Vyvd

The $75 per segment fee disappeared after the merger between First Air and Canadian North late last year. Unfortunately, it's back as of three days ago according to the Aeroplan agent.

Plumber

Are these flights all gone from AP.com? I cant seem to find them... Iqaluit does not show up as an airport that is serviced by AC or partners anymore.

Thanks

Vyvd

You have to call in to book Canadian North.

Plumber

Thanks- I had forgotten and did not read the whole thread again... thanks

HerpaYvr

Last week I booked YOW-YZF for two seats, 15,000 AP and $42 for fees and taxes each. What I did not agree with was that AP charges the $30 fee X 2 as you have to call in. It's one booking for two people so its $30 X 2 plus HST!

For 15,000 AP and $42+$30 that's not bad for a place I want to take off my bucket list

I wish I can do it online. It's a 737-400 combi

Firmanator

I assume you are flying on Canadian North... is that correct?

If so, in my opinion, you got a great deal despite the $30 booking fee being charged for each ticket. Firstly, according to the AE reward chart, YOW to YZF should be 12500 per ticket one way, so you saved 5K pts per ticket. Awesome! Also, 5T has been charging a YQ of $75 per flight number (which doesn't show up on ITA matrix). So, it looks like you saved money there also. Good job! Enjoy your trip.

HerpaYvr

well that is cool

Been here since Saturday, Blizzard hit us.....Sunday flight canceled, Monday flight canceled, let's see if I get out Tuesday!


Hotel and food cost more than the flights! lol

WesternCDN

Are you in YZF or YFB? I know flights here in Iqaluit have been cancelled since Sunday. Nearly had to crawl back to my place after running across the street to use the gym. That's what 90km/h winds and blowing snow will do, I guess.

YZF_Elite

Wouldn’t be YZF, though cold they don’t get the blizzards off the eastern arctic. I frequent the north for work, not sure I would ever recommend YFB this time of year, but hope you get out!

songsc

Thanks to this thread, I finally visited YFB and YZF. Best AP redemption in terms of CPM so far, even beats the 50K Asia 1 F rewards back in the day.

And, I finally flew the B732 to the arctic.

khkchan

Also flew Canadian North trunk route from YOW-YZF via Iqaluit and Rankin inlets this Sept - 12.5k redemption one way.

This is taken during the short layover at Rankin. Best Aeroplan redemption ever.

Bohemian1

On my list for next Fall. Thanks for sharing!

songsc

It’s well worth it, best trip I have ever had so far. From my experience and from what I heard, each of the 25 communities in Nunavut is somewhat different from each other in terms of climate, geography, culture, and just life in general. For example I find Cambridge Bay to be very different from Iqaluit as it can be much colder and windy, though the people are much friendlier as most people know each other. Rankin Inlet has very strong wind which can result in some very harsh weather even in early fall.

Going to Iqaluit is much easier than I expected. Aeroplan availability is ok and even if you pay with cash it’s not outrageously expensive (around $1000 RT) if you book it at least one month in advance and be flexible with your dates. Hotels are not as expensive anymore since $200-$300 a night has somewhat become the norm in the South nowadays. The most expensive hotel in my trip isn’t the Frobisher Inn, it’s the Fairmont at Ottawa. I would recommend booking a hotel with restaurant onsite unless it’s summer, since it can be a real challenge to go outside and walk for even a few minutes sometime.

If you plan to go to any hamlet beyond Iqaluit, I highly recommend booking for accommodation as early as possible. I booked the B&B at Cambridge Bay about 1 month in advance and there was only one option with two rooms left. Shared common space including bathroom is common in the North and you may need to cook your own meals. The food options at Cambridge Bay are two restaurants with very limited hours and menus. For example, on Sunday only one is open and it only serves brunch. There is one Co op store selling fast food, and the grocery store sells some hot items too. I got super lucky as the temperature was ok (-15°C) and there was no wind most of the time, but on the day I was leaving there was strong wind and blowing snow, and even the walk from airport terminal to the aircraft was very unpleasant, people were literally squeezing into each other to stay warm lol. People in the North are really friendly so if you need anything people are happy to help, anything from accommodation to food to transportation or even laundry.

And most importantly, make sure you have Medevac insurance for the peace of mind.

Here are some photos from Cambridge Bay. Very calm weather on first day. Arctic Ocean looked like a lake.



The bay was partially frozen the next day.



Landscape looks like this outside the hamlet.

Bohemian1

I finally pulled the trigger on this!

Picked some dates in Fall 2023 which would put us in YFB during a new moon, on the hopes that we will get some clear nights.

We're going to spend a few days in YZF on the way.

Should be an interesting trip.

songsc

The chance of seeing aurora is much higher in YZF, as YZF generally has better weather in fall and the aurora tourism is much more developed there.