As the Canadian dollar continues to tumble, some travellers are wondering if they should still book flights through nearby U.S. airports to save money on airfare.
Last year, more than two million Canadians crossed the U.S. border to fly out of the Buffalo airport.
Many of those travellers were likely lured by lower airfare prices to sunny destinations like Orlando or Las Vegas.
Just three months ago, the Buffalo Niagara International Airport launched an aggressive marketing campaign to woo even more Canadian passengers to fly out of the U.S. The campaign touted lower taxes and fees, resulting in cheaper overall costs for flyers.
But with the weakening dollar, it seems some travellers are opting to skip the drive south. CTV Toronto's Pat Foran says some Canadian carriers are making it more appealing for vacationers to fly out of a Canadian airport.
"We were shocked this year … We looked around at all the carriers and Air Canada could get me down to Orlando and back for $380," said Jeff Long, who has been flying out of Niagara, New York to Florida for the past two years. "Before that, they were three times the price."
Travel agents say they’ve been noticing an increasing number of vacationers choosing to fly out of a Canadian airport.
A spokesperson for Flight Centre says considering the cost of gas and the time it takes to cross the border, that trend is not surprising.
"There are times it makes great sense because the pricing from Buffalo can be competitive, but with the dollar right now, when you compare like for like, it’s a lot better to fly from Toronto," Aaron Levin said.
On Wednesday, the Canadian dollar fell below the 80-cents US level.
CTV Toronto compared the cost of a return flight to Tampa, Florida. From March 7 to March 14, it would cost a family of four $1,426 CAD to fly out of Buffalo, and $1,610 CAD to fly out of Toronto.
