Because the second-largest nation on this planet, one might spend a lifetime exploring Canada and nonetheless have lots left to see.

From the coastal rainforests of British Columbia to the countless summer season nights and pristine fjords of Canada’s north, from the rugged peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the majestic icebergs floating by the coast of Newfoundland – adventures abound for many who search them.

Accessing distant locations is usually a troublesome job, particularly as main airways might not cater to very distant locations. In Canada, Air Creebec, Calm Air, Canadian North, and PAL Airways are 4 airways that serve Northern and distant communities – and fortuitously, they’re additionally Aeroplan companions.

As these airways fly to very distant places that value a small fortune to journey to, you’re more likely to get vital worth through the use of your Aeroplan factors fairly than reserving a money fare. 

1. Canadian North

Canadian North connects 25 communities within the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Nunavik (Northern Quebec) with a number of territorial and provincial hubs. The Inuit-owned airline is headquartered in Kanata, Ontario (simply outdoors of Ottawa), and its fleet consists of Boeing 737 and ATR 42 turboprop plane.

As depicted within the above route map, passengers can entry Canadian North’s flight community in Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Earlier this 12 months, Canadian North additionally launched the Arctic Capital Specific route, in addition to flights to Calgary from Yellowknife.

It’s attainable to mix a reservation with Air Canada with a Canadian North flight, which is a priceless possibility for many who don’t reside in any of the provincial hubs that the airline serves.

In the event you’re a income passenger, you’ll be able to earn Aeroplan factors, however not Standing Qualifying Miles, on Canadian North-operated flights. The airline additionally has an in-house loyalty program referred to as Aurora Rewards, and curiously, you’ll be able to double-dip and earn each Aeroplan and Aurora Rewards factors on paid bookings. 

Canadian North can also be a redemption associate with Aeroplan. You may seek for and e book award house on the Aeroplan web site. Or, you’ll be able to seek for availability one week at a time utilizing ExpertFlyer.

As flight schedules can contain in a single day stops that exceed the standard 12-hour layover rule for home bookings, you might have so as to add a stopover to make the itinerary legitimate.

Redemptions with Canadian North are topic to the “Inside North America” part of the Aeroplan Flight Reward Chart. Nevertheless, Aeroplan has indicated that regional airways might be topic to their very own pricing chart in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later, so it’s seemingly worthwhile to e book sooner fairly than later.

For instance, a one-way flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit clocks in at 1,305 miles, putting it within the second distance band on the Inside North America chart. Which means that a one-way flight in financial system ought to value 10,000 Aeroplan factors.

The bottom value for a money ticket on this identical flight costs out at $566, which after taking into consideration the $87 in taxes and costs, would equate to a worth of round 4.8 cents per level. That is effectively above our present valuation of Aeroplan factors at 2.1 cents per level.

It’s additionally attainable to mix Air Canada or different associate airways with Canadian North proper on the Aeroplan search engine. In the event you’re connecting from one other Canadian metropolis that Canadian North doesn’t serve, it’s going to present within the search outcomes and might be topic to dynamic pricing.

If there’s not an Air Canada flight in your itinerary, the associated fee received’t be topic to dynamic pricing, as you’d be flying with associate airways solely.

There are lots of alternatives to discover distant locations with Canadian North. And since money costs for these flights are normally fairly excessive, you’ll be able to stand to get glorious worth from an Aeroplan redemption. 

2. Calm Air

Calm Air operates flights inside and between Manitoba and Nunavut, with hubs in Winnipeg and Rankin Inlet. The airline has a fleet of ATR 42 and ATR 72 turboprop plane, and in addition has entry to a Canadian North Boeing 737, which it makes use of to fly between Winnipeg and Rankin Inlet.

Calm Air is a redemption associate with each Aeroplan and Air Miles. In contrast to with Canadian North, you can’t earn miles from paid Calm Air flights; nevertheless, you’ll be able to earn factors by means of an in-house program referred to as Calm Rewards.

