Why are flights in Canada so expensive?
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- čas přidán 22. 11. 2017
- Air travel in Canada costs a small fortune, but new budget airlines are hoping to shake up the industry.
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Now let's talk about those duopoly cell phone companies which overcharge Canadians.
Couldn't agree more, i'm moving to canada so i need a cellphone plan. In my country, for 30gb of 4g data + 2 for europe, unlimited calls and texts toward basically every country i pay 7 euros monthly. Looking at the canadians one i started to wonder if there is some mafia going on.
@@fedebirromane Can I ask which country are you from?
I also had the same situation. I came back from the states knowing cellphone plans are ridiculously high in Canada. I pay $40USD for 8GM data, unlimited text and call to US/Canada/Mexico. I kept my phone plan and moved back to Canada and o boy was it a smart choice. Although some local people refuse to pick up my call here because of my US number, still I get to enjoy the 8GB without paying an arm and a leg. My mum is paying $60CAD for 2GB data and it is already considered cheap.
@@taaiee Sorry i tought i answered your message. Anyways i'm from Italy, at the moment my carrier is Iliad. Love them so far since they are the only carrier in italy that doesn't increase the price of your data plan. Searching online people have suggested me to use Fizz in Canada.
I have lived in other parts of the world and the phone, internet, TV packages bills in Canada are high compared to ither places
True, i pay 75$ a month for my phone
700+ CAD Montreal-Edmonton-Montreal round trip for 4 hours
800+ CAD Montreal-Beijing-Montreal for round trip for 13 hours
Air Canada is a joke.
I'm going in Montreal in september 2019. From Lyon to Montreal with Air Canada: 700 CAD for 8 hours.
Well gotta keep those China flights cheap, so they can come over and buy up more real estate in Canada.
@@mrvwbug4423 Actually the flights from China to Canada is much more expensive than flights from Canada to China. And real rich Chinese who buy real estates fly business and don't care flight tickets fee.
yup we have chosen to vacation overseas instead of seeing the west coast, the rockies or visiting friends in the maritimes
HANGZHOU - LOS ANGELES - HANGZHOU (24Hours)300USD , HANGZHOU-TOKYO-HANGZHOU(4Hours) 400USD same problem here :P
Everything is expensive in Canada, not just flights.
Frick u I'm Canadian
Might be late, but it is more expensive in USA (in general)
But you get so much in return, that's the power of socialism, pay a little more in taxes to get a lot back
all you get back is stress
Having such a low population density isn't so much the reason. Even in Australia you can get a flight from Perth to Sydney or Melbourne for about $100.
Yea, but try flying from Sydney to Dubbo. Or Broken Hill, or Albury. Or Cooma. Or any other regional centre
you can barely even get a flight from brisbane to sydney or melbourne for $100. the usual brisbane - sydney on qantaas is $160. While you occasionally get a good deal for jetstar or tiger, flying in australia is far more expensive than most
@@tazzer9 Qantas is a full-service airline - the same can be said for full-service airlines ANYWHERE in the world. Even in regions like Europe where air travel is common and quite cheap, if you pick a full-service airline, you're generally going pay through the nose for it (compare Ryanair or EasyJet v British Airways or Lufthansa).
I've found one-way tickets with Jetstar and Tiger for less than $80 from Melbourne to Sydney or Brisbane and vice versa quite frequently (even for next day travel).
A Canadian who's spent years living in Australia. The amount of times I've heard the same old "it's because we have a small population, spread out over vast distances" lame excuse peddled to us by airlines, telecoms and other monopolistic entities, drives me crazy. What about Australia then? They also share the same population density and geography issues we face, but somehow I can fly an equivalent distance affordably and have a reasonably priced mobile plan.
anyway the only real low coast are in Europe, I bought a round-trip ticket today Cluj Napoca (romania) to bale (switzerland) in january for a total price of 20$. and my last trip to switzerland from romania coast me 39$.
Maclean's this was really insightful, and I'm glad you guys are creating content like this. It's similar to Vox, but Canadian oriented, and I think it has the opportunity to be very popular so keep at it!
And nothing will ever be done
Santhiya Sunthar also actual news, unlike vox...
Yeah it’s super frustrating. I’ve lived in Calgary since 1988 and basically haven’t been east of Alberta because I can fly to Mexico or the Caribbean for less than I can fly to eastern Canada. It’s really a shame.
I live in Michigan US, every year we drive to Toronto to flight to Cuba and it’s way cheaper then flying from the US.
For eons it's been like that yet no one complains...Canadians can't even tour their own country like other nations can do within their countries.
