Toronto is a pleasant place for a North American city break and a gateway to other attractions such as Niagara Falls. Toronto’s Pearson International (YYZ) is the country’s main airport hub.

Flight time between London and Toronto (3,540 miles) takes about 8 hours westbound and 7 hours on the return leg.

Fares – Flight prices for London-Toronto tend to be higher than the more competitive London-New York route of similar distance. Fares are highest in July and August and during the Christmas/New Year period.

We will state once again that flight costs have been higher this year than previous and look set to stay firm. Below is a rough guideline to “value” for the route in economy class ex-London:

Excellent Deal – under £300
Good Deal – £300-£400
Average -  £400-£600
Expensive – £600-£800
Ouch – Over £800

Standard business class fares are between £1,800 and £2,800, with anything under £1,500 seen as a good deal.

Exchange Rate – being a commodity currency, the Canadian dollar has fared well of late reaching parity with the US dollar. With the current sterling exchange rate of around $1.60 CAD, UK residents will find it more expensive to visit the country than the last few years (in 2007, £1 was $2.30 CAD). Conversely, Canadians coming to the UK will have more purchasing power.

The following airlines fly non-stop between London and Toronto:

Air Canada – Star Alliance carrier flies 4x daily between London Heathrow LHR and Toronto using Boeing 767-300ERs and Airbus A330-300s. Economy seat pitch is 32″, whilst new “Executive First Suites” (business class) have a 1-1-1 herringbone arrangement. Economy passengers are able to purchase add-ons such as extra legroom seating ($50 CAD) or Maple Leaf lounge access (from $55 CAD).

British Airways – The Oneworld airline has 2 daily departures to Toronto from LHR using a Boeing 767 and 777. One good feature of BA’s booking engine is the option of mixed class fares – so you could choose economy or premium economy on the outbound day flight and Club World (business class) on the return overnight flight. BA charges extra for assigning seats before check-in.

Air Transat – Flies 2x weekly from London Gatwick to Toronto. Uses an older series Airbus A310. Codeshare partner Thomas Cook Airlines also flies the route weekly using an Airbus A330. Air Transat is more of a budget airline so prices care often reasonable but standards can vary. “Club Class” – premium economy seats of 37″ pitch – is available for an extra supplement.

Note, if travelling in economy class and you have a Priority Pass card then you will have access to various lounges at YYZ including the KLM Crown lounge or AA Admirals Club, both at Terminal 3.

Other airlines serving London-Toronto

A number of major US and European airlines can also get you between London and Toronto via a connecting hub. Euro airlines Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Alitalia serve both cities.

US carriers include United-Continental, Delta, US Airways and American Airlines – but note this means the hassle of clearing US customs.

An interesting option if you don’t mind visiting the US and wish to add a stopover in New York is to book a London-NYC return (generally cheaper) – and then add a NYC-Toronto return (from £170) with Porter Airlines, a superb regional Canadian carrier which flies into Toronto City airport (YTZ), literally a short-hop from downtown. Porter flies 11x daily between Newark and Toronto using Bombardier Q400 turboprops and is renowned for great service.

Porter also serves Chicago, Boston, Montreal and other eastern Canadian cities.