Since it is only a 550-mile trip, and one segment, she would probably not make elite. I can't afford 20 trips a year. And how much good would elite be, since there's no F on the CRJ's anyway, and AC doesn't charge baggage fees.

Yes, the fares are insane. We're going to Vegas in March, and it's cheaper to fly AC to LAS, then DL from LAS to RDU, then to just fly YYZ-RDU!

Unfortunately, she doesn't drive, and she is a schoolteacher, so her schedule is not very flexible. Since BUF-RDU is a connection, she can't get out of school, take public transportation to BUF, and still get here on Friday night, and if she returned Sunday she'd have to leave in the morning. Flying YYZ-RDU, there are some US connections through PHL or CLT, but they are almost as expensive as the AC nonstop. The CLT flight leaves at 7 and arrives at 11, the PHL flight is somewhat cheaper and leaves at 8 and arrives at midnight - so Friday night is shot already.

What does p*** me off is that when I go there (which isn't often, she prefers to come here), AC's weekend fare sales start on Friday at 7PM. The RDU-YYZ Friday night nonstop used to leave at 7:00, but now it leaves at 6:55. So it's $800 one-way instead of $150 for that flight.