These flight prices are an economy killer for your country! For example I’m from Europe and wanted to see a friend in Montreal, but we both ended meeting in Boston (USA) because the flight from Europe to Boston was 3x less expensive than the one to Montreal.
As an American who loves to ski globally, I stay away from Canada. Yes Canada has one of the best places on Earth to ski, but the flights are so expensive from the States. For what you pay from NYC to Montreal, you can head to Swiss or French Alps. And when it comes to BC, not worth as compared to the US Midwest or California.....you get a ton of flights to some great ski resorts in the West. Canada is killing their tourist industry. It's ashame!
Midwest? I hope you meant the Rockies. Anyway Canadian resorts are helped by a strong US Dollar. For example a ticket to whistler is $169 CAD (you can get it cheaper but that's the window rate). A ticket to Vail or Park City will set you back $169 USD, or $226 CAD.
So yah the flight is more but the cost once you get there is a little bit less. But with cheaper flights I think you'd see more Americans going to Canada.
@@tylersmith4265 I'm from NY we say midwest to the Rockies....I know I get a lot of heat for saying that. I agree at today's Ca vs Us dollar exchange my arguement might nor hold up, but when the exchange rate was under 1.20 ....Canada was not worth it.. now ironically Canada is cheap when booking a flight to Chile and Argentina for summer skiing. Way cheaper than NYC airports. ...go figure.
and you can get more miles lol
Why are you flying from NYC to Montreal? Take the Amtrak Adirondacks train for such a short distance, I think flying from places that are under a 5 hour drive are a waste of resources
Get started about VIA Rail!!! I would love to see something similar on why rail is so ridiculously expensive as well.
I flew from Toronto to Edmonton at $440 in westjet and from Edmonton to India in Jet airways/Air Canada at $800, one was 2700Km other was 16000Km.
In addition, 90% of international, especially transoceanic flights conducted from Toronto, Vancouver and sometimes from Montreal. Most budget flights are conducted to thease airports. This makes travelling to/from provincial cities so unaffordable
Great video. Insightful and still light hearted ! Good job
Canada is just expensive in general, I visited there in 2012 when the CAD was about the same as the USD and was pretty astonished how much more expensive the same retail items were. Then I looked at home costs just for the hell of it and good lord!! People talk about income inequality in the US but we clearly have it much easier than Canadians. I feel for you guys.
AttentionJunkie no I respectfully disagree I live in the US and Canada has surprisingly better sales and better food and everything is the same price after conversion canada is actually pretty cheap and sales are better here since the US dollar is down in dollar prices not many people go to the us for shopping
Except we buy all our products from america who buys those products from china lol. We do pay more. The cost of oil considering we have a sea of it is a joke too. Im so tired of always being poor, there is no more middle class
Centrist Dealwithit yes I used to live in the US but Canada has better quality and it’s the same price or are cheaper
@@khushikapoor4174 better quality at what?
Well, Vancouver, BC is literally the most expensive city on earth. Problem with housing costs in Canada is the fact that rich Chinese people are using Canadian real estate as a piggy bank to hide their money from Beijing. Just ask Vancouverites about the 10s of thousands of vacant apartments owned by Chinese in the city.
It's partially true. One part is that Canada is less interesting, theres just less to do here. But cost is a huge factor. Its often cheaper for me to fly to a destination in south east asia and pay a lot less for food, transport and housing than to go to Banff lets say where lodging could be 200+ a night.
I can confirm that my home country, Malaysia is indeed one of the cheapest countries to fly. A 1-hour domestic one way flight on an LCC is around USD15-20 or USD40-50 on a full carrier.
Our government does control the landing fees, departure tax etc. And these things usually end up in the parliament if they decide to revise the fees.
This is exactly why I’ve never been to Vancouver. I’ve always wanted to go but the deals to the big European cities are so much better. I live in Toronto and it’s cheaper to visit virtually any major European city. In my case , I also used to live in London ( UK), so I have a place to stay there where as in B.C. Everything is so $$$&
Population density isn't really much a factor in why flights are expensive; it boils down to how much the government charges for in rent, how much the various non-profit organizations charged additional "improvement fees" and how airlines are forced in turn to pass these on to the flying public in the form of higher ticket costs. People will fly, regardless of density; the big deterrent is always the exorbitant costs we are charged to fly domestically. The demand is there; anyone who's ever flown out of Pearson International recently can probably attest to it brimming to capacity during peak times.
Good to know. Thanks for your video.
Everytime I thought to
Explore Canada. From Toronto to other cities. I find Europe flights cheaper then local domestic. That's why in 25 years couldn't visit Canada completely.
