The City of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America is always an interesting attraction for those of us on the West Coast of North America. It’s situated relatively close to most major cities, with great air connections in and out of the city, and is perfect for a short adult getaway.

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Trip Introduction: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and the Aria Sky Suites via Alaska Airlines First Class

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Trip Planning:

MrsWT73 has a thing for heat. She loves the heat. Most of our previous travels have involved visiting hot places like the United Arab Emirates and South East Asia. Since you can’t be in Dubai or Bali at every opportunity, Las Vegas in August is the next best thing. Arizona or San Diego isn’t quite yet our thing, since only one of us just turned forty and I don’t quite have a walker just yet. 

For this trip, we joined the 5 million other Canadians who leave Canada every year for airports in close proximity to the Canada/USA International Border. We settled on Alaskan Air from Bellingham to Las Vegas. There is such a price disparity between the duopoly of Canadian carriers Westjet and Air Canada for the departures leaving from Canada that an Domestic First Class ticket in the USA, was almost the same price as a transborder economy ticket in faux Low Cost Carrier Air Canada Rouge, leaving from Canada. As a result, we ended up with a paid ticket credited to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.

Instead of our usual departure from Vancouver International Airport today, we opted for Alaska Airlines leaving from Bellingham. Since there was less incentive to stick on our usual Air Canada Altitude Top Tier Status and Aeroplan Frequent Flier Program thanks to years of devaluations, we opted for a cheaper experience with Alaska. 

All in, we purchased a round trip ticket confirmed in first class for $389 USD (at 150% Alaska Mileage Plan frequent flier miles earned), whereas the cheapest economy ticket leaving from Vancouver was $330 on the cramped high density economy seats on Air Canada Rouge (at 50% Aeroplan Frequent Flier miles earned). As an added bonus, the flight times were reasonable- no 6 AM departures or other odd ball times. 

We weren’t alone in doing this, as mentioned earlier approximately 5 million Canadians are leaving Canadian airports for cheaper fares in the USA with over 900,000 people alone from the Province of British Columbia in South West Canada.

What do you think of Las Vegas as a trip destination?

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