Feeding frenzy

One of the things I forgot to mention because of curling was a feeding frenzy that happened up here on Friday. No, it wasn't sharks breaking through the ice out in Frobisher Bay and eating snowmobiles (but that would be awesome). It was a massive, one day seat sale.

I understand seat sales happen all the time, but not one like this. For one day you could buy airplane tickets Iqaluit-Ottawa return for a little under $700. Understand I've been here since 2005 and I can't recall ever seeing plane tickets that cheap, even if there were a ton of conditions on the tickets, such they had to be used by the end of August and good luck trying to switch dates without a ton of penalties.

They were $700 tickets. So the frenzy started slow, but escalated quickly. I can't speak for the level of productivity in all offices around Iqaluit, but I talked to a few people this weekend, and if they didn't spend some time trying to get the tickets, then they were managers of people coming into the office desperately trying to get time off this summer so they could take advantage of the tickets.

I can't be certain, but I think Canadian North started all of this in the morning, but First Air and Air Canada quickly joined in. I also heard a rumour this weekend that this was done because there's the possibility of WestJet coming to Iqaluit as well. Pure rumour, by the way. No basis in fact and I have no idea where on Earth they would go. There's so little space in Iqaluit's airport that Air Canada is actually using Canadian North's counter space for now.

So you may ask how many tickets Cathy and I bought during this feeding frenzy?

None.

I assure you, I was looking good and hard at them on Friday. However, we simply can't manage it. We already have two trips out between now and the end of August and the tickets are committed. We fly out in a little more than a week to go to Florida for Easter. Cathy's parents are renting a condo, so we're going to go and crash with them while we're there. We booked the tickets on points, so that's that.

We're also hoping to get out in early July to go and see U2 in Toronto, plus do our sea lift resupply. However, we have tickets for that as well. And I suppose we could have booked them and just popped out for one last weekend towards the end of summer. However, that's still $1400 for a weekend out and our finances are still not in such great shape after the house and extended unemployment that we can afford that.

So while the rest of Iqaluit was in the middle of the feeding frenzy we....did....nothing. Boy, that hurt. Right decision, but still pretty hard to pass up a deal like that.

Ah well, on the upside we'll be in Florida in less than two weeks. I still have to decide if I want to go and see Ottawa vs. Tampa Bay in hockey or Rays vs Yankees. I'm leaning towards the later. A hockey game between two mediocre teams or a chance to watch teams that have been in the world series the past two years. I think I know which way I lean.

Last Five
1. Undercover of the night - Rolling Stones
2. 60 feet tall - The Dead Weather
3. Maybe California - Tori Amos
4. Blue skies over bad lands (live) - Matthew Good
5. Handshake the gangster - Hey Rosetta!