Cheaper to buy plane ticket in Canada instead of US?
 

The US to Canadian dollar is about .75 to $1 which makes buying stuff in Canada so nice. When we were up there a few years ago and paid for dinner with our debit cards, even though the dinner was $35, and I thought that's what we were paying, my bank account only took out about $25.

So I am wondering if we buy our plane tickets in Canada if we will get a cheaper price, or if it is just adjusted for the Canadian market? Right now we are looking to fly from Vancouver to Auckland, NZ and see that in the US the price per ticket is $1300. If we go to Canada, will it still say $1300, but really be about $1000 US?

<<...So I am wondering if we buy our plane tickets in Canada if we will get a cheaper price, or if it is just adjusted for the Canadian market?...>>

<<...If we go to Canada, will it still say $1300, but really be about $1000 US?...>>

Well, to get an idea of what you'd pay if you bought your ticket in Canada go to the "Canadian" (not US) website for your preferred airline and price out a ticket for your planned dates of travel. It will be quoted in Canadian Dollars. You can then use a currency converter to find out how much would be charged in $US to your credit or debit card if you purchased that ticket in Canada.

For what it is worth, I went to the Canadian website for Air Canada and priced out a R/T ticket between Vancouver and Auckland for a trip in July - the quote was $2,032CAD which comes to about $1,534US.

Ah, you're right. Before it asked me if I wanted US English or Canada English and I put US. I put in Canada English and CAD amount is $1730 so we are getting the cheaper ticket.

Probably not. it's all calculated amount of fee. $1300 in Canadian dollars and $1000 in US dollars are treated same. So it would not matter any

You need to understand that more than the exchange rate is working here. Airfare is priced according to what the local market will bear, so a ticket from, say, Vancouver to Tokyo might be cheaper (after currency conversion) than one from Seattle to Tokyo, because the markets are different, not because of the currency exchange.

There also might be carriers that operate from Canadian airports who don't serve US airports; Air Transat (a discount carrier) is one such.

Remember, of course, to add in the cost of "positioning" yourself at the Canadian airport and getting home after the trip. It might neutralize much of the savings.

If you are flying intercontinental, from the US through Canada to Europe or Asia, you will find Canadian airlines often charge less than US carriers even when converted to US dollars. It has been that way for several years, even before the Canadian$ plunged. If you are flying from the US through Canada, the price you pay in US$ will take into account the exchange (whether it is precisely the current exchange rate, I do not know.) There could also be regional differences since Canada is so spread out. Both Air Canada and WestJet have some partnerships with other international lines; Air Transat, a "charter" line, does not.