Cheap Fares to Europe

Air Canada (www.aircanada.com) is offering some unusually low prices on fares to Europe this fall and winter, provided you book by November 3 at the latest.

The lowest is for a return ticket from Montreal to Dublin, at $678. Montreal to Paris goes for $768. or Montreal to Milan for $776. Even Montreal to Copenhagen is low-priced, starting at $793 return. Prices from other gateways such as Toronto or Halifax are similarly low. Travel can take place between November 5 and December 10, or between December 24 and May 6.

The prices quoted are round-trip, including taxes and fees, and the charges are in Canadian dollars. This means that it may be worthwhile even for Americans who live near the border to drive to a Canadian airport, since the Canadian dollar is now worth about 10 per cent less than a U.S. dollar. This would be a reversal of the usual trend, where Canadians often cross the border to get cheaper flights in the U.S.

On a less happy note, I was recently unpleasantly surprised when I went to use a travel credit for a flight I had booked with United Airlines (www.united.com)  through Travelocity (www.travelocity.com.) In order to use the credit, I had to pay a $200 U.S. change fee upfront, which is actually more than the cost of the ticket I bought. There is still considerable remaining credit, but this is an extremely annoying practice.

I have read for years that United is not a customer-friendly airline, but up to now I have never had any reason to believe it. All my experiences with United had been good. According to the representative at Travelocity, many other airlines allow you to deduct the cost of the change fee from the credit.