Help with booking Chicago - Montreal flight in Oct
Jul 30, 2015, 8:22 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: SGN
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Help with booking Chicago - Montreal flight in Oct
I need to get a flight from Chicago to Montreal, for either the last week of Sep or the first 2 weeks of Oct, extended weekend trip (depart Thu/Fri, return Mon), but these flights are so expensive, and with little choice of airlines. I mainly use google flight for the purpose.
Does any one have any tip for this route? I am open to flight to reasonably close airports (Burlington, VT for example), but that is also expensive. Currently booked SW to Albany, then take a 3.5hr drive to Montreal. Even thought about hidden city (is it what people call it?), but not familiar enough with the route to know which one has Montreal or Burlington as a stop...
Does any one have any tip for this route? I am open to flight to reasonably close airports (Burlington, VT for example), but that is also expensive. Currently booked SW to Albany, then take a 3.5hr drive to Montreal. Even thought about hidden city (is it what people call it?), but not familiar enough with the route to know which one has Montreal or Burlington as a stop...
Jul 30, 2015, 8:52 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
This isn't a Miles and Points question, so doesn't belong here.
Flyertalk really isn't a trip planning service.
Hidden city ticketing is unlikely to solve your dilemma, as that would likely require buying a one way ticket ORD to Montreal, and then a oneway YUL to somewhere in the states.
If you are interested in that, check out google and skiplagged.com
No one here has a secret to get you a cheap flight. Whether a 4 hour drive and car rental is worth saving the money of flying into YUL is a call you have to make.
Note, though, the prices aren't that expensive. I am seeing plenty of sub-$300 fares to alternate airports, including a $247 flight from ORD to Plattsburgh on United/Penair, and $287 from ORD to BTV on Jetblue. You're not going to get much cheaper. On Porter, one stop MDW-YTZ-YUL is about $329.
Flyertalk really isn't a trip planning service.
Hidden city ticketing is unlikely to solve your dilemma, as that would likely require buying a one way ticket ORD to Montreal, and then a oneway YUL to somewhere in the states.
If you are interested in that, check out google and skiplagged.com
No one here has a secret to get you a cheap flight. Whether a 4 hour drive and car rental is worth saving the money of flying into YUL is a call you have to make.
Note, though, the prices aren't that expensive. I am seeing plenty of sub-$300 fares to alternate airports, including a $247 flight from ORD to Plattsburgh on United/Penair, and $287 from ORD to BTV on Jetblue. You're not going to get much cheaper. On Porter, one stop MDW-YTZ-YUL is about $329.
Jul 30, 2015, 11:00 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: SGN
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Delta Plat
Posts: 84
@Adam1222: first off, thank you for your suggestion! Did not know about Plattsburgh, so I will check it out! For some reason I did not see the Jetblue option to Burlington previously, but will also follow your advice and check it out.
Secondly, I am not intending this post to be people spoonfeeding me a cheap ticket. And it is not like there is a wiki that I failed to read. I am not familiar with the region its airports, having not been to upstate NY area, or Canada, before. Therefore, the post is more asking about advice for alternative airports. The hidden city part just came out while I was typing. I appreciate you taking the time to provide your suggestion!
Secondly, I am not intending this post to be people spoonfeeding me a cheap ticket. And it is not like there is a wiki that I failed to read. I am not familiar with the region its airports, having not been to upstate NY area, or Canada, before. Therefore, the post is more asking about advice for alternative airports. The hidden city part just came out while I was typing. I appreciate you taking the time to provide your suggestion!
Jul 30, 2015, 11:19 am
#4
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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
"Did not know about Plattsburgh, so I will check it out!"
If you fly into PBG, then depending on your arrival time, you might be able to catch the once daily Amtrak service (or maybe Greyhound too?) from Plattsburgh to Montreal, if you'd prefer not to rent a car at PBG.
Another alternative, if you have any BA Avios -- or credit-card points that convert to BA Avios -- would be to look for "SAAver" award seats at aa.com on AA's ORD-YUL and YUL-ORD nonstops. If available, each would cost only 7,500 Avios each way. (Taxes on the YUL-ORD flight will be higher than those on the ORD-YUL flight.) A variant on this theme would be to redeem just 4,500 Avios for an AA flight from ORD to SYR, and rent a car from there. A somewhat longer drive than driving from ALB, but you'd get to route through the Thousand Islands Region, which would make for a prettier drive.
"Did not know about Plattsburgh, so I will check it out!"
If you fly into PBG, then depending on your arrival time, you might be able to catch the once daily Amtrak service (or maybe Greyhound too?) from Plattsburgh to Montreal, if you'd prefer not to rent a car at PBG.
Another alternative, if you have any BA Avios -- or credit-card points that convert to BA Avios -- would be to look for "SAAver" award seats at aa.com on AA's ORD-YUL and YUL-ORD nonstops. If available, each would cost only 7,500 Avios each way. (Taxes on the YUL-ORD flight will be higher than those on the ORD-YUL flight.) A variant on this theme would be to redeem just 4,500 Avios for an AA flight from ORD to SYR, and rent a car from there. A somewhat longer drive than driving from ALB, but you'd get to route through the Thousand Islands Region, which would make for a prettier drive.
Jul 30, 2015, 11:51 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
Actually, there are two relevant stickies: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...tion-desk.html
("Finding Low Fares and Route Options - try the Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies forum, the Budget Travel forum, and the Travel Tools forum"
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...faqs-more.html
("Looking for a "good" fare? There's no magic formula… you just need to search and study and search some more! Here's a list of links to some of FlyerTalkers' most frequently used resources to get you started: . . .")
("Finding Low Fares and Route Options - try the Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies forum, the Budget Travel forum, and the Travel Tools forum"
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...faqs-more.html
("Looking for a "good" fare? There's no magic formula… you just need to search and study and search some more! Here's a list of links to some of FlyerTalkers' most frequently used resources to get you started: . . .")