are flying peak season - summer, so prices will be steeper!

If you have not already, try looking on Kayak.co.uk, Skyscanner.net and matrix.itasoftware.com (log in as guest on the latter, can't book from them but can get prices). I can see some flights under £600 depending on dates.

Also consider flying into Seattle and making land border crossing to nearby Vancouver, might be cheaper. Look at all airports near London - LHR, LGW, LTN, STN, BHX and even MAN. There might be charter flights and cheaper airlines like Air Transat, Flyglobespan.com and Canadianaffair.com with good offers.

PS Cross posting on multiple fora is not allowed on FT, so you may find all your treads consolidated.

PPS Welcome to Flyertalk!

thanks! this is a cool website. Some of those sites i have already checked out but some not so will have a look. I have seen if i fly back a day later or earlier it's much cheaper but i can't do the day later and it seems silly to go all that way for only 4 days but i might not have a choice. Thanks for your tips though guys!

Welcome to FT! A casual check showed many options LON-YVR in $1000-1100 range, not cheap but better. LON-SEA around $850 but you have to factor in the expense and inconvenience of SEA-YVR travel. Good luck.

Welcome to FT! A casual check showed many options LON-YVR in $1000-11000 range, not cheap but better. LON-SEA around $850 but you have to factor in the expense and inconvenience of SEA-YVR travel. Good luck.

thats a good deal!!! what site did you get that price from? and is that us or canadian $$$s?

I looked at ITA (matrix.itasoftware.com). By default, it is US dollars, but you can switch to another currency by changing the "sale city". Of course, fare availability comes and goes, but it is a good site to research. Another good one is Kayak.com.

FWIW, similar fares are still there, including $875 LGW-YVR on Air Transat. However, OP's schedule is very tight which usually prevents one from getting the best possible deal.

To OP: Search for LON rather than LHR to cover all area airports. Explore all the date flexibility you may have. If you'd be staying in a hotel rather than with friends, then factor those costs in as well. Keep in mind that because of the time difference you need to leave YVR on 25th mid-day in order to be in London early on 26th.

okay, so i've now got more time off (can either return on the 28th/29th/30th) and the air transat site looks a winner. However, i am now in two minds as whether to book a flight now which could be around 600 pound which is the best i've found or do i wait til nearer the time, as you can book a flight for around 300 pounds next week?

I'm not sure if that is due to the fact that the date is so close so the prices are so low, or is it due to the time of year. If i were to wait until the 15th of August, say, and booked a flight for the following week, am i likely to find a flight this cheap or is this not a common trend?

If any one has any (more!) advice on this, it would be much appreciated!

thanks and thanks for all the replies so far!

dean.

How do you know the exact dates you want will be cheap if you book at the last minute? With Air Transat, often there are cheap last-minute deals, but it doesn't mean any combination of dates will be cheap, and usually only particular combinations are.

I am signed up on WestJet's mailing list. WestJet is Canada's 2nd largest carrier. They just sent out an email out last evening on a "huge sale" for Canadian flights during June 2, 3, 4 and 5 at 12am to 6am, some restrictions may apply I wasn't able to check last night since I forgot about it and fell asleep. If you can get to Toronto or Montreal cheap and then try to find a separate flight from Toronto/Montreal to Vancouver. You can also try looking into sunwing.ca I believe they have a seasonal route from YYZ to/from YVR

www.westjet.ca
www.sunwing.ca