Any Americans choose to use Vancouver BC Airport as flight departure and re-entry?

We did look at taking the train, but the time tables don't match without going the day before, which means missing another day of work. Our flight doesn't leave until 3:45PM, so we figure we will get up super early and head out. We live about 5 hours from the Airport.

We are flying on Delta, and connecting through Amsterdam.

My itinerary says both. ?

Okay good to know. Thanks George. I'm sure as I get closer and check flight times I would have figured that out. haha. :)

Yes, a couple of weeks ago we did Vancouver BC to London. Air Canada. Vancouver is a nice airport.

Taralnathan: George's point is important so you can actually find your flight. Even though it's booked through Delta, you need to go to the check-in counter of the airline actually operating your flight. I've repeatedly seen people go to the wrong terminal because of this confusion, and waste a lot of time.

What you have is called a "code-share." One airline actually operates the flight, but it has multiple flight numbers on multiple airlines. If a flight number is above 2000, it's almost certainly a code-share operated by another airline. With increased consolidation of airlines and the emergence of global alliances, this is happening more and more. So, a flight from Rome to Amsterdam may have an Alitalia number, a KLM number, and a Delta number (maybe others too). It may actually be operated by KLM or by Alitalia. Again, in Rome, you need to go to the check-in area for the carrier actually operating the flight.

We also live in Washington State (60 min south of the Peach Arch crossing) and are doing exactly the same thing in Sept. Flying round trip non-stop from Vancouver to London on Air Canada. The savings over using Seattle Tacoma was significant - over $800. Here's a link for one of the off-airport parking sites with shuttle service to the airport. If you go online and put in your dates, you can print a discount coupon that will save quite a bit of money over their standard prices.

https://www.parknfly.ca/location/vancouver-airport-parking.aspx

The train times didn't work for us nor did the Quick Shuttle that goes between Vancouver and many points along the I-5 corridor. It's an easy drive and we are traveling mid-week both directions so the border crossing should be smooth.

Happy travels!

Thanks Mary! We are using the same park-n-fly location. :) We have to wait for September for our dates to open for reservations. Our drive is a little longer than yours (5 hours!) But even if you add the price of gas and parking in long term parking we are saving more than $500 - so it was worth it for us. Please post here again once you take your trip if you have any issues or advice! Enjoy your trip!

Have you considered taking the Bolt bus between Seattle & Vancouver? They have multiple buses a day that depart from the International district in downtown Seattle.

We live in the Detroit area and plan a trip to Europe in October. We found that flying through Canada can be quite less expensive. I think we are saving about $400 each by flying out of Toronto versus flying out of Detroit or even New York. Like you, the problem is getting the 250 miles from Detroit to Toronto. We are using our frequent flyer points to get to Toronto and back. If you live anywhere near the Canadian border, it is worthwhile to consider flying through Canada. The current US-Canada exchange rate appears to make buying your tickets in Canada a less expensive proposition.

I would definitely recommend the BoltBus based on how cheap and easy it is, but only if you have reliable transportation to YVR from the BoltBus drop-off.

Paul: No problem connecting from Detroit into Air Canada flights. You could just hop across the border to Windsor's airport and catch a connecting flight to Toronto Pearson International. It would save four hours driving each way, and the cost of gas (especially with a Canadian fill-up) might go a long way to cover the extra flight, especially since a feeder ticket sold as part of the itinerary to Italy might be cheaper than buying the Windsor-Toronto ticket separately. There won't be any time or effort spent finding parking at the Windsor airport, just walk about 50 yards to the terminal from the lot.
It's one of the mysteries of air travel how trans-Atlantic flights ex-Canada are cheaper than from Detroit and elsewhere in the midwest, but it has been that way for at least half a year, not even considering the premium on your US money.