The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
When it comes to Canadian airlines, there are plenty to choose from, and in recent years we've also seen the rise of budget airlines like Lynx, Flair, and Play.
Traditional carriers like Air Canada, the go-to airline for many Canadians, have been put to the test next to these cheaper options — leaving travellers wondering what's actually worth their money.
To help figure out what the best airline in Canada really is, we've put together a ranking system for Narcity employees to rate the carriers they've recently flown with.*
We asked our inside travellers to score the airlines across the following five categories, using a one-to-five scale: Food & Drink, Price, Cleanliness, Entertainment, and Customer Service. Each passenger also gave an overall score, rating their experience as a whole.
The result? An honest ranking of some of Canada's biggest, cheapest, and best airlines.
Of course, these ratings are subjective and are based on each individual traveller's own preferences and experiences. And, while some are willing to sacrifice the little luxuries to save money, others prefer to prioritize comfort over cost.
Air Canada
Food & Drink: 4/5 Okay, it's not a five-star meal, but considering it's plane food, I actually don't mind Air Canada's options. On a recent international flight, I was happily surprised digging into my omelette and bread. The airline also has some decent snacks to choose from, and healthier options too. I'm a somewhat picky eater, and have always been able to find something on board if I'm hungry.
I have noticed on recent domestic flights, the carrier didn't give out any complimentary snacks, which knocks it down a point in my books. On a six hour flight though, I could really use that little pack of pretzels.
Price: 3/5 Flying is wildly expensive, which is why so many people (including myself) are thrilled to see budget airlines popping up in Canada. Air Canada has taken a good chunk of my money over the years, with $2,000 Europe trip tickets and equally as expensive domestic ones.
Lately Air Canada has offered some cheaper routes (I took a recent trip from Vancouver to Halifax for only $350 round trip), but I still don't think it's reliably affordable by any means.
The saving grace for Air Canada is its points system, which does let me rack up travel savings with my Aeroplan account.
Cleanliness: 4/5 Air Canada is pretty standard when it comes to cleanliness, in my opinion. I'm not leaving the Lysol wipes behind or anything, but I've never been truly grossed out by something on their planes. That's a win in my books!
Entertainment: 5/5 I am actually a huge fan of Air Canada's movies selection, to the point that on my last trip I didn't even download anything to my phone. It has a good range of newer movies and some classics, as well as some solid TV show options too. I would go so far to say that it's the best in-flight entertainment I've experienced.
Customer service: 2/5 This is where the airline really falls short, I think. Dealing with Air Canada when I have to change my flight, or I get delayed, has risen my baseline cortisol levels. Employees are usually friendly and kind, but the company makes it really hard for them to actually help customers, in my experience.
I had a cancelled flight last year that left me stuck in Montreal, where I was connecting through. The cancellation was due to staffing issues and after waiting hours in line to get rebooked and a hotel voucher, I was left with no options aside from a flight 24 hours later. Unfortunately, this is a pretty common occurrence and not my only experience like this with this airline.
Average rating: 3.6/5 Air Canada is a go-to for many Canadians, and has been for a long time. Because of this, the airline has a level of reliability, so I still fly with Air Canada a lot. It's not without its issues though, and almost everyone I know has at least one Air Canada horror story to share.
Porter Airlines
Food & Drink - 5/5 Free wine and beer on every flight? That deserves a high score. Porter Airlines also have things you can buy on board, like wellness shots, snacks, and meals for longer flights. They have surprisingly healthy options on some of their flights too, which is a nice plus.
Price: 4/5In my experience, Porter kind of flys under the radar. It's not really top of mind for me, but when I'm looking for cheap flights it usually pops up on my search. You can get pretty affordable flights, and I find it a good cheap option for domestic trips. When I lived in Ottawa, I would often fly home to New Brunswick with the airline, and it usually had the cheapest flight options.
Cleanliness: 5/5 Every time I've flown with Porter I've been greeted with clean seats and a tidy area. Even the bathrooms are well kept on the planes in my experience, which is a rare perk.
Entertainment: 2/5 On some Porter planes you can get free Wi-Fi and it's possible to stream their library of movies and TV series. However, there are no devices on board to watch, so you'll have to use your own. This is somewhat inconvenient because you're not guaranteed it on every flight and if I'm having to watch on my phone — I might as well have downloaded something myself before flying.
