The festive season is drawing near and many of us are excited to share some precious moments with friends and family. If your holiday plans include flying with Pacific Coastal Airlines we’re happy to offer you some helpful advice to make your holiday travel the best it can be.

Book Early

This is a busy time for travel. High demand can result in sold out flights during the holiday season. With Christmas Day landing on Monday this year we expect the two busiest travel days will be Friday, December 22 and Saturday, December 23. Increased demand for seats also drives up fare prices. With these realities in mind we suggest you book your holiday flight as far ahead of time as possible and on days that are not likely to be as busy. In doing so you will have the best opportunity to access lower fare prices and avoid the disappointment of sold out flights.

Choose The Right Fare

We have a range of fare products with unique features and benefits designed to meet your specific travel needs. Bravo, our most affordable fare, has more restrictions including change and cancellation fees. Classic is our mid-range fare class, and our premium fare product Encore offers more free checked baggage and no cancellation or change fees. It’s important to understand the differences between each of the Fare classes and to select a product that is best for you. Here’s our Fare Comparison Chart

Student Discount

Full-time post-secondary school students with the International Student ID Card (ISIC) are entitled to fare discounts. It’s easy to register and there are no blackout periods so these discounts apply to holiday travel as well. More Information

Always Check Your Confirmation
Whether you book your flight from our website, through our call centre, or with your travel agent, always check your confirmation to ensure that your personal and contact information and your flight details are accurate. If you encounter an error, contact your travel agent or a Pacific Coastal Airlines Customer Service Agent at 1-800-663-2872 immediately.

Arrive Early

Given that this is the busiest time of the year for air travel you can bet that it is likely to take you longer to get checked in and through security, especially during peak travel times. We always recommend that you arrive at the airport at least one hour ahead of your flight time, but we suggest a minimum of ninety minutes during the holiday season. At Pacific Coastal we ask that you are checked in no later than 20 minutes prior to boarding time, and you are required to be at the gate no later than 15 minutes prior to boarding.

Checked Baggage
Many of our passengers will be carrying gifts to or from their destinations this holiday season. This means heavier bags and more checked items. As noted above, the features and benefits of our Fare Classes allow you the flexibility to choose a Fare that suits your needs, especially if you are planning to travel with checked bags:
  • There is no free checked baggage included with the purchase of the lowest-priced fare (Bravo);
  • Customers will receive a first checked bag for free with the purchase of the mid-range Classic Fare;
  • The Encore fare provides customers with their first two checked bags for free.
Carry On Baggage
We recently increased our carry on baggage limits to a total of 44 pounds within the following guidelines:
Pacific Coastal Airline’s carry-on/valet baggage allowance is limited to two pieces: one (1) Standard Article (such as a carry-on bag/roller) and one (1) personal item (such as larger purse, laptop bag, diaper bag).
Max Dimensions and Weights:
Maximum Size Maximum Weight
1 Standard Article 9″ x 15.5″ x 21.5″
(23cm x 40cm x 55cm)		 22lbs
10kgs
1 Personal Article 6″ x 13″ x 17″
(16cm x 33cm x 43cm)		 22lbs
10kgs

Wrapped Christmas Gifts
If you intend on playing Santa Clause and distributing gifts to friends and family at your destination or are bringing gifts back with you there are some things you need to know. If are carrying wrapped items, put them in your checked bags and not in your carry on bag because wrapped gifts are likely to be opened by officials as you go through security. So, if you don’t want that to happen, you are better to keep them unwrapped. If you are determined to deliver wrapped gifts then bring pre-cut wrapping paper, ribbon, and scotch tape with you and wrap them when you get there.


Christmas Cargo
If you’re not going to make it home to visit friends and family this year and are sending them a gift you may be interested to know that we ship cargo too! Right now our annual Rudolph Cargo sale lets you ship your Christmas gift now until December 31, 2017 for as low as $15.00 including GST (conditions apply). We’re happy to play Santa on your behalf.  More Information.

Liquids
Wine, beer, and other spirits are common Christmas gifts. If you are traveling with these items you need to ensure that they are adequately packed and stored in you checked baggage. Don’t forget to check that these are not accidentally left in your carry on bag as you will end up leaving that expensive bottle of Champagne behind at security!

Flight Status Updates
We work hard to get our passengers to their final destination on time. While delays and cancellations can happen at any time, inclement weather often leads to increased delays or cancellations of flights during the winter months in British Columbia. You can get up-to-date information on your flight at any time with our Flight Status Application on our website at pacificcoastal.com.

We look forward to helping you have the best holiday ever!