I like to think of myself as spontaneous. Sto says I'm more of a calculated risk-taker. The reality is, I just hate planning ahead. Which left me about a week away from my 3-month trip to Europe with no plane ticket (don't even ask how my packing is going). I always assume that some combination of searching, air miles, airline elite status, etc. will get me a ticket anywhere I want to go at a reasonable price. And, within North America, I've always been right.
Paris - not so much. Prices have skyrocketed since I was last there, and even piecing together my own connections and flying airlines I'd never heard of (Air Tahiti Nui from LA to Paris - what?), I couldn't get it to the level I wanted.
Then I had a brainstorm... Canada. The mother land. Surely my kindler, gentler nation would not be as inclined to gouge fliers under the guise of rising oil prices. And, wouldn't you know it - like a trusty old friend I haven't seen in a while, Air Canada still delivered. They had fares from Toronto at HALF the price of any US airline, even compared to other east coast ports. Factor in a cheap flight from LA to TO, and I still saved a bundle.
Now at the end of my trip, I'll be hanging in Toronto for a while and visiting folks around the east coast that I didn't get to see before leaving.
For those keeping score... Canada 1 - US 0.
4 comments:
Yo dude, I checked your Flickr and couldn't find any of the photos from that one time you dressed up like Cleopatra. You should add those.
And best of all, Air Canada and AA are code share partners ... means you can pretty much get everything you want from them, Air Canada, and not have to deal with the support services from the other (read US) airlines :P They the people up north have a much better idea of customer service than us us people :D
Score:
Canada 2; US 0
I think Canadians are better at customer service because you have to be bilingual to be allowed to work with the public. That certainly raises the bar above what we expect folks in the US to be able to do.
Interesting to know.
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