Originally Posted by
Scott218
I did a search and didn't find anyone posting this story..
http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/D...940/story.html
"Virgin America ... has announced it’s studying whether to fly to Toronto and Vancouver, as well as several new U.S. destinations... If Virgin proceeds with the plan, analysts say it could not only be flying into Vancouver within three to six months of an announcement, but the move could prompt other discount carriers to follow suit. Others say it would put strong downward pressure on all air fares, making cheaper flights the norm for British Columbians."
As a comparison, Virgin's flights from SEA to SFO / LAS are priced at $49 / $69 US one way before fees and taxes. I do not believe AC is matching these fares from YVR.
What do you guys think? Is this the beginning of US LCCs push to Canada?
Well they do have to fly the new planes somewhere, and they have shown some success in attracting business travellers.
However the impact of pricing on transborder routes is limited by the high taxes on tickets that cross the border. They can cut fares but it is very tough to stimulate demand on transborder routes as even cutthroat pricing is still not dirt cheap - the taxes can be killer.
For instance, on SEA-SFO you can get a ticket next Thurs for $158 CAD, of which $137 is the base fare and $21 is taxes and surcharges.
For YVR-SFO on the same day the fare is $240 CAD, of which $176 is the base fare and $64 is in taxes and surcharges.
Also, the costs of setting up one station in Canada may be prohibitive when there are many markets in their own backyard that could work better.
I'd give it a 50/50 chance of happening.