Heightened sanitation
Daily cleaning, installation of cabin HEPA filters on flights from San Francisco to Ottawa
Entry restrictions
Canada has restricted the entry of all foreign nationals. Travelers who are not Canadian citizens, permanent residents or people registered under the Indian Act may only enter Canada for essential purposes. Entrance will be denied to people traveling for tourism, sightseeing, recreation, entertainment, social visits or religious functions.
Canada has suspended all flights to and from the UK until January 6.
Foreign nationals who are eligible to travel to Canada are immediate/extended family members of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, person who is authorized by the Public Health Agency of Canada to travel to Canada for compassionate reasons, person who is authorized by the Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage to travel to Canada for the purpose of an International Single Sport Event, temporary foreign workers, international students, person approved to become a permanent resident, transiting passengers, members of the Canadian forces, accredited diplomats and their immediate family members, air and marine crew members, French citizens who live in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and have been in only Canada.
Immediate family members of a national or permanent resident of Canada must be traveling to be with the national or permanent resident and intending to stay in Canada for 15 days or more.
Extended family members of a national or permanent resident of Canada must be traveling to be with the national or permanent resident, intending to stay in Canada for 15 days or more and have a written authorization from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Entry requirements
All passengers five years of age or older, must present a medical certificate with a negative COVID-19 PCR test result issued within 72 hours prior to departure. Travelers without a negative test will be denied to board their flight. Travelers from a country where PCR testing is unavailable will be required to report to a designated Public Health Agency of Canada quarantine facility for the duration of their mandatory 14-day quarantine. Delays in obtaining test results does not apply.
Those exempted from this requirement include children who are not five years of age or older, other exemptions includes, a crew member or a person who seeks to enter Canada only to become such a crew member, emergency service providers, technical stops – flights refueling.
From February 1, in addition to the mandatory pre-departure test for travelers arriving in Canada by air, all international passengers flying into Toronto Pearson airport are required to take a further COVID-19 test on arrival.
Travelers are subject to health screening. Travelers showing symptoms of COVID-19 will not be allowed to board their flight. Non-medical face masks or face coverings are required for all flights to and from Canadian airports, and within airport terminals. Anyone who cannot wear a face mask for medical reasons must be in possession of a medical certificate.
Travelers are required to submit their information digitally through Canada’s ArriveCAN app before they board their flight. This includes travel and contact information, quarantine plan and COVID-19 symptom self-assessment. They must have evidence that they have submitted their details digitally.
Travelers must have a plan to quarantine for 14 days when they arrive in Canada (including a suitable place of quarantine, how to get to their destination, get groceries and access essential services and medical care). Check the Government of Canada website for more information.
Foreign nationals traveling to Canada for a compassionate reason must get authorization from the Public Health Agency of Canada. Foreign nationals traveling without an advance written approval for an exemption of a border restriction may be denied entry into Canada.
Quarantine requirements
Travelers are subject to a 14-day mandatory quarantine, this includes a mandatory 3 night pre-paid booking at a government-authorized hotel, at their own expense (approximately 2,000 CAD) and take a COVID-19 molecular test on arrival at their own cost.
Towards the end the quarantine period, travelers will be required to take another COVID-19 test. they will be required to stay in their place of quarantine until they receive a negative test result.
Certain persons are exempt from the mandatory quarantine requirement when entering Canada for the purposes of performing an essential job or function as identified in the Order under the Quarantine Act. Exemption will be validated for each entry into Canada.
Transiting rules
Before traveling passengers must make their travel arrangements to transit through Canada well in advance, make flights and connections as direct as possible to limit their contact in Canada; multiple domestic connections may not be considered appropriate, make connections that are as short as possible; if their connecting flight is more than 24 hours apart they will need to quarantine (self-isolate) until their next flight.
Transiting passengers must remain in the secure transit area of a Canadian airport to complete their connection. Should they need to leave the airport or the secure transit area due to a flight cancellation or delay, they become subject to mandatory quarantine until their flight departs, comply with any guidelines provided by the Airport Authority and follow all flight requirements, follow the provincial and territorial restrictions, depending where they are transiting through.
All other info
Only Toronto Pearson (YYZ), Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau (YUL), Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) are operating international flights. Domestic flights, as well as flights from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and cargo-only flights will remain exempt.
