Good news for British Columbia Tuggers - SW Airlines to start flying to Bellingham WA

[T_R_Oglodyte]

"Southwest service in Bellingham positions us just south of metro Vancouver, British Columbia," Southwest Airlines Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement. "Following the reopening of the Canadian border, we expect a return of the value-minded travelers who already drive to this alternative airport to escape high fares and taxes—and that's very, very typical for Southwest destinations. Southwest provides a great value for them."

Southwest Airlines to begin flying to Bellingham later this year

Southwest Airlines announced the low-fare carrier plans to begin flying to Bellingham, Washington later in 2021.

www.q13fox.com

 

[bizaro86]

Speaking as a Canadian from somewhere else, I'm jealous!

 

[Luanne]

This would have been great when our daughter was attending school in Vancouver.

 

[Blues]

Any reasonable way to get to Tsawwassan Ferry Terminal from there? Will Uber or Lyft cross the international border? (Once that border is open, of course). Taxi? We love to travel to Victoria BC, and tentatively planning for this autumn. I'm guessing we're still better off flying to YYJ, changing planes at SeaTac.

 

[Luanne]

Any reasonable way to get to Tsawwassan Ferry Terminal from there? Will Uber or Lyft cross the international border? (Once that border is open, of course). Taxi? We love to travel to Victoria BC, and tentatively planning for this autumn. I'm guessing we're still better off flying to YYJ, changing planes at SeaTac.

I know it's farther, but if you can get to SFO you can fly direct to Vancouver. Never mind. I realize you are flying into Victoria, not Vancouver.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Any reasonable way to get to Tsawwassan Ferry Terminal from there? Will Uber or Lyft cross the international border? (Once that border is open, of course). Taxi? We love to travel to Victoria BC, and tentatively planning for this autumn. I'm guessing we're still better off flying to YYJ, changing planes at SeaTac.

Bellingham appears to be mostly set up for automobile border crossings. So take the Tsawwasen Ferry my thought would be to rent a car at the airport, then drive to the ferry.

If were absolutely dedicated to not having a car, one thought would be to Uber/Lyft/taxi from the airport to the Amtrak station (on the other side of town from the airport), then take a northbound train to Vancouver train station, then get a bus to Tsawwassen or possibly to whatever your final destination is on Vancouver Island.

 

[LannyPC]

Any reasonable way to get to Tsawwassan Ferry Terminal from there? Will Uber or Lyft cross the international border? (Once that border is open, of course). Taxi? We love to travel to Victoria BC, and tentatively planning for this autumn. I'm guessing we're still better off flying to YYJ, changing planes at SeaTac.

I'm not too sure what the situation for travel and connections are like during the pandemic but here are some suggestions that applied pre-COVID:

1) As you suggested, use AS to fly to SEA and then on to YYJ. Southwest does not fly into Canada at all. Right now, it appears that the only way you can get from the USA to Canada for non-essential travel is through air travel.
2) Once the border is open to cars for non-essential travel, fly to SEA, then rent a car and drive to Port Angeles, WA. From there you can take a ferry straight to Victoria.
3) Fly either into BLI or SEA and rent a car. Then drive to Anacortes, WA which is between Bellingham and Seattle. There is a ferry that will take you across to Sidney, BC which is about a 30-minute drive north of Victoria.

 

[LannyPC]

Speaking as a Canadian from somewhere else, I'm jealous!

It's nice to have another alternative but we'll have to wait and see what the destinations from BLI will be before we start celebrating. BLI is a very small airport and even though it is labeled an "International" airport, according to Wikipedia, it does not have any N/S destinations outside the USA. I've used BLI a couple of times and, IIRC, it does not have US Customs.

Alaska Air used to fly to HNL from BLI but that stopped a few years ago. Frankly, IMHO, I can't se another airline flying N/S from BLI to anywhere outside the Pacific or Mountain Time Zones in the USA. I'm guessing though that BLI would be a good alternative to YVR for cheaper fares to those cities. But for my personal preference, I would not mind driving an extra 1.5-2 hours beyond BLI to SEA to get a better array of flight options.

 

[DaveNV]

One thought, though: With Southwest flying into Bellingham, in order to be competitive, it will force Alaska to clean up their schedule. I just checked, and couldn't schedule anything nonstop from Bellingham except to Seattle. Every other city requires at least one stop. The layovers in Seattle can be horrendous. Not customer friendly at all. I hope southwest changes that.

Dave

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

One thought, though: With Southwest flying into Bellingham, in order to be competitive, it will force Alaska to clean up their schedule. I just checked, and couldn't schedule anything nonstop from Bellingham except to Seattle. Every other city requires at least one stop. The layovers in Seattle can be horrendous. Not customer friendly at all. I hope southwest changes that.

Dave

Pre-pandemic Alaska was looking to build Bellingham as a portal for Canadians. IIRC - there were plans to begin flying non-stop to the principal Hawaii airports from Bellingham.

 

[DaveNV]

Pre-pandemic Alaska was looking to build Bellingham as a portal for Canadians. IIRC - there were plans to begin flying non-stop to the principal Hawaii airports from Bellingham.

They did fly BLI to HNL for awhile. I think we were on one of the last flights. The flight attendant told us they were cancelling the route. The fact that there were only about 25 people on the plane probably had a lot to do with it.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

I also think them opening the Paine Field location really sealed the deal. You can book a lot of nonstop flights from Paine Field that you can't book from Bellingham.

