Okay, please be kind on this one. I am helping my mother plan a trip to Ireland for next year. She will be flying from Canada (probably Toronto). What is the best route for her to take?

So far I've found direct flights Toronto-Dublin go for about $1700 CDN (Air Canada) which is rediculous. Is there another major city that most flights go to - like Shannon? Is Dublin - like London- the place most tourists start an exploration of Ireland?

Please help, and thank you for your advice!

I just checked - BA is $1300 CDN. I'd like to find her something from under $1000 for May or September.

The best I've been able to do so far is AC Toronto-London $800 and then Ryanair to Shannon. But the airport transfer in London I don't think would be such a great thing. Those she's very adventurous, she's in her 60s and will be on her own at that point in the trip.

Any suggestions would be great!

Air Transat would be *much* cheaper. I'm not sure if the Air Transat fares have been released yet for your dates, but you can check at www.exit.ca. There might be other charter flights, but I'm not familiar with them.

You could also look for a cheap flight to London and then take another low-budget flight to an Irish city. I would overnight in London if so, though, because of the risk of a delay in your flight and missing the next flight.

It's possible the cheapest flights haven't been released yet.

I know lots of people also get cheaper flights from Buffalo. Is that an option for you?

I cannot tell if you are in Canada or in the US and hoping to fly from Canada and pay for your fare in Cdn.$. Air Canada has seat sales five or six times a year and what you need to do is wait for one of those. Seat sales usually apply to travel outside certain peak times -- none for Christmas travel, none for peak of summer travel, but Ireland/England/Europe generally is wonderful outside the key high season, and is especially wonderful in May/June and Sept./Oct. If you are in Canada you will see them published in every daily newspaper; if you are located outside Canada may I suggest you put yourself in the hands of a Canadian travel agent who will bird dog this for you. Most of the people I know wait till seat sales are announced to make our bookings for European destinations. Dublin, and London, amongst other foreign destinations are typically covered by these seat sales. I use it frequently for flights from Ottawa to London Heathrow and the ticket then is routinely between $569 and roughly $700 Cdn. return, depending on the sale.

Ask your travel agent to find a "net" or "consolidator" fare. If you don't mind the restrictions, you should be able to get one for a much more reasonable price than you have so far found. Air Transat will not be too expensive, but it sure is cramped!

Thanks for all the great advice. We are both in Canada, but she is the one who will be doing the travelling (sigh!).

Lanny - you mention that you fly out of Ottawa often. Is that cheaper than Toronto? She can go from Ottawa, Toronto, or Montreal as she lives in Kingston - central to all three departure points.

I just found that AC to Belfast is $1000 CDN while AC to Dublin is $1300 CDN for the same dates. Interesting huh!?

Oh, please don't put your mommy on Air Transat (unless she's under 5 feet tall). It's a looong flight at night. Wait for a British Airways or Air Canada sale. Save money on short-haul flights (but watch out for hidden costs associated with getting to and from inconvenient airports at odd hours). Use travelocity, expedia and destina.ca to explore indicative prices for different airlines, different routes etc, and then wait for the airline seat sale.

What kind of budget are you considering for the trip? If you can afford it, you might also consider booking her a BA flight in Premium Economy (in one or both directions). This is a much more comfortable seat with more leg room. Sometimes the price for YYZ-LHR fare is as low as $1400 (v expensive for economy, but a great value for premium economy). You should also talk to an airline reservation agent - because sometimes the price quoted on the airline's search engine for a flight with a connection (e.g. YYZ-LHR-Dublin) is much more expensive than the price the telephone agent quotes. Not sure why, but it's worth checking.

I'd definitely check fares to alternative airports, like SHannon. I think some airlines only go to Shannon, or at least their main flights. I had to go thru Shannon once to get to Dublin flying Aer Lingus from JFK.

You're looking too early for May and September travel.

Hi Matrexx, you may want to check out Travel Cuts, a budget/student oriented travel agency that can offer great flight prices even for regular non-student adults. They have offices in cities with universities, including Kingston (at Odessy Travel) and Toronto. Here's their website, again, don't be put off by the student focus as they serve non-students as well.

http://www.travelcuts.com/english/html/

Last June we flew Air Canada to dublin for just under $700 roundtrip from Ohio which is the cheapest price we could find... we did go through a travel agent for air only. keep checking. however, that airport is the most unorganized place we have ever flown into/out of. Next time I will pay a little more for some efficiency.

Yu've received some good advice here. Certainly don't book yet at the prices you've seen. YOu really can do alot better. To answer one of your questions, no , it really isn't cheaper to fly from Ottawa. Toronto is the best bet, or Montreal.
And while Air Transat is a bit cramped, I've flown many times because the price is the best,and I go with the flow.
but do watch for Air Canada sales.
Check out sites like Belair Travel and Air transat's own web site.
Whether you are flying to Dublin or Shannon, shouldn't really make a difference in price. I've also never really done better by flying via London. Stick to going directly to Dublin or Shannon.
Good luck.

ok, I'll have to eat my words.
I just checked out the new airline, Zoom, www.flyzoom.com
and picked random midweek dates in May to London, and the price came up as $509 including taxes. That's pretty good, if you can get a real cheap fare from London to Dublin.
So if your mom can go midweek, the fares are really good.

The fares from Ottawa to LHR are the same whether I go from Ottawa or Toronto which I have done a couple of times (go from Toronto) in order to pick up the a daytime flight to London which puts you into London in the early evening their time. Easiest way to avoid jet lag I know of. Flights become more expensive from Western Canada but only marginally so during seat sales which are the only real way to go. You cannot fly to Ireland from Ottawa however. Ottawa is ill served by Air Canada in terms of international travel, as other than London we have to go to either Toronto, or Montreal on a hop before proceeding further to other points in the UK or to the continent. KLM used to fly from Ottawa to Schiphol but they also pulled back a few years ago and now a KLM passenger must bus to Montreal to fly from there.

In terms of Ottawa's inaccessibility to international flights some of that may change, I am hoping, because of the wicked new landing charges the Toronto Airport Authority is instituting to cover the costs of its new terminal. We here in Ottawa, with our lovely new facility are hoping that some of the international traffic out of Toronto will divert to us to avoid those fees.
A city of nearly a million certainly deserves better international connections than we have enjoyed, to the present.

I think the suggestions you wait for sales is good advice. If you get yourself onto Air Canada's website you can be advised of upcoming sales. Even if the fare is still somewhat higher than bargain fares there are some considerations as to your mother's age, mobility and ability to get around on her own.

In June 2003, we flew Air Canada (sale price about $700), and landed in Dublin while the plane went on to Shannon. On the return we left from Dublin and the plane stopped for an hour or two in Shannon (we were allowed off), but we did not have to change planes and it was not nearly as big an inconvenience as having to change planes. I think the actual flying time was an hour or two shorter on the return flight.

Not having to make connections with two different airlines can avoid long waits (or too short) between connections, baggage to collect, possibly a meal to get, and points to gain if you are on Aeroplan, makes a higher price worth considering.

We left from Toronto, are seniors in our 70s and now consider the above when considering fares. If the price difference is great and your mother can handle it, then go for the low airfare.