Seattle → Vancouver flights

Budget $120, but act fast — fares spike to $169 without warning

Key takeaways

• Median fare is $120, but half of observed fares fell between $98 and $147 (p25–p75 interquartile range).
• The floor is $98 — that's the bottom quartile threshold, meaning roughly a quarter of snapshots hit this level or below.
• Fares can reach $169 at the high end, a 72% spread from low to high, signaling meaningful volatility on this short-haul route.
• 17 daily snapshots underpin this analysis — a moderately thin sample, so treat ranges as directional guidance rather than certainties.
• At under 150 miles, this corridor also has competitive ground and ferry alternatives that can pressure air fares downward in shoulder periods.

30-day price trend

See full numbers and stats on the SEA → YVR price history page.

The full picture

Seattle to Vancouver is one of North America's shortest international hops — barely 130 miles — yet airfare data from 17 daily snapshots shows a surprisingly wide price band. The median sits at $120, but the 72% spread between the observed low ($98) and high ($169) tells you this is not a set-it-and-forget-it route. A quarter of fares came in at or below $98, which is the realistic target for a patient, flexible traveler. The p75 of $147 is a reasonable ceiling to set as a mental budget; paying above that means you're in the more expensive quartile and should probably hold or reconsider timing.

Because this is a short-haul international segment, load factors tend to swing quickly — carriers don't need to discount far in advance to fill a 1–2 hour flight. That means last-minute deals can appear, but so can last-minute surges. The data doesn't reveal a clean booking-window curve (the sample of 17 days is too thin for that), but the general principle for routes this short is to monitor fares 3–6 weeks out and set a price alert targeting the $98–$110 range. If you see a fare near the floor, book it; the ceiling of $169 is only one demand spike away.

No dominant carrier pattern is visible in this dataset, so we can't responsibly steer you toward a specific airline. One honest caveat: with only 17 snapshots, these figures are directional, not definitive. Seasonal demand — summer festivals in Vancouver, holiday weekends, Canadian statutory holidays — can compress the low end of the range significantly. Always cross-check fares against ground transport options (Amtrak Cascades, BoltBus, or the BC Ferries connector), which frequently undercut even the $98 air floor once baggage fees are added.

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