Customer service: 4/5 I have dealt with delays and some long wait times with Porter, but the majority of my flights have been seamless. Plus, the flight attendants are always extremely friendly.
Average rating: 4/5 Porter is kind of an underdog in my books. It's definitely worth looking into for your next vacation. Even though it doesn't have a ton of flight routes, I've had great experiences and it's worth the negatives for the prices you can get.
Play Airlines
Food & Drink - 4/5 One of our Narcity Travel Creators, Katherine, was able to test out Canada's new low cost airline, Play, and was happy with all of the onboard treats. The menu had snacks, small hot bites, beverages, larger hot items, and alcohol — but all at a cost. Katherine did say that "the prices seemed pretty fair, with drinks like tea, coffee and soda for about 3 euros, snacks 3 to 5 euros, and 9 euros for sandwiches and pizza."
Price: 4/5Playlives up to its low-cost name, and although it has limited flight routes from Canada right now, tickets do come cheap. The airline flies from Toronto and can take passengers as far as Europe for less than $600 round trip. Like other budget airlines though, if you go for anything beyond the base fare, the price tag goes up, and you'll have to pay extra for things like seat selection, checked luggage and more.
Cleanliness: 5/5 Katherine was happy to find a clean and comfy plane, with no evidence of the passengers that came before her. "As someone who is typically grossed out by public surfaces, I felt really at ease on this flight," she added.
Entertainment: 0/5 A common theme across budget airlines is the lack of entertainment, unfortunately. On a long-haul flight, it's rough to not have any movie selection. There's also no Wi-Fi on board, so say goodbye to streaming, too. The airline does have power outlets though, so at least you can stay charged up.
Customer service: 5/5 Travelling can be a headache, to say the least, but the Play airline staff come highly rated. Katherine says they were "friendly and personable," as well as "very attentive during the flight, coming around multiple times to ask if anyone needed anything and promptly getting rid of garbage or cleaning up after serving food and beverages."
Average rating: 3.6/5This airline still snagged a great score despite it's lack of rom-coms on board (which are key to a good flight, of course). Katherine said that the friendly staff, cheap tickets, and overall positive experience made up for its drawbacks, and she would fly with them again.
Swoop
Food & Drink - 3/5There are food and drink options on Swoop flights, but they do come at a price. Narcity team member Jackie Vandinther said that the airline's snack options had price tags that she thought were "way over for their value." While a bag of chips may cost you a pretty penny, she did say that the liquor prices seemed to be more standard.
Price: 4/5 The common warning for budget airlines remains true for Swoop — things can add up. While you're paying little up front, the add-ons for things like checked luggage can end up costing you a decent amount. Still though, Jackie says that her flight was cheap compared to the bigger airlines.
Cleanliness: 4/5 Going into an airplane bathroom is never an experience people look forward to, but Jackie said the cleanliness level on Swoop wasn't bad. Overall, she had no complaints.
Entertainment: 1/5 Charge up those devices, because Swoop doesn't have any onboard entertainment for you to enjoy.
Customer service: 3/5 Flying Swoop didn't come without its issues for Jackie. "On my last flight with Swoop from Winnipeg to Hamilton, I missed the check-in gate cutoff time by literally one minute. Agents had left their desks. And I was not able to board the flight. I had issues checking in online the night before, so I was really out of luck," she explained.
"I ended up having to rebook another flight the following day. I spent hours trying to reach customer service to rebook and finally got through to someone on the phone who ended up being able to refund the missed flight, which covered a portion of the new ticket I had to buy. It was a frustrating experience, but the customer service agent did end up somewhat resolving the issue, so it wasn't a total bust."
Average rating: 3/5 Sometimes cost comes before comfort. If you want a great deal and are willing to compromise on a few things, Swoop could be the airline for you. "However, the money you might save flying with them comes back in less support and protection than what you might receive by booking with a larger airline," Jackie warned.