Sadly, Calm Air redemptions can’t be mixed with any Air Canada flights, so that you’ll need to do two separate redemptions if you must get to any of the Calm Air locations.

Calm Air handles all inquiries for Aeroplan and Air Miles redemptions. To examine for award availability, you’ll have to lookup your required flights after which name the Calm Air contact centre to inquire about award house. In my expertise, the brokers are pleasant and educated, with a minimal wait time.

After getting discovered award house, Calm Air processes the whole lot from their finish, which means that you simply received’t be subjected to the dulcet tones of Aeroplan’s maintain music for as soon as. 😉

One-way flights on all of Calm Air’s community value 7,500 Aeroplan factors plus taxes and costs. You may calculate the approximate taxes and costs by heading to Calm Air’s web site, loading up your flights, after which including all charges minus the bottom fare.

Within the under instance of a Winnipeg–Churchill dummy search, we will see that an Aeroplan redemption on the identical route would value 15,000 Aeroplan factors plus round $322.02 in taxes and costs. This nonetheless gives glorious worth to your Aeroplan factors, understanding to effectively over 10 cents per level.

Except you have got private or familial connections to any of Calm Air’s locations, the most probably sweet-spot right here is reserving to Churchill, Manitoba.

Suppose you reside in Toronto and need to take a week-long journey to Churchill to catch a glimpse of the polar bears, kayak with beluga whales, and soak within the aurora borealis.

A low value for a round-trip reserving between Toronto and Winnipeg prices round $200 with Air Canada, and the bottom value to your flights between Winnipeg and Churchill is $1,747 (these flights can go for a lot, a lot larger), for a grand complete of $1,947. 

For context, the prepare between Winnipeg and Churchill, which takes nearly two days every manner, prices between $400–500 for an upright seat, or round $900 for a mattress. 

A great deal for a round-trip ticket from Toronto to Winnipeg prices round 20,000 Aeroplan factors plus round $95 in taxes and costs.

A round-trip Aeroplan redemption with Calm Air from Winnipeg to Churchill would value a further 15,000 Aeroplan factors plus round $330 in taxes and costs. 

So, for a complete value of 35,000 Aeroplan factors and $425, you’re getting a really robust 4.3cpp in worth. The worth could be even larger when you deliberate your journey throughout peak vacationer season, because the money value of flights to/from Churchill could be a lot larger.

In both case, the cash saved through the use of factors will be put to good use paying for lodging, excursions, and having a satisfying once-in-a-lifetime expertise.

One factor to notice is that Calm Air has a distinct cancellation coverage for Aeroplan redemption flights. If you must cancel, you’ll be able to have your factors redeposited for a charge of $78.75 per passenger. Sadly, the taxes and costs on the redemption are non-refundable, so it’s possible you’ll be out a good bit of cash in case your plans change.

3. Air Creebec

Air Creebec is a regional airline based mostly in Val d’Or, Quebec. The airline serves 16 locations in Quebec and Ontario, situated primarily alongside the shores of James Bay. Its fleet of Hawkers and Sprint-8s flies out of hubs in Timmins, Val d’Or, and Montreal. 

Air Creebec is each an incomes and redemption associate with Aeroplan. Just like Canadian North, you’ll be able to mix Air Canada flights on the identical redemption, however you’ll need to name Aeroplan to e book, as Air Creebec’s stock isn’t loaded on the Aeroplan search engine but.

As all of Air Creebec’s locations are inside Quebec and Ontario, all flights inside their community would measure lower than 1,500 miles. Which means that you’ll pay wherever from 6,000–10,000 Aeroplan factors for a one-way flight.

In the event you mix these flights with a connecting flight with Air Canada, you’ll be topic to dynamic pricing and to the opposite distance bands, relying on how far you fly.

Whereas the locations that Air Creebec serves might not be thought-about typical vacation locations, you could find loads of inspiration on the airline’s web site and the area’s tourism web site.

There are many outdoor-oriented adventures, immersive cultural experiences, and stays in pristine pure areas at your disposal. Typically, it’s good to do a digital detox, and staying in a cabin on a distant lake would match that invoice completely.