Dave

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

They did fly BLI to HNL for awhile. I think we were on one of the last flights. The flight attendant told us they were cancelling the route. The fact that there were only about 25 people on the plane probably had a lot to do with it.

Dave

If SWA gets a foothold in Bellingham it wouldn't surprise me if they tried Hawaii flights from there.

 

[DaveNV]

If SWA gets a foothold in Bellingham it wouldn't surprise me if they tried Hawaii flights from there.

If SWA could pick up the Canadian passenger traffic to Hawaii from BLI, they could really succeed.

Dave

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

If SWA could pick up the Canadian passenger traffic to Hawaii from BLI, they could really succeed.

Dave

Ahh - but the question suggested by your earlier post re the discontinued AS service to HNL is whether there is enough traffic to support the route.

 

[DaveNV]

Ahh - but the question suggested by your earlier post re the discontinued AS service to HNL is whether there is enough traffic to support the route.

Yes. I think SWA having generally lower fares would go a long way to capturing that base.

Dave

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Yes. I think SWA having generally lower fares would go a long way to capturing that base.

Dave

In 20+ years of travel in and out of SeaTac only rarely have I seen SWA offer a fare significantly better than AS. Seven or eight years ago I stopped wasting my time checking SWA routinely because it was a waste of time. The situation has become more pronounced after Delta decided to take on AS head-to-head out of SEA.

If SWA can make it work where AS couldn't, more power to them. I don't think history is on their side, since they haven't been able to do that on other routings out of the Pacific northwest.

 

[LannyPC]

I know it's farther, but if you can get to SFO you can fly direct to Vancouver. Never mind. I realize you are flying into Victoria, not Vancouver.

That actually could be an option. Fly N/S from SFO to YVR and then rent a car. From YVR, depending on traffic, it's about a 30-minute drive to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. It would then be about a 1.5-hour sailing to Vancouver Island and then another 45-minute drive to Victoria.

 

[LannyPC]

In 20+ years of travel in and out of SeaTac only rarely have I seen SWA offer a fare significantly better than AS. Seven or eight years ago I stopped wasting my time checking SWA routinely because it was a waste of time.

However, WN allows passengers two free checked bags each way. That makes WN a good alternative to AS.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

However, WN allows passengers two free checked bags each way. That makes WN a good alternative to AS.

good point. I fly Alaska often enough that I get free luggage check. Also, if you purchase your ticket with an Alaska Air visa, you get free checked luggage. DW is the primary account holder on one of our AS Visa cards just so that she will get free luggage check when she's traveling without me.

 

[Luanne]

However, WN allows passengers two free checked bags each way. That makes WN a good alternative to AS.

When younger daughter was attending school at UBC she and I flew to Seattle (SW) just so we could each take two free bags. We rented a car and drove to Vancouver.

 

[jpfordz]

I'm not too sure what the situation for travel and connections are like during the pandemic but here are some suggestions that applied pre-COVID:

1) As you suggested, use AS to fly to SEA and then on to YYJ. Southwest does not fly into Canada at all. Right now, it appears that the only way you can get from the USA to Canada for non-essential travel is through air travel.
2) Once the border is open to cars for non-essential travel, fly to SEA, then rent a car and drive to Port Angeles, WA. From there you can take a ferry straight to Victoria.
3) Fly either into BLI or SEA and rent a car. Then drive to Anacortes, WA which is between Bellingham and Seattle. There is a ferry that will take you across to Sidney, BC which is about a 30-minute drive north of Victoria.

If you don't want to rent a car. I would just fly into Seattle and take the Victoria Clipper https://www.clippervacations.com/seattle-victoria-ferry/ from downtown Seattle. Relaxing boat ride and you arrive in downtown Victoria. Once they start running again, post-Covid of course.

 

[LannyPC]

If you don't want to rent a car. I would just fly into Seattle and take the Victoria Clipper https://www.clippervacations.com/seattle-victoria-ferry/ from downtown Seattle. Relaxing boat ride and you arrive in downtown Victoria. Once they start running again, post-Covid of course.

Ah, yes. I remember that. I was looking at Google Maps to try to find something to help Blues. GM showed ferries from Port Angeles and Anacortes to Vancouver Island but not the route from downtown Seattle. Nonetheless, all cross-border ferry routes are currently suspended due to travel restrictions. So if someone wants to get from the Bay Area to Victoria, BC on non-essential travel, that person will have to fly. The two best choices currently are:

1) Use AS to fly through SEA to YYJ or
2) Fly to YVR then rent a car and combine driving with ferrying to Victoria.

 

[VanX]

We love flying out of Bellingham and often connect to Seattle and then onward for longer trips. BLI is a great little airport and super handy for us. Direct to Palm Springs and Vegas a few times has been nice with Alaska and now having SW will be great for other trips.

Now we just need that border opened up. Fall 2021 looks promising.

 

[LannyPC]

We love flying out of Bellingham and often connect to Seattle and then onward for longer trips. BLI is a great little airport and super handy for us. Direct to Palm Springs and Vegas a few times has been nice with Alaska and now having SW will be great for other trips.

The jury is still out. We have to wait and see what destinations WN will reach from BLI. I remember when there was some fanfare about Snohomish County Airport in Everett (Paine Field) opening how that was supposed to bring some competition to and a good alternative to SEA. But, like BLI, it only serves destinations N/S to a handful of cities in the Pacific and Mountain time zones in the USA. There are no international flights out of PAE or BLI. I can't see WN doing any international flights out of BLI. It may give AS and Allegiant some competition out of BLI but not a lot of extra destinations.