Air Canada Advertising $347 Roundtrip to Sydney – With a Catch

by Gary Leff

Air Canada has been advertising a roundtrip fare from Ottawa to Sydney for $439 – that’s $439 Canadian or just $347 – over a limited set of dates.

They’re even using the Sydney Opera House to promote it.

However as Points, Miles, and Bling points out they’re actually offering this fare to Sydney, Nova Scotia. Air Canada offers three peak daily departures between Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia on board Dash 8-300s.

The lowest Air Canada fare between Ottawa and Sydney, Australia on the advertised dates is currently over US$2200!

Meanwhile Ottawa to Sydney, Nova Scotia is available for slightly less than their Facebook ad promises.

If Air Canada can’t get the difference between the two Sydneys right, it’s understandable how passengers wind up in the wrong Sydney. Indeed here’s 5 times that Air Canada passengers wound up in Nova Scotia by mistake. Maybe next time it happens Air Canada will actually help the passengers get where they’re going instead of charging them for a brand new ticket.


Passenger ferry in Sydney, Nova Scotia, copyright: simplyzel / 123RF Stock Photo

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Pingbacks

  1. […] Those who primarily use miles to fly in first and business class likely won’t be interested in traveling this far in economy class. That said, plenty of people are happy with flying economy — particularly when prices are this cheap. It’s unfortunate that you can’t find the cheapest fares through the Chase portal, but at less than 29K round trip (and the ability to likely earn some miles for flying), that’s a pretty sweet deal for the distance. Of course, I’d recommend holding off on making additional plans around this fare as Air Canada hasn’t exactly been knocking it out of the park lately in terms of honoring what they advertise. […]

Comments

  2. Who’s to say that there’s not a Sydney Opera House of similar stature in Sydney, Nova Scotia?
    And who’s to say that most Canadians wouldn’t rather go to Nova Scotia than Australia?

    As the old Canadian saying goes: “Why go to Australia when you can go to Nova Scotia instead!”

  4. Hello Gary Leff,
    I work for CBC in Sydney, NS.
    I cannot find this ad on Air Canada’s Facebook page.
    When was it posted?
    I have a few other questions, can you call me?
    902-563-4118
    Thanks
    Yvonne

  5. Does Canada has laws governed advertising frauds? This fits right into that category!

    Sydney Nova Scotia certainly does not have anything remotely resembling the pictures shown.

  6. By chance did you run a search on Air Canada’s website for a flight from Ottawa to Sydney, NS on these dates? Typically these ads will be specific to your computer and based on your search history. Looks like the database is pulling the wrong photo to show with that result.

  8. You people are unbelievable. This was a retargeted ad (so the consumer just searched on AC.com for YYZ-YQY). The ad accidentally populated the wrong image. For the consumer who searched on AC.com, they would know immediately that the image was wrong however the airports and fares were correct.

    Now carry on.

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