Lynx
Food & Drink - 0/5 With any budget airline you should tamper your expectations, but you don't even get the option of buying food with Lynx. Narcity Creator Charlie Hart has put Lynx to the test a few times and was left hungry by the lack of food options. She does add that the airline makes it clear prior to the flight that you can't get food on board, so just make sure to fill up ahead of time.
Price: 3/5 Charlie said that while the airline is cheap, she thinks it's still overpriced given the lack of food, entrainment, and comfort. "You have to pay extra for basically everything from bringing on a carry-on bag, checking luggage and priority boarding," she said.
That base fare price might be tempting, but Charlie warned travellers that these extras can quickly add up.
Cleanliness: 5/5 Luckily, the budget airline didn't fall short in this regard. "Every time I've flown Lynx, the planes have been pretty clean and tidy. I guess as they don't serve food and drinks, there isn't as much mess to start off with," Charlie said.
Entertainment: 0/5 Another zilch for Lynx. Most people have phones or tablets to download the latest season of Love Is Blind for some quality entertainment to pass the time, but having no other options can be rough. If you forget to download something, there's no in-flight entertainment here.
Another snag? Charlie said that the airline doesn't have anywhere to charge devices, which is "kind of annoying, especially on a longer flight if you're relying on your phone for entertainment."
Customer service: 3/5 Due to the lack of food on the flight, you actually have pretty limited interactions with Lynx crew while travelling with them. Charlie did add though that all the flight attendants were nice every time she has flown with Lynx.
"You can change bookings online so there's no need to deal with customer services, but there's a charge and they also only refund you with a voucher so be warned," she added.
Average rating: 2.2/5 "Lynx is fine and gets you from A to B. For a short flight, if you can get away with just taking a personal item, it could be worth it. But I would probably skip for a longer flight because not having entertainment or food is not ideal," Charlie said.
It's not very high praise, but at least you know what to expect if you're opting for a cheaper airline.
Air Transat
Food & Drink - 5/5 It's rare for airplane food to get a five-star ranking, but Narcity Editor Stuart McGinn says Air Transat deserves the recognition. On a recent international flight he was served a full hot meal that was built into the ticket cost. He also got free wine with dinner, and free snacks throughout the flight. Even more surprisingly, he says it was all tasty.
"More food and drink was available for purchase on the menu, but what they gave us for free was more than enough," he added.
Price: 3/5 It's no discount airline, so you'll find a wide range of options with this carrier to fit different budgets. A plus is that it has lots of flight routes, so you can shop around a bit. There's no easy way to cut it though — most air travel is pricey.
Cleanliness: 3/5 While there was no alarming messes, it wasn't mind-blowingly sparkling either apparently. Stuart describes the cleanliness of his flight as "average."
Entertainment: 2/5 On Stuart's flight there was no Wi-Fi option, and while there was a screen on the seat, it had limited entertainment options. He ended up watching some movies on his phone, which leaves most people with a sore neck and wanting more.
Customer service: 5/5 Even on a full flight, Stuart said the flight attendants managed to stay on top of things. "I was impressed with how often the flight attendants were coming by to check and see if we were doing okay or wanted any more food or drinks. The service was great," he said.
Average rating: 3.6/5 Air Transat is likely to give you a solid experience, falling short in only a few categories. Stuart isn't fully loyal to the airline though, and says he "would still opt for the flight that is most convenient for me based on where and when I'm going."
Overall, it seems like the choice to fly budget really depends on whether you're prepared to sacrifice a few luxuries in the name of saving money. For example, if you can bid farewell to onboard entertainment, included checked bags, and free drinks and snacks, you could end up saving some money on your ticket.
However, if in-flight experiences like Wi-Fi, wine, hot meals and priority boarding are important to you, it might make more sense to stick with what you know and pick a traditional major airline, like Air Canada.
Happy travels!
*Narcity only included airlines that employees have recently flown with and that they were able to confidently rate based on the listed criteria.
The booking process on the Swoop website.
The Swoop check-in line at Pearson Airport in Toronto.
Boarding a Swoop flight to Cancun from Toronto.
Seats on a Swoop flight from Toronto to Cancun.
Seats on a Swoop flight from Toronto to Cancun.
Drinking prosecco on board a Swoop flight from Toronto to Cancun.
Swoop flight from Toronto preparing to land in Cancun, Mexico.