One of the best ways to maximize your travel dollar (especially as a Canadian) is to be flexible in the airports you fly from.
Airports such as Toronto Pearson (YYZ) or Vancouver International (YVR) have very high taxes and fees. The flight prices are significantly more than other airports which are within driving distance of them. Please see the detailed article series for Buffalo and Seattle, which include the best transportation options, parking and analysis of when it makes sense.
Finding an alternate airport is great, especially if you want to take advantage of the “Double-Down” that I have outlined on Milenomics here.
Please see the writeups on how to use these alternate airports from your area.
Canada
| Region | City | Airport(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Toronto | YYZ, YTZ | |
| Buffalo | BUF | Buffalo Airport Series | |
| Niagara Falls | IAG | Niagara Falls / IAG Writeup | |
| Kitchener | YKF | ||
| Hamilton | YHM | ||
| London | YXU | RobertQ Airbus runs bus service between DTW, YXU and YYZ airports | |
| Detroit | DTW | ||
| Vancouver | Vancouver | YVR | |
| Seattle | SEA | Seattle Airport Series | |
| Bellingham | BLI | Bellingham / BLI Writeup | |
| Victoria | YYJ | ||
| Nanaimo | YCD | ||
| Montreal | Montreal | YUL | |
| Ottawa | YOW | ||
| Plattsburgh | PBG | Plattsburgh / PBG Writeup | |
| Burlington | BTV | Burlington / BTV Writeup | |
| Syracuse | SYR | Syracuse / SYR Writeup | |
| Alberta | Calgary | YYC | |
| Edmonton | YEG | ||
| Red Deer | YQF | ||
| Windsor / London / Sarnia | London | YXU | RobertQ Airbus runs bus service between DTW, YXU and YYZ airports |
| Detroit | DTW |
Northeast USA
| Region | City | Airport(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | Boston | BOS | |
| Manchester | MHT | Flight Line and Greyhound provide buses between Boston to MHT airport | |
| Providence | PVD | MBTA trains run between Boston South Station to PVD Airport | |
| New York | New York | EWR, LGA, JFK | |
| Philadelphia | PHL | ||
| Westchester | HPN | ||
| Islip | ISP | ||
| Philadelphia / Mid-Atlantic | Philadelphia | PHL | |
| New York | EWR | NJ Transit and Amtrak trains run straight from Phila 30th St Station to EWR airport | |
| Baltimore | BWI | ||
| Washington | Washington | IAD, DCA | |
| Baltimore | BWI | MARC trains and Amtrak trains run from BWI to Washington Union Station | |
| Philadelphia | PHL |
Southeast USA
| Region | City | Airport(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | Miami | MIA | Florida Tri Rail has stops for each of these 3 airports |
| Fort Lauderdale | FLL | ||
| West Palm Beach | PBI | ||
| Charlotte | Charlotte | CLT | |
| Greenville Spartanburg | GSP | ||
| Nashville | Nashville | BNA | |
| Chattanooga | CHA | ||
| New Orleans | New Orleans | MSY | |
| Baton Rouge | BTR | ||
| Tampa / Central Florida | Tampa | TPA | |
| Sarasota | SRQ | ||
| Orlando | MCO | ||
| Orlando | Orlando | MCO | |
| Tampa | TPA | ||
| Daytona | DAB | ||
| Melbourne | MLB |
Midwest USA
| Region | City | Airport(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Chicago | ORD, MDW | |
| Milwaukee | MKE | Amtrak trains run from MKE airport to Chicago | |
| Detroit / Windsor | Detroit | DTW | |
| Windsor | YQG | ||
| Cleveland | CLE | ||
| Cleveland | Cleveland | CLE | |
| Pittsburgh | PIT | ||
| Detroit | DTW | ||
| Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | PIT | |
| Cleveland | CLE | ||
| Indianapolis / Cincinatti | Indianapolis | IND | |
| Cincinatti | CVG | ||
| Dayton | DAY | ||
| Columbus | CMH | ||
| Lousiville | SDF |
Southern USA
| Region | Airport City | Airport(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin / San Antonio | Austin | AUS | |
| San Antionia | SAT | ||
| New Mexico | Albequerque | ABQ | |
| Santa Fe | SAF |
Western USA
| Region | Airport City | Airport(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco / Bay area | San Francisco | SFO | |
| San Jose | SJC | Caltrain trains run from SJC (Santa Clara Stn) to the Bay area | |
| Oakland | OAK | BART trains run from OAK to the Bay area | |
| Monterey | MRY | ||
| Sacramento | SMF | ||
| Los Angeles / Southern California | Los Angeles | LAX | |
| Burbank | BUR | Metrolink and Amtrak trains connect BUR Airport and Southern California | |
| Ontario | ONT | ||
| Santa Barbara | SBA | ||
| Long Beach | LGB | ||
| Santa Ana | SNA | ||
| San Diego | SAN | ||
| Carlsbad | CLD | ||
| Denver | Denver | DEN | |
| Vail | EGE | ||
| Seattle | Seattle | SEA | |
| Vancouver | YVR | See this article for best ways between SEA and Vancouver | |
| Victoria | YYJ |
