For those who remain undeterred by the daunting lines and flight delays at Canadian airports, questions remain about how to save money on air travel amid mounting fuel costs and inflation.

Airfares 91裸聊视频� often the biggest line item on a vacation 91裸聊视频� jumped 11.6 per cent year over year in May, according to Statistics Canada. Tickets are now above pre-pandemic levels, up 15 per cent from 2019 to $960 on average for international flights from Canada, says Montreal-based Hopper Inc., with no sign of a dip in the coming months.

91裸聊视频淎irlines are raising ticket prices to cover higher fuel and labour costs,91裸聊视频� said Helane Becker, an airline analyst for investment firm Cowen.

Flexibility is helpful when looking to save cash, since the times you choose to book and travel 91裸聊视频� and which airport you take off from 91裸聊视频� can play a key role in the cost.

Weekends are often pricier, and flights scheduled early in the morning and late at night are frequently cheaper, as fewer folks want to fly then, said Duncan Dee, former chief operating officer at Air Canada.

91裸聊视频淒on91裸聊视频檛 plan to leave on the first few days after the school year ends 91裸聊视频� and also don91裸聊视频檛 return home on the weekend before Labour Day, because that91裸聊视频檚 going to be a huge demand weekend,91裸聊视频� he said.

Dee also recommends travelling in the off-season rather than peak summer months, or to consider less sought-after spots. 91裸聊视频淟atin America, for example 91裸聊视频� our summer is their winter, and a Southern Hemisphere winter 91裸聊视频� is very pleasant,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淧aris in the summer or London in the summer 91裸聊视频� that equals high airfares, high hotel prices and fully booked restaurants.91裸聊视频�

Booking one to three months in advance for local flights and three to four months for international ones may also yield cheaper fares, he added. However, 91裸聊视频渄ynamic pricing91裸聊视频� means there are no hard and fast rules, as algorithms respond to demand and booking curves on the fly.

91裸聊视频淢any consumers will report being quoted one fare and a totally different 91裸聊视频� higher or even lower 91裸聊视频� if they search an hour later,91裸聊视频� Dee noted.

One way around attentive algorithms are alternative airports. Those in Hamilton, Ont., Buffalo and Plattsburgh, N.Y., and Bellingham, Wash., can present more palatable prices and fewer delays.

But voyages within Canada may be the safest option, and the softest on the pocketbook. The average one-way domestic fare was $159 in May, down from $168 in May 2019, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

91裸聊视频淚nternational travel, outside of North America is just really a crapshoot,91裸聊视频� said McGill University aviation lecturer John Gradek, pointing to a friend91裸聊视频檚 recent trip.

91裸聊视频淭o get a car rental in Italy 91裸聊视频� a little gas car, a Fiat 91裸聊视频� and a mini-house for him and his wife and his two daughters for one week was $1,200 (per day) 91裸聊视频� plus $200 a day for the car rental,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淚f you91裸聊视频檙e going to go to Europe, you91裸聊视频檝e got to really want to go.91裸聊视频�

Gradek recommends classic Canadian getaways this summer. 91裸聊视频淕o to Banff, go to the Rockies, go visit Peggy91裸聊视频檚 Cove.91裸聊视频�

In Ontario, several cities are offering to reward tourists for overnight stays. Ottawa, Kingston, London and Guelph are among the municipalities promising to hand out gift cards of up to $100 or ensure a night91裸聊视频檚 stay on the house at participating hotels.

The incentives come on top of the provincial staycation tax credit, which grants up to $200 in credit per person for travel within Ontario.

Low-cost Canadian carriers such as Flair Airlines, WestJet91裸聊视频檚 Swoop and recent entrant Lynx Air offer another route to savings 91裸聊视频� though the smaller fleets can mean fewer options in the event of a cancellation, with some passengers rebooked days later on less frequent routes.

A handful of travel hacks offer more clever savings.

So-called hidden city fares, where passengers skip out on the second leg of a trip to disembark at the connection point 91裸聊视频� their actual intended destination 91裸聊视频� allow travellers who found cheaper fares on a roundabout route rather than a direct flight to save cash, though carriers frown on the practice.

91裸聊视频淗acker fares,91裸聊视频� which refer to two one-way tickets, can also yield savings. Search engines including Kayak and Google Flights offer round-trip queries for a pair of one-way flights. Kayak and Hopper also provide price alerts, and recommendations on whether to buy immediately or wait for lower fares.

For the more tech-savvy, bargain hunters can mask their computer91裸聊视频檚 address with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to sniff out fares that target local residents in other countries, though deals aren91裸聊视频檛 necessarily better. For the less digitally inclined, finding a foreign travel agent may be an easier option.

91裸聊视频擟hristopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press