Flights & layovers, luggage question

Mrs McSweeney

We are due to fly in a few weeks.
We will have at least two flights but probably three.

I would book directly with Aer Lingus only they don't actually fly into Saskatoon, so I can't. I have to use one of the other sites in order to get the right combination (there are loads of carrier combinations, but the main options that suit us start out with Aer Lingus).

We will have more than one suitcase per person, so will need to book in extra luggage. Here's where I'm confused.

So...If I book through eg LastMinute.com, what's the story with our luggage? I'm getting conflicting info on LastMinute, compared to the actual Airlines in question (Aer Lingus etc).

So who do we go to to book in our extra cases?
If it's directly to the carrier (eg Aer Lingus) then that's ok but if I have to book them in separately with all the relevant carriers that sounds like it could be messy!

Anyone brought extra suitcases, & how did you do it?

againstthetide

How come only aer lingus? Air Canada goes Dublin-Toronto-Saskatoon at the minute and they are working out cheaper than aer lingus for our flights in 2 weeks.

Also you are going to Lloydminster when you land right? Lloydminster is slightly closer to Edmonton(2hr 20) than Saskatoon (2hr 45) and Aer Lingus will let you book directly to Edmonton if you are set on using aer lingus.

But if you are set on Flying into Saskatoon. Air Canada or KLM are generally the best priced. If you are taking extra bags and connects I would try and book all with the one airline as otherwise there is always the chance you will have to pick up all the bags between connections etc. Which is not fun especially when fling with kids.

Mrs McSweeney

againstthetide wrote: »

How come only aer lingus? Air Canada goes Dublin-Toronto-Saskatoon at the minute and they are working out cheaper than aer lingus for our flights in 2 weeks.

Also you are going to Lloydminster when you land right? Lloydminster is slightly closer to Edmonton(2hr 20) than Saskatoon (2hr 45) and Aer Lingus will let you book directly to Edmonton if you are set on using aer lingus.

But if you are set on Flying into Saskatoon. Air Canada or KLM are generally the best priced. If you are taking extra bags and connects I would try and book all with the one airline as otherwise there is always the chance you will have to pick up all the bags between connections etc. Which is not fun especially when fling with kids.

I hadn't checked booking directly with Air Canada, was too busy checking on Skyscanner etc.
We are now going to be living in Saskatoon, rather than Lloyd, so it's better to fly there rather than Edmonton (though there are far more flight options into Edmonton).

I will have kids with me, one of which is 5 & a right handful. I'm dreading it to be honest, ESPECIALLY if I have to collect luggage in between but I think Aer Lingus work in tandem with a bunch of other carriers & luggage is checked all the way through. Probably the same for most of the bigger airlines?? But I will check it all out thoroughly before booking. It's a right headache, so much searching & reading & confusion; I just want to book the bloomin flights!

againstthetide

With Air Canada and KLM its the same airline the whole way, they don't codeshare the flights so you dont have to deal with any other carriers. For them you are better to check their sites than skyscanner.

Our flights were coming up more expensive on skyscanner than they were on air canadas own site. We are doing it in 2 weeks for a trip home with a 15month old:(

ManFromCheese

ive been trying to book flights for mid july to Calgary, all coming upto €700 mark, plus they all seem to go through either boston or Chicago, I don't want to pay 700 for a one way flight and I don't want to fly through the USA due to an exclusion, any advice folks?

retalivity

air transat fly direct from gatwick, manchester and glasgow i think, if you can get a cheap flight over there

ManFromCheese

retalivity wrote: »

air transat fly direct from gatwick, manchester and glasgow i think, if you can get a cheap flight over there

thanks, i'll check that out!!!

Mrs McSweeney

I'm getting prices of over 3000 PER PERSON with both KLM & Air Canada :eek::eek: so booking directly with them is out the window at the moment!!

And Air Transat don't fly into Saskatoon.

I spoke with Aer Lingus today & clarified a number of the issues/queries that I had.
It's still going to be a pain in the arse completing both US & Canadian immigration in one trip, with a 5-year old (who's a handful & a half), but at least if I choose the flights carefully I can ensure we complete US immigration in Dublin. Also our luggage can go right through, as long as our long-haul leg is with Aer Lingus, and extra cases are charged for just the once by AL, not for each separate leg.

I now have another query regarding Canadian immigration.
If my first stop in Canada is not my final destination (eg Toronto) then can I choose to not clear immigration there & wait until I reach the final destination? This would save the mid-journey-panic of trying to make the next flight when you've no idea how long the immigration process will take.

againstthetide

You have to clear customs where ever you land first which should be Saskatoon if you are booking with aer lingus. Toronto for most of the others.

Have you priced United? They are who Aer Lingus codeshare with but they will allow you to book Dublin- Chicago- Saskatoon. Its well down the results that come up but if is an option.

So your flight to chicago would still probably be aer lingus but from there would be united. its the exact same as if you book through aer lingus, they just allow saskatoon as a landing point

againstthetide

Also it is cheaper to book a return sometimes so if you have to just book the return leg for as far out as you can and you might get a holiday then

Mrs McSweeney

It looks like it might be cheaper to book a return, which is Mad! The only thing with that is that the return date might not suit & I don't know if we could change them. And the specifics of the flights aren't as easy as the ones I looked at previously (with Aer Lingus).

I guess my situation is a bit more complex than it would be for a single person travelling alone, in that I have kids (one is 5 & very hard work) so the length of the layover is relevant, and the fact that I have to complete the immigration process for 3 people, not just one, and I've no idea how long that will take. And probably have to do it for both the US & Canada, as the easiest/quickest flight options seem to involve a US stopover.

My head is starting to really melt with it all now :-(

retalivity

you can nearly always change the details on a return flight if you do it with enough time in advance, for a fee of course

Mrs McSweeney

retalivity wrote: »

you can nearly always change the details on a return flight if you do it with enough time in advance, for a fee of course

I was trying to figure this out, but as my head was melting I couldn't spend any more of my precious middle-of-the-night sleep-hours staring at the pc screen.

I will attempt it again tonight, thanks for the info.

lovemytea

ManFromCheese wrote: »

ive been trying to book flights for mid july to Calgary, all coming upto €700 mark, plus they all seem to go through either boston or Chicago, I don't want to pay 700 for a one way flight and I don't want to fly through the USA due to an exclusion, any advice folks?

I booked flights using e-travel. Look for an option to go through Toronto or London. I did that as I just didn't want the hassle of going through American Immigration and Canadian Immigration. The flights I got with them were not offered with skyscanner and booking with the airline themselves were 3 times the price.

Mrs McSweeney

lovemytea wrote: »

I booked flights using e-travel. Look for an option to go through Toronto or London. I did that as I just didn't want the hassle of going through American Immigration and Canadian Immigration. The flights I got with them were not offered with skyscanner and booking with the airline themselves were 3 times the price.

Ah well, I've booked now
Via Sktscanner the booking is with Tripsta.ie, and I got an email from them asking me to fax a copy of my credit card to them. Thought it was fishy but they say it's for their own banking clearance stuff. Bit of a pain in the arse though!

NewsMeQuick

againstthetide wrote: »

Also it is cheaper to book a return sometimes so if you have to just book the return leg for as far out as you can and you might get a holiday then

This is the best piece of information on flights to Canada that I've seen. I've started clicking return / round trip and it is true ... no more €2000 / €3000 price quotes, now for Air Canada for example, I see Dublin-London-Toronto for €447 ... my eyes can't believe it.

Thank you for that.