Drive and fly

CANADA: Some Canadians have found a new way to save money on flights to large US cities. They drive across the border to small airports in the US, and board domestic flights there.

According to a recent survey by the Hotel Association of Canada, 18 per cent of Canadians plan to travel to the US for flights in 2010. “Travelling from within the US has saved me thousands of dollars on business trips over the last few years,” frequent flyer Brandon Smith told USA Today.

The lower cost is one reason, and convenience is another. Travellers from Canada say the security checks for domestic flights in the US are less intense. They also prefer the convenience of rural airports over those in Canada’s larger cities. Airports in the US that are close to the border welcome the increase in business and are doing their best to encourage it further with marketing campaigns.

Small US airports near the border welcome the increase in business

Plattsburgh International Airport, for example, defines itself as “Montréal’s US airport” and offers a French version of its website along with the English one. Meanwhile, the Canadian travel industry is worried. Because of higher airport fees and taxes in Canada, as well as less competition among Canadian airlines, tickets are necessarily expensive.

With the prospect of low-cost carriers setting up at US airports close to the border, many experts fear it will be even harder for Canadian airports to keep customers in the future. “We're tremendously concerned,” says Daniel-Robert Gooch of the Canadian Airports Council. “We have higher fees and taxes. All these things add up to make for a more expensive ticket.”