Adventures in online travel booking
We are headed out to central and eastern Canada for part of the summer. We actually leave in two weeks. So it’s probably a good idea arrange for some way to get there.
The plan is to fly to London (easy, boys and girls – London Ontario. From whence La Fille ™ comes), spend a week there with the out inlaws, get Elliotte baptised, and then hop over to Halifax for a few weeks. In the middle of that hop, we’ll attend Adrienne and Ty’s wedding.
So… Calgary to London on July 25, London to Halifax (via Hamilton or Toronto) on August 1, then return on the 20th or somesuch.
Expedia.ca
First search is with Expedia.ca. It allows for multiple destination flight options, but you need to click twice extra to get the correct screen. And since we’re travelling with a wee little one, my original search was declined until I provided the age of said wee one. Only, I had to dig around for a few minutes to see why why no results were popping up.
The search utility was not smart enough to realize we were going from Calgary to London Ontario. As if we’d go YYC – LHR – YHZ. Another click. Didn’t figure our Halifax either.
No luck/love. Try via Toronto, then. Luckily, there is only one Toronto in the world, or else we would have been forced to choose between Ontario and Lower Timbuctou.
The results? $2,205.08 in total, all Air Canada. But we have to transfer in Toronto to get to London. Thirteen and a half hours of travel time.
Not bad, but we might be able to do better.
Travelocity.ca
Form the main screen, you can either begin searching for a standard return fare, or click to choose a one way ticket or a multiple destination trip. Either of those two options brings you to a new screen with return trip as the default option, and another click choice for either of those two options.
Like, what’s the point?
There was no option for bringing along an under two year old, so we didn’t bother.
$3749 for the two (three) of us. But they assumed London England, and didn’t give an option to choose the other London. Oh, well, try again.
This time, they know who WestJet is and where Hamilton is, and we get a quite reasonable $1946 for the entire trip. Eleven hours of plane time too, with just a short stop in Winnipeg enroute to London.
WestJet
So what if we book directly with WestJet. We know WestJet flies into London, and out of Hamilton (which is an hour less of driving for the outlaws, who will be getting us there).
Since I’ve got a login already, I go straight to the booking page. Still have to click on the multi city option, and then again to really select it.
With WestJet, I can only pick two legs at a time. So I had to choose two itineraries – one to get to Halifax via London, and the other to get back home.
Typing in the destinations were a breeze, with a drop down menu to select (or confim full details of) a city. No chance of ending up in Hamilton New Zealand, for example. And I get the ability to choose a spot for Ellie.
Grand total: $1791. Plus, I get AirMiles. Sweet. And good service.
Air Canada?
Not bloody likely. But if we had to (you know, to get Aeroplan points) it would cost $2132.92, with lots of connections (since London isn’t on their direct grid).
So there you go. Next up… finding cabins and suchlike to veg out in.