Not just flights, everything is expensive in Canada. Even the gasoline and other natural gases WE produce, USA gets it in cheaper rates than we do
True
But that's cause they don't care about the environment like we do, we charge a lot for gas so we discourage the use of it. #Carbontaxworks
More content like this please!
There is a reason most of us rather travel to another country than travel within Canada.
I haven’t watched the video yet but It’s pretty simple. Some Companies like Air Canada unfortunately get the backing of the state to dominate the market and won’t allow budget air companies to establish themselves as well. can’t find a cheap $20 flight from Montreal to Toronto like I could find a £10 flight from London to Paris on Ryanair.
Our smaller population is a real problem as you mentioned. It's not just air travel that costs Canadians so much more than other countries. Cell phone and communications of all kinds costs Canadians way more than other countries. I'm sure a closer look would discover many other markets where we pay more than anyone else.
wow vocal fry and raising
I was trying to pinpoint her accent by region. I am not sure.
sweiland75 - Canafornia
My ears! That’s not an accent! It’s an affectation!
This Aviation Video on Expensive Canadian Flights is on point for me back home in the Caribbean Island of Barbados I remember saving up alot of US & some Canadian Money to make that trip from Barbados in 2015 heading off to Toronto,Canada not on AC but on Westjet Plus it was my first time traveling with them.
Two and a half years later, nothing has changed.
There's also the little issue of timing. In order to get a flight from Edmonton to Toronto for $400-$500, you're looking at booking such flight months in advance. If I wanted to fly to Toronto next weekend, I'm easily looking at prices between $800-$1000 for economy. The big issue I have with the budget airliners like Swoop is that they fly to places that most people are not really going to. They don't fly to all major cities (Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, etc.), so they end up falling out of the market due to the low number of fliers to these places (I don't want to fly to Hamilton and hitch some ride to Toronto. I want to fly directly to the city I intend to be in).
Great video. Btw you forgot Jetsgo! They failed too unfortunately..
I remember ine year I was pricing out a round trip from Calgary YYC to Toronto YYZ for me and one other, in the end it was cheaper to book an all inclusive trip for 2 to Cuba for 5 days. I was shocked by that!
Wait! Y'all get free wine and legroom? No wonder it's so expensive. In the US you're charged for legroom and the wine is super expensive. Heck, some airlines don't even give pretzels anymore.
VIA rail segment would be great for next episode!
Domestic travel being more expensive than international travel is abusrd.
VIA rail. Lol. I am actually surprised they haven't seized operation altogether.
I've heard they run pretty well in the Corridor. But on the long routes where they could compete with airlines, especially on the Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver, the prices of tickets can be ridiculously expensive. A coach seat on VIA can cost almost as much as a roomette on Amtrak. Also, the Canadian runs on an unimpressively slow schedule, and it almost regularly runs extremely late (up to 10-12 hours). If VIA Rail could at least match Amtrak prices and (still poor) Amtrak speeds, it might be able to get more business from undercutting high airline fares.
It was cheaper to travel to Japan than our own country for so long.
I have travelled back and forth many times between BC, ON, and NWT since '99 and found it cheaper to take the long road.
No regrets there. Such beautiful sights along our highways!
I left Canada all together.
thanks in plannin a flight from dallas to Toronto with my brother to visit my Uncle.
I stopped flying when the total taxes and fees out of Calgary airport, $240, were $41 higher than my return ticket to Mexico.
I don’t know... I’m in the Great Lakes region in the US and I always include Toronto Pearson in my pricing search because often times it is much cheaper. However I’m only searching for cheap European flights.
I have had the opportunity to travel everywhere in the country except Nunavut, by this thing called driving (although I still love air travel)
If I could fly across Canada for lets say $100 a flight or even less I'd be flying a round trip every month. It's always been the high costs that have discouraged me from flying across Canada. I'm going to Japan in the Autumn and the round trip is less then a round trip from Toronto to Edmonton.
I was really surprised by the Edmonton>Toronto flight costing as much as a London>Toronto flight, UK departure taxes are crazy high for flights going outside of Europe. It sounds like they need to regulate the fees airports can charge to a greater extent, get the taxes and fees to around the same level as the US and flights in Canada would probably cost about the same as the US. I don't think we would ever see flights in North America ever get as cheap as intra-EU flights, simply due to the distances involved, but here in the US at least our flights are reasonably priced even when you ignore our incredibly awful ULCCs Spirit and Frontier.
When population of whole country is less than one state. You have to pay more.
