Recently we looked at some of the budget airlines in the United States to help you save money on your next trip – but if you looked at the list of those airlines, you’ll have noticed that our neighbor to the north is sadly missing from the destination lists of most of them. That’s right, Canada gets no love from the big U.S.-based discount airlines.
That’s not to say all flights to Canada are going to cost an arm and a leg, however, or that the only budget airlines serving Canadian airports are products of Canada, either. In fact, many of the cheap flights to Canada you’ll find are on airlines with names you’ll probably recognize – you just might be on a much smaller plane than you’re used to.
Canada used to be blessed with more of its own home-grown budget airlines, but carriers like Jetsgo (who doesn’t love that name? I so love that name!) and Zoom Airlines have folded in recent years because of the nearly impossible task of putting the words “airline” and “profitable” in the same sentence these days. One budget airline from years gone by didn’t completely disappear, and for years has been operating charter flights only – but they’re poised to make a comeback into the discount flight arena in 2010. That airline, along with other discount carriers that fly into Canada, are listed below.