Flying to Japan via Air Canada?

Hi all, I'll be moving to Japan shortly and I'm trying to find a good deal flying over there.

I've looked around and I see I can get a one way ticket from DFW to Narita, with a 2hr layover in Toronto, for around $883.

Thing is I need to be there by 4PM August 22nd, so I figure this is a good deal. It's with Air Canada though. American Airlines charges the same price, but has me on a 14hr delay in Toronto while I connect to Air Canada and it puts me there a day later...that won't do.

Has anyone traveled Air Canada? How good is the service? Are they reliable?

I'm still doing some research on them and the only articles I've come across about them are dated back in the year 2000, so it really has no relevance to today.

 

What's the price flying direct from DFW via AA. DFW is AA's hub... that flight (while brutal) is liveable, and there's two of them. You might get a voucher if you agree to get bumped or something.

 

As a Canuck, I have nothing good to say about Air Canada. Any other airline kicks it's butt with the exception of United.

It'll get you there but it's certainly not my first choice when it comes to flying.

 

Thanks guys for the responses!

The direct flight with AA out of DFW costs almost $2200 right now...one way. That's no layovers or anything. I can afford it, but it won't leave me much spending money in Japan (I have to wait a month before I get paid over there for my new job) so I'm trying to balance everything right now.

A friend of mine is in Korea right now and she used Singapore Air and said it was great. She stopped in San Fran. for a little while and then on to Seoul. I'm doing a bit more research into them right now so hopefully that will pan out.

 

You might want to check return tickets as well as sometimes they can be cheaper then one way tickets.

I did a couple of searches and the other option is take a AA connecting flight and then the JAL flight to japan. Thats like $1157 on expedia.

 

Indeed, Japan just requires you to have a passport valid for the duration of your stay so even if you don't use the other half of the ticket it will still generally be cheaper, unlike the US which requires a ticket to leave america...

 

So if I book a two-way flight it will be cheaper than a one-way? I plan on staying in Japan a good while, so the return flight would be pretty useless unless it extends a couple years (very doubtful).

The expeida deal sounds good, so I may look into that. Still trying to even figure out the singaporair.com website, it isn't very user friendly, but I hear their staff are very helpful over the phone.

 

It *might* be cheaper. You just have to check. Sometimes it's nice to have an open return ticket in case something comes up. Do you have your Visa sorted out already? Working holiday?

 

I'll be getting my visa back any day now, working visa for at least a year. I'll make sure I have that in hand and contacting my employer before I make any booking decisions.

 

I flew Canada Air to Japan 2 yrs ago. Not my choice, but thats what my frequent flyer miles got me. The plane I was on had pretty comfortable seats, but no personal tvs like on singapore air and just about every other airline making a large trip like that. They played a bunch of weird british or canadian films I never heard of on the way over. If you go, bring a dvd player or ipod, otherwise youll be bored to death. Ah, and as far as the food goes it all sucked -- if you choose them dont pick the salmon dinner >_<

 

Found a good deal. DFW direct to Narita for only $605, with fees and taxes = $880...not too shabby.

 

Which toilet are you sitting in?

That's a pretty stellar deal. I paid $400 for my son to sit on my lap on the same flight.

 

Haven't checked yet. Maybe I actually get to ride with my luggage! lol

Funny thing is...it's an AA flight too