That’s weird, it’s cheaper for me to fly out of Vancouver than it is to fly out of Seattle 9 out of 10 times
Wow just checked a quote to Vegas from Hamilton return - only $215 tax in. - Swoop Air.
Next Maclean's video: Low-cost airlines are ruining the wages of flight staff.
Canada needs people.
Air Canada is one of the most expensive airlines in the world...YUK
...and they still charge for food on transcontinental flights from Montreal to Vancouver!
The $150 VIA rail pass for students was an amazing thing... I wish it was something I could’ve taken advantage of.
“Don’t even get me started on VIA RAIL!” comment is on fleek
Well, now I see why Vancouver Airport was so modern and had so many high-tech features: because they're gouging the public.
Macleans, the Vox Canadians always wanted!
Nice video well done,. than u
Me and my family want to go and visit back home to the philippines in december. And it's HELLA expensive!! It cost (the cheapest) $1,327 CAD x 4. Plus going back....ugh!
I live in Canada and there’s WestJet and Air Canada
Flying cross border in South America is more outrageous, a 1.5 hours flight cost around $500 USD and that is using Google flight for an advance bookings.
Bravo! Great points! We must have affordable local flights.
Awesome Video My Friend thumbs up!!!!
VIA Rail sucks? I was considering trying that...GREAT vid!
It's very expensive and very delayed. In terms of actual onboard experience though, I've heard it's nice.
Toronto to BC is the same price as Toronto to Barcelona? Get it together Canada
Toronto to Orlando and return Over CAN$1000, 2 hrs 56 mins flight in November, 2019. That's insane.
wmfchan
That’s because you’re checking the price close to departure. Check the price for a date that is at least 5 months away and you will get a more reasonable price. You are flying over another country, to be fair. There are fees that the US federal government charges for overflight and international arrivals: ~$56.86 USD per 100 nautical miles flown (per plane), ~$17.70 USD for international flights leaving or arriving in the US (per passenger). Orlando is a popular leisure destination, so the airport needs to have the gates and staff to handle summer demand, and that capacity might sit underused during the winter. But as expensive as flying into Orlando is, Miami International Airport is almost twice as expensive (the airport is hemmed in by development on all sides, meaning it can’t expand to accommodate demand). There are things that are completely outside of Air Canada or Westjet’s control, and outside the control of Ottawa.
Fly seattle to burlington vermont to go from vancouver to Montreal.
324 million dollars from airport rent? That's nothing. Privatising airports would be far more expensive - competition and geography are the main problems.
People should invest more time in Canada into looking into the alternate airlines!....I've been travelling with FlairAir a few times now....it's like half the price of westjet and Air Canada. BUT the insane "airport improvement fees" need to be reigned in too. I bought a Flair airlines ticket from Kelowna to Edmonton and a third of the $130 price tag was for that fee at the Kelowna airport.
I went to a wedding in Vancouver. Ended up flying from Denver to Seattle and renting a car.
We use to fly to Hawaii for three for $1.250 return know it is almost $4,000 from vancouver
Ahhh yeah, the reason I've seen a lot of Europe, but not Vancouver. Hopefully those budget airlines actually take off.
Much like how Ottawa paid for its Terminal renovations by hiking the price of the parking meters at the airport starting in December of 1996, and called the hike an improvement fee.
Winnipeg to Vancouver $795. Hotel (cheapest good hotel, a Best Western $303.00 per night) for 6 nights $1808. Total: $2603.00 Winnipeg to London England $952.00. Best Western in Paddington $120 per night for 6 nights: $720.00. Total: $1672.00. Sad that we Canadians cannot afford to see our own country. Our fares and hotel rates are a disgrace. Greed. Greed. Greed. Population has nothing to do with it. Flying in Canada most planes are FULL. I have never been on a flight in Canada where the seat next to me was empty. Shame!
Hello from 2022
They still haven’t launched low cost airlines
anybody mentioned that canadians have the only functional system to reduce the CO2 emissions caused by flight travelling -> while we are trying to reduce the amounts of flights in Europe, you try to find the best options how you can increase them...
its mainly about market size. Economy of scale.
And Canada just simply doesn't have it.
International flights have competition from other international carriers, but if you fly domestic you only have WestJet and Air Canada to choose from
...and the pilots flying you regionally (within Canada) are paid peanuts compared to those who fly transatlantic routes. Like $70 000 captain vs $150 000+ captain.
Same with banking, insurance, telco costs
Travelling to Canada is a night mare specially from the UK
Reason, your searching on expedia, expedia has an algorithm to change the prices based on your search habits. If you use a VPN, a more secure browser and clear your cookies and search on Tuesdays rather then on weekends the prices are cheaper. Also flying on Tuesdays are the cheapest.
