Contrarian needed to make a reservation yesterday from Toronto to Sydney. The fact I had to get all the way to Sydney meant I couldn't use Porter Airlines' magnificent service from Toronto Island Airport. Porter is the upstart airline known for its curious, retro habit of treating passengers as welcome guests. Leaving from the Island Airport avoids the time and money wasted getting to and from unspeakable Pearson. So I made a quick check to see if Air Canada could accommodate me from Toronto Island. To my astonishment, I found the following: $219.36 is an almost unheard of low fare. As I snapped...

19 September, 2011

This is a tired tune, but indulge me for a few bars. A few weeks ago, a Halifax physician went on Air Canada's website to book two round-trip flights: one to Sydney, Nova Scotia, 306 kilometers away; another to San Diego, 4,724 away (via Toronto). Air Canada charged $827 for the Sydney flight; $548 for SanDiego. That works out to $2.63/km for the Sydney flights vs. 11¢/km. for SanDiego. Years ago, some Sydney friends attended a wedding in St. John's, NF. Another wedding guest came from Cairo, Egypt. Guess who paid the lower fare? Try doing business with that handicap. Or as my...

26 January, 2011