USA but Fly from Toronto

[teacherman]

We live near Detroit and usually fly out of DTW.  We are looking to book rt business class to Cape Town.  Price from DTW is quite high.  But it looks like we can fly rt from Toronto for about $1,400 less PP.  We can either fly to Toronto on our own the day before, or drive, and stay in a hotel for the night, saving quite a bit of money.  Have any of you done this?  Pros and cons?  It would be in February, so that is the only concern with getting to Toronto.  There is also the international crossing.  Seems to be a money saver for us if we also used ORD, JFK, or IAD.  I guess DTW is Delta or nothing, so they control the price.  Just wondering if any of you who have done this  might have some insight.  All information/advice is welcome.  Thanks.

[d9704011]

Been ages since I’ve flown in/out of Windsor; does Air Canada still fly out of there and have you checked flights from that location?

[em-sk]

2 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Been ages since I’ve flown in/out of Windsor; does Air Canada still fly out of there and have you checked flights from that location?

 

Air Canada flys between Windsor and Toronto.  Porter flys between Windsor and downtown Toronto.

 

[d9704011]

5 minutes ago, em-sk said:

 

Air Canada flys between Windsor and Toronto.  Porter flys between Windsor and downtown Toronto.

 

Hmmm.... I checked the AC site.  Kinda ugly getting to CPT with typical long layovers in Europe (with AC, it’s usually LHR or MUC).

[em-sk]

8 minutes ago, teacherman said:

We live near Detroit and usually fly out of DTW.  We are looking to book rt business class to Cape Town.  Price from DTW is quite high.  But it looks like we can fly rt from Toronto for about $1,400 less PP.  We can either fly to Toronto on our own the day before, or drive, and stay in a hotel for the night, saving quite a bit of money.  Have any of you done this?  Pros and cons?  It would be in February, so that is the only concern with getting to Toronto.  There is also the international crossing.  Seems to be a money saver for us if we also used ORD, JFK, or IAD.  I guess DTW is Delta or nothing, so they control the price.  Just wondering if any of you who have done this  might have some insight.  All information/advice is welcome.  Thanks.

 

Parking in the airport parking lot can be expensive.  However a number of the airport hotels offer bundles that include a night stay and free or very deeply discounted parking.   Highway driving from Windsor to Toronto is very similar that time of year to what you would encounter on the US side.

 

If you have someone that can drop you off at or pick you up  at the Windsor or Sarnia airport  you should be able to book a domestic flight from there.  If you can get the domestic connection on the same ticket you might as well fly the same day as the airline will protect the connection.

 

If not on the same ticket then you can overnight near Toronto.   

 

 

[em-sk]

11 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Hmmm.... I checked the AC site.  Kinda ugly getting to CPT with typical long layovers in Europe (with AC, it’s usually LHR or MUC).

 

Not certain who the OP is flying with.  Host of options also available connecting in Lisbon, Vienna, Paris, Istanbul etc.   They could also be connecting in the US and it is just cheaper to buy business class out of Toronto.  Either way it is a long trip.

Edited February 16, 2020 by em-sk

[klfrodo]

I do this. Live in Seattle but fly out of Vancouver BC for international travel.

Currently pricing flights to LHR.

 

SEA to LHR on Virgin Atlantic in business class is $7700

If I fly out of YVR and connect in SEA for that flight is $2700.

 

[tompeter]

You also have train service between Windsor and Toronto....3 or 4 daily round trips....

[*Miss G*]

I do this a lot.  It’s amazing how much you can save.

 

Porter is a fantastic airline.  You can fly from Windsor into downtown Toronto then take the UP Express to Toronto Pearson.  Porter provides a free shuttle directly from Toronto City Centre (YTZ) to Union Station.

Edited February 17, 2020 by *Miss G*

[*Miss G*]

I should mention that you need to sign up with your email for sales alerts with Porter.  You’ll get your best prices that way as the sales prices aren’t offered publicly.

Edited February 17, 2020 by *Miss G*

[Gimpy McFarlan]

We drove from Cleveland to Toronto once in order to fly to Europe for less money.  Did not have issues with parking but driving home after a long flight back is not fun.  Unless the $ savings are really really big, I don't think it is worth the 10 hour round-trip drive.  Air Canada has multiple flights from CLE to Toronto that are very convenient.

[thinfool]

To the OP...what you ask has little downside.  Just the inconveniences described by other posters.

Canadians, en masse, cross the US border to fly to Florida every winter.  Usually better pricing.

Your citizenship isn't as vital as the color of your money...and the airlines are happy to take it.

One caution..be sure that you have the appropriate visas for your trip.

[scottbee]

11 hours ago, thinfool said:

To the OP...what you ask has little downside.  Just the inconveniences described by other posters.

Canadians, en masse, cross the US border to fly to Florida every winter.  Usually better pricing.

Your citizenship isn't as vital as the color of your money...and the airlines are happy to take it.

One caution..be sure that you have the appropriate visas for your trip.

 

Canadians flock across the border to fly US domestic routes (only). This is because of the roughly $50 tax imposed by the US Government on cross-border flights, while the land crossing is free.  International flights (to Europe for example ) are often cheaper from Canada than the US

[em-sk]

On 2/17/2020 at 12:56 PM, thinfool said:

To the OP...what you ask has little downside.  Just the inconveniences described by other posters.

Canadians, en masse, cross the US border to fly to Florida every winter.  Usually better pricing.

Your citizenship isn't as vital as the color of your money...and the airlines are happy to take it.

One caution..be sure that you have the appropriate visas for your trip.

 

If you are traveling on a US passport there are no visa requirements to enter or transit Canada.  

 

However Air Canada (and most other airlines) will check that you have the correct visa for your destination country and deny boarding if you do not.  Not certain what if anything is required by a US national entering South Africa. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Parking around yyz is pretty cheap at times 

I always park here 

https://www.skypark.ca

sometimes they send out coupons for less than $80 for a month of parking 

[AF-1]

How about use airline points to fly rt from DTW-YYZ.  Then book your RT airfare to South Africa out of YYZ.  

[teacherman]

This is what we are currently planning to do.

[AF-1]

6 hours ago, teacherman said:

This is what we are currently planning to do.

good luck and have fun out there

[FlyerTalker]

17 hours ago, AF-1 said:

How about use airline points to fly rt from DTW-YYZ.  Then book your RT airfare to South Africa out of YYZ.  

 

Unless there's some pretty good deal going, I would wager that would be a pretty inefficient use of FF points.  But that's just my guess.

 

As always, crunch the effective "exchange rate" between your points and cash for that ticket.  There are a number of online evaluations of what a "point" is worth in most of the FF/Hotel/CC "currencies.  See how your potential redemption compares, and how it compares to what you personally get (and expect) for your redemptions.

 

FWIW, I will never redeem unless I am getting at least an effective 3% return on my spend (and usually aiming for 5-10).  Of course, YMMV.

[6rugrats]

US citizens don’t need a visa for South Africa.