That's why Americans fly to Buffalo airport and then cross over to Canadian side of Niagara falls via land border. Domestic flights in the US are cheaper.
Shame on you... as a good Canadian citizen you should happily pay more than necessary........
Free markets are ALWAYS the best way forward... and Canada has an aversion to free markets.
you are my university homework xd
I hope one day to see flights in canada starting at 0.99 like in EU :D But yeah... competition. We have around 25 carriers and more than 15 ULCC + non EU airlines and ULCCs. And yeah, you can take the train from Athens to Madrid if you want for only.. 300 EUR. Round way (and a long wide trip with as many stops as you want)
Europe is densely populated. Canada is not.
What about consumers/passengers getting involved in mutual funds? Investing in the Travel and Tourism industry is not a bad idea. All you need is a good Fund Manager or a Financial Advisor. If the passengers are give opportunity to buy shares in Travel Companies, not only will there be a surge in Travel market share, their products will increase too. At the same time the air fares and railway fares can be managed.
This whole independent airport authority thing might explain why it's cheaper to go to Europe from Toronto rather than Montreal
Canada Jetlines are here now. Book your flights with them. No more getting gouged by Air Canada mafia!
There're always seat sales. Always! If you plan ahead, you can purchase the cheapest tickets on sales. Of course, last minute travel will be super expensive, and airport taxes are ridiculous!
It’s demand. And Air Canada’s fantastic pricing model.
Yes its crazy.
Why so expensive i do not understand.
I am a frequent flyer and i am feeling the squeeze.
>laughs in ryanair
Wow, according to that price index even my home country of New Zealand is in top twenty. Our market is tiny and has one dominant player on many of the domestic routes. I guess we shouldn't complain so much.. It does suggest that there is somethiing fundamentally wrong with the Canadian domestic market for consumers. I would say that government interference/ownership of your airports is not helping... Being not- for- profit is defintitely not bringing prices down which seems quite ironic...How does America do things?
MrRamyon74 - I recently flew Detroit to Tampa for $72 USD round trip. Flights are very affordable if the city is served by an ULCC like Spirit or Frontier. Strangely, flights to Europe are cheaper out of Canada.
All items ,things in Canada are very expensive
Expedia does not have the cheapest fares. You should be looking on Ita matrix, Hipmunk, and Skyscanner.
Was thinking the same
Callum Laroi scored to round trip tix MIA-LHR for 1500 via skyscanner!
I remember JetsGO
I was about to ask the train service and she just responded with that short words. Okay point taken, darling. Understood.
Tickets crazy
That’s why if I ever go to the East Coast I take the mega bus from Toronto to Montreal it can cost me no more from 6 to 20 bucks and then another $115$ to $120 from Montreal to the East Coast why want to take a plane when I can take a bus and it’s way cheaper sure it might take a little bit longer but I’m saving more money
Really 6 to 20 bucks?, a coach bus from pearson to downtown cost me 30 bucks like many years ago, what mega bus is this you talking about?
@@Atite_Lometen Megabus is an American bus line that also operates in Canada. Their fares can cost as little as $1/person (not including taxes and assuming you time it right). I took them twice; once to Washington DC via Philadelphia and Baltimore, and another to Pittsburgh the next year. Both trips were around $20-40 each way.
Time for SOUTHWEST, SPIRIT, and JETBLUE to fly from the United States into Canada.
Oh I live in an expensive country every summer we travel and imagine 1 ticket cost 1500$ economy 3000$ business it really expensive
Voice fry in this video is why flights are so expensive in Canada.
Bombardier a l'eau - Totally! I mean, I know, right?
East coast? Montreal isn't east coast.
Lol. When she mentioned all those ULCC airlines that are entering the market, especially Westjet’s Swoop and Air Canada Rouge. You watch guys, you’re going to pay the same amount as you fly on their main airline. Westjet, especially them, they mentioned themselves as LCC and yet, they have the same prices as flying on Air Canada. And when they going to get their Dreamliner (B787-8) service to Asia, you would rather fly on Cathay Pacific or Air China or China Eastern/Southern because it’s the same damn price.
This is just an example. But in general the market is just horrible and this monopoly is no difference than living in China at all. In fact, maybe even worse than China, at least China would mass produce their airlines in different provinces, hence everyone has a choice
This is incorrect. In the first place, WestJet has way cheaper flights than Air Canada. And WestJet Swoop has much cheaper flights than WestJet and is aiming for flights as low as $7.50.
You need to look at the facts, because what you are thinking is incorrect.
Rouge isn't an ULCC