Airlines impair search for cheap international flights

Airlines are literally giving away seats on some international flights.

And you are wrong if you think air travellers in the United States typically pay lower fares for international travel than we do for flights to and from Canada.

I have friends who recently drove from Ottawa to Syracuse, in upstate New York, to take a flight to New York City for the weekend. There are plenty of direct flights from Ottawa to New York City, but my friends figured they saved money. I strongly doubt it.

In any case, it's relatively easy to drive from Ottawa to New York City in about the length of time my friends spent on the journey, bearing in mind that they were almost halfway there when they parked their car in Syracuse well in advance of their flight time.

Airlines often charge little or nothing to carry passengers from Ottawa to a "hub," such as New York City, Detroit or Philadelphia. There, these passengers board another aircraft of the same airline for a flight to Europe, the Caribbean, or wherever their final destination may be.

Air travel is a cutthroat business. And airlines do whatever it takes to fill seats. This makes air travel to and from Ottawa far more competitive than you might think, given the mere handful of direct flights to destinations outside North America.

Ottawa is too small to have many direct flights to international destinations. But it's at least as well-served as most U.S. cities of similar or even greater size. And the prices we pay for international travel are usually about the same as Americans pay, I found.

There are two reasons for this.

Firstly, part of the Ottawa airport is technically in the United States. Departing passengers pass through U.S. customs and immigration before boarding their flight to an American destination. This cuts red tape - and costs - for U.S. carriers, who consider Ottawa as just one more lucrative market in their domestic network.

Secondly, the Internet has made it easy to compare airline prices. It used to be a tedious, thankless task. Now, if bargains are available, it's relatively easy to find them.

Cheapflights.ca is one website that quickly enables you to narrow the search. Just punch in when and where you want to fly, and it lists some of the cheapest options.

Armed with that information, you can go to each airline's website and find out how much a flight really costs - with fees, taxes, charges and surcharges included - for the dates you want to travel.

Frontier Airline Announce Cheap Flights in Celebration of Colorado ...

The other day Cheapflights clued you in on discount airline Southwest’s cheap flights in celebration of Colorado Day – the 135th anniversary of Colorado statehood. Now it’s Frontier’s turn. Denver’s hometown airline is selling one-way seats as low as $9.99. Really.

Buy these Frontier Airline tickets no later than 11:59pm Eastern Time Wednesday Aug. 3, and make a 14-day advance purchase. Fly through Dec. 15 – excluding some blackout dates. The lowest fares are for off-peal travel: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays. Taxes and fees are not included.

- Denver flights to Albuquerque (usually $125) are $9.99.

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