Students are struggling to make it home for the holiday break, and the airlines are only making it more difficult

Canada had roughly 1.4 million students attend college or university in 2022, and most of these students needed to leave their hometowns to attend the institutions they want. On top of that, for many it is not just a short road trip, it’s flying to the institution’s city, often taking two or more flights. 

Popular Canadian airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet consistently have flyers, but the holiday season is particularly busy for these companies because of the influx of students flying home to see their friends and families for the holidays. 

With an increase in customers comes and an increase in delays and issues, too. 

The biggest problem for students flying home for the break is the price of flights. With the extremely high demand for flights home for Christmas, it gives the companies more power to raise prices to the point where students consider either not going home for the holidays or think of other ways to obtain the thousands it costs some to get home. 

“With rent prices being so high and school tuition prices being what they are, buying a plane ticket to go see my family is not as convenient as it used to be. I am borderline having to take out a small loan just to see my family and also keep myself afloat and make a living here in Victoria, B.C.,” says Trenten Armstrong, student at Camosun College. 

Armstrong not only had issues with the price of his flight home, but also in the quality of baggage checking service from WestJet that could have heartbreaking consequences for Christmas day. 

“It saddens me to know that WestJet has lost my luggage which included all my personal belongings that I brought on this trip, including gifts that I got for my siblings, and if I don’t get these gifts back my siblings cannot receive their Christmas gifts this year, which is quite unfortunate,” says Armstrong. 

Even though there are now more flights than ever taking to the skies, the holiday season remains the hardest to fly during because of the prices, the winter conditions, the crowded airports, and the inconsistent customer service. 

To make matters worse, even once the flight is paid for, there have been a historic number of flight cancelations and delays due to subpar weather conditions. Meaning that countless students will pay up to thousands of dollars to see their families for the break, then all a suddenly their flight is canceled, and they are forced to wait days for the next available flight. 

Fortunately for some, the money was well spent as they made it home for the holidays ahead of Christmas Eve. 

“I’m happy I get to be home to visit all my family, because I don’t live close to any of my family anymore, so I’m very thankful I get to be home to visit all my family now,” says Sydney Macdonald, first year student at University of Victoria.