One Stop to the West

Now that the sting of the Brandon to Toronto flight cancellation is starting to subside, I've decided to put on my rose coloured glasses and try to make the best of what we do have left (for Westjet flights).

I have done the research and compiled a list of non-stop flights from Calgary to potential vacation destinations. By doing this, I am highlighting just the most convenient destinations as you will only have one stop (in Calgary) from Brandon to your chosen destination outside of Canada. Some of these connecting flights will be with Westjet's codeshare partners, Delta and Alaska airlines, but you buy your ticket through Westjet and it's pretty seamless.

The list is as follows, and in no particular order: Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Portland, Houston and Seattle. There are also non-stop flights from Calgary to 5 resort destinations in Mexico, including Ixtapa and Huatulco.

There have been times that Westjet had non-stop flights to Maui or Honolulu, but I'm not seeing direct flights right now. Everything connects through Vancouver or LAX, thus making it a two connection flight and at least a 13 hour travel day, from Brandon.

To further explore the possibilities on the one-stop routes, I've selected Seattle Washington as a destination. You can purchase a round trip, tax included flight from Brandon (YBR) to Seattle (SEA) for $500. Your connecting flight Calgary to Seattle will be through Alaska Airlines. The flight times are actually quite convenient. Leaving Brandon at 1:20pm and arriving in Seattle the same day at 7:25pm local time.

To add a hotel to this flight and make it a package through Expedia.ca you can stay for 3 nights and pay between $700 and $800 Canadian funds, per person (2 people traveling.) Now it certainly doesn't rate high on my bargain meter, but it's definitely and interesting option. (See sample screen-shot.)

If money isn't an issue, then why not add an NFL game to your itinerary? But since the Seahawks are a very popular team, and one of the best supported and loudest stadiums in the league, you should expect to pay $300US funds or more, per ticket. This is one of the most expensive tickets in the league. The other end of the scale would be a team like Cleveland or San Diego. You can pick up a ticket in their home stadiums for $50. Westjet will take you to San Diego, but not Cleveland.

In the weeks to come we'll take a closer look at some of the other cities and highlight bargain trips to the west, when things become available.