And that's only because we're counting airport layovers. I once visited LAX on my way to Canada, and then San Fransisco on my way back fom Canada, so although they were a few weeks apart, it was part of the one trip. More recent trip to Canada we avoided US customs and immigration by passing through New Zealand.
How does that work? Is there really a direct flight to Canada from New Zealand but not one from Sydney or Melbourne?
Yeah, the last trip, we flew direct Melbourne to LA and on the return journey, Vancouver to San Fran to Sydney to Melbourne. The return leg was a longer flight that cost more, but the travel agent advised that since we weren't getting off the plane in San Fran, we would avoid US Customs. Unfortunately, no one gave that memo to US Border Security, so we ended up paying more in order to have a longer flight. Needless to say, we were not happy with the travel agent.
I think although Qantas flies to Vancouver, all of their flights stop in at least one US city. That's why we flew Air New Zealand (and were very happy with the service). On a future trip, we may fly via Tokyo, and spend some time holidaying in Japan on the way. I think I heard that Air New Zealand uses their direct flight as a selling point for their direct to Vancouver flight.
