While Canada is still one of the 10 most expensive countries for domestic airline travel, according to the Aviation Price Index, the arrival (and survival) of ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) Flair Airlines and Lynx Air is driving down prices to the great financial benefit of skiers planning trips in B.C. or Alberta that involve boarding a plane.
How great a benefit? Listed below are the cheapest one-way airfares we could find during winter 2024 from Toronto Pearson (except where noted) to airports within a three-hour drive of major Canadian ski resorts. (Apologies to readers based closer to smaller airports, but including fares out of less populated hubs could cause this website to collapse like a wind-loaded cornice.)
Before we proceed, a note about baggage: The zero-frills business model of ULCCs requires passengers to pay handsomely for anything beyond a small backpack. However, Calgary-based Flair charges a reasonable $69 each way for “one set of ski equipment consisting of skis, boots and poles” in bags that are at most 203cm long (remember those days?) and together weigh 23 kgs or less. Edmonton-based Lynx’s pricing ranges from $60 to $92 for similar allowances.
Wear as much as is comfortable on the flight, stuff your helmet into a backpack, jam everything else in your ski and boot bags, and, presto: The total cost of your flight could be less than that of a single-day lift ticket purchased in person at Canada’s largest ski areas (not that anyone reading this would ever pay that much after reading about multi-resort passes).
Calgary
Flair: $46 (Feb. 9)
Lynx: $99 (most days in February and March)
Vancouver
Lynx: $69 (March 31 and about half the days in April)
Flair: $89 (most days in mid-to-late January, early-mid February and March 3-5)
Edmonton
Lynx: $69 (multiple departures in January, February and March)
Flair: $79 (Jan. 29 and seven February departures)
Abbotsford
Flair: $54 (Feb. 9-12, Feb. 27, March 5)
Victoria
Lynx: $149 (Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27)
Kelowna (from Vancouver)
Flair: $18 (Jan. 9, Feb. 2 and 28)
By way of conclusion and disclaimer, prices are not set in stone, but the possibility of paying double digits for a flight across the country is something every skier who loves to wend a pair of skis through an airport should know about.
