# Any more economical ways to get to Banff from Raleigh NC?



## glenmore (Dec 31, 2011)

The good news is we have a great week planned in Banff June 22-29. The bad news is the airfare seems to be running around $800/person to fly from Raleigh, NC into Calgary.

Are there any airfare "wars" at certain times of the year or do you think this is just the standard fare?

Any alternatives or advice is appreciated . . .


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## Maple_Leaf (Dec 31, 2011)

*Sounds about right*



glenmore said:


> The good news is we have a great week planned in Banff June 22-29. The bad news is the airfare seems to be running around $800/person to fly from Raleigh, NC into Calgary.
> 
> Are there any airfare "wars" at certain times of the year or do you think this is just the standard fare?
> 
> Any alternatives or advice is appreciated . . .



Raleigh to Great Falls, Montana is about $750.  The drive from Great Falls to Banff is about 8 hours.  You can always hope for a seat sale, however, hope is not a strategy.


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## shagnut (Dec 31, 2011)

I almost had to cancel my trip there. It was also in the $800 area. I  finally got it for around 500  within the 3 mo range. Also check fares out of Greensboro or Charlotte. It is a beautiful trip.  shaggy


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## eal (Dec 31, 2011)

You should be able to grab a seat sale between now and springtime - United, American, Air Canada, Delta and US Airways all fly the route with just one stop.


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## MichaelColey (Dec 31, 2011)

It's probably a bit early to find the best rates. Sometimes when searching for airfare to expensive destinations, it's better to find an interim city that has cheap rates to that destination.

This won't help you now, but the cheapest city in the US with flights to Calgary right now is Phoenix, with $318+ tax rates (but only through 3/7/12 for now). If you could find a reasonable rate from Raleigh to Phoenix, you could probably piggyback those two flights and get there cheap.  But those rates don't extend through June, which is why I say it's probably a bit early to find the best rates.

If you have frequent flyer miles with any airline, these types of flights are an excellent use of those miles.


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## glenmore (Jan 1, 2012)

Thanks for all the helpful info. I will continue to monitor a variety of airlines and hope to snag a lower fare.


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## stonebroke (Jan 3, 2012)

*Try Kalispell Montana (FCA)*

You might look into flights into Kalispell, MT as well.  You could perhaps include a trip through Glacier Park or head Northwest a bit through Eureka, MT(MT Hiway 93) up through Fairmont Hot Springs and Radium Hot Springs...also a beautiful drive.


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## mbh (Jan 3, 2012)

*Airfare*

Airfare to Calgary from the U.S. is expensive. We went last May and it was almost $600 with all the fees (U.S. and Canada, so it makes the ticket even more expensive). Air Canada sometimes has sales and they are a United partner airline. Also, Westjet flies from D.C. and thet sometimes have excellent prices.


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## glenmore (Jan 3, 2012)

Again thanks. I know the trip will be worth it--just shocked at the airfare cost!


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## Chilcotin (Jan 4, 2012)

This is a great site to do airfare comparison shopping:

www dot fly dot com


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## glenmore (Jan 4, 2012)

Good news!  I just booked two seats through www.cheapoair.com from Charlotte, NC to Calgary for a total of $758.80 for two ticketes, including all taxes and fees! Thanks again for all your help - I am so happy!


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## dcantin (Jan 4, 2012)

*air fair to banff*

Hi
That is standard but you can check with southwest and westjet for lower fares and go to trip advisor and air canada and get on a list for when prices for your trip are reduced.


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## dcantin (Jan 4, 2012)

glenmore said:


> Good news!  I just booked two seats through www.cheapoair.com from Charlotte, NC to Calgary for a total of $758.80 for two ticketes, including all taxes and fees! Thanks again for all your help - I am so happy!



wow how did you do that?  Great job


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## Janette (Jan 6, 2012)

Wonderful prices. We flew into Victoria for two nights, then took the ferry to Vancouver for a week(free Marriott nights). We then drove across BC and went to the Columbia ice fields. We spent one night in Revelstoke on the road and one night at the ice fields. We then checked into our timeshare at Banff. We really enjoyed our week. The O Canada dinner show was very good. We flew out of Calgary to come home and stayed at the airport hotel there since we had a very early flight. Western Canada was so great that we are headed for two weeks in Nova Scotia and PEI next summer, staying in B&B's.


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## Skatduder (Jan 7, 2012)

stonebroke said:


> You might look into flights into Kalispell, MT as well.  You could perhaps include a trip through Glacier Park or head Northwest a bit through Eureka, MT(MT Hiway 93) up through Fairmont Hot Springs and Radium Hot Springs...also a beautiful drive.



The problem I found with Kalispell is the car rental companies do not have unlimited mileage programs.


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## glenmore (Jan 10, 2012)

I think I had gone to Kayak and searched all available vendors and cheapoair came up with that price.


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## ricoba (Jan 12, 2012)

Have you checked flights to Vancouver?

The drive would be long, (about 8 hours as i remember) but it is very scenic from Vancouver to Banff.


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