There are currently 29,837 active cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in CA and 22,042 deaths as of Mar 3 2021
Please see our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Travel Restrictions page for more information on restrictions worldwide.
There are no direct flights for this route listed on KAYAK, the shortest multi-flight duration is 7h 23m.
In the past 3 days, the cheapest one-way tickets were found on Air Canada ($204) and Multiple Airlines ($205), and the lowest round-trip tickets have been found on Multiple Airlines ($416) and Air Canada ($419).
Yes.
When flying out of San Francisco you will be using San Francisco, often referred to as San Francisco Airport. You will be landing at Ottawa, also known as Ottawa Airport.
KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from San Francisco to Ottawa.
KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Ottawa from San Francisco is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.
Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Ottawa with an airline and back to San Francisco with another airline.
Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Ottawa from San Francisco up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.
Scores according to KAYAK customer reviews
Pros: "Pleasant staff"
Cons: "People get shocked from the rush of air soon after they board and close their air knobs overhead. The cabin was filled with lots of new bodies that had different ordour and perfume that it was good to have a strong ventilation but due to the strong air flow... Perhaps tell ppl to keep it open."
Cons: "Overall it was good"
Pros: "Crew was great"
Cons: "No entertainment at all, read the brochure a few times"
Cons: "My seats were preassigned and at 24 hour check In you have to pay to change from economy to economy into a available seat. Make no sense and is rude. Very disappointed in WestJet and I’m anElite member."
Pros: "Every thing"
Pros: "The food was good and the crew were friendly."
Cons: "We could have used more legroom between the seats."
Pros: "Crew was friendly"
Cons: "Tv"
Pros: "Landed early"
Pros: "Crew was great . Seats not so much,"
Cons: "Maybe a movie for everyone."
Pros: "Nothing"
Cons: "Always delays with this airline, hope their service improves now they have been bought out by Air Canada. Staff need training on how to deal with their delays, rather than the "I know as much as you" answer. Their staff have always pleaded blind ignorance when disruptions occur. AVOID."
Cons: "Food, food, food"
Pros: "Crew were very friendly and were having a good time during the flight, which was nice to see."
Cons: "No pillows or blankets supplied, luckily I had my own otherwise I would have been miserable. Worst surprise was that there was no food provided. On a long haul flight that was surprising, they should clearly say that on booking. There were snacks available for purchase, but not great."
Cons: "Total rip off. I won't be flying West Jet again if it can be avoided"
Pros: "Yes, the crew was very good."
Cons: "It would have been nice to have coffee on the flight. All they had to offer was a snack and a glass of water."
Pros: "Staff was lazy"
Cons: "Horrible check in Rude Not sure if I’ll fly WestJet Luggage was wet when it arrived Luggage took forever to come to terminal"
Cons: "More water and a tv like air Canada"
Pros: "Yes"
Pros: "Quick, easy, comfortable. No complaints"
Pros: "The crew was great overal. Great sport and attitude with humor."
Cons: "The flight in Ottawa was delayed twice which made me change my plans twice. The plane was also a little cold heading to Toronto. Otherwise the help from Paul getting checked in was fantastic. He made the bad situation of a delay worth it just talking with him and apologizing for the delay with true empathy . Thank you Paul"
Pros: "Friendly crew"
Cons: "That westjet q400 is an awful aircraft with terrible slimline seats"
Pros: "Crew and staff are pleasant."
Cons: "There was a typo in my reservation (either a WJ problem or a Kayak problem). As a result I couldn't do an online checkin and ended up getting a middle seat at the airport."
Pros: "counter staff were friendly, courteous. helpful. Flight staff were friendly."
Cons: "prop- jet was loud & bumpy while on the ground at takeoff"
Pros: "Flight crew remained jovial and pleasant despite the many issues."
Cons: "Mis messaging and changing/non factual information as the flight status changed. I had personal issues ongoing which resulted in a flight change, and having to go back to security multiple times, which would have all been easier if I had been told that I didn't have to run like a mad woman through the airport as the flight was already determined to be significantly delayed. West Jet tried......they just don't see to be able to know anything."
Pros: "I got to watch "The Post", which took the entire time of the flight. I've wanted to see that movie for months and didn't know how that would happen! Easy flight, good service, friendly crew."
Pros: "The friendliness, the options through the app with movies etc"
Cons: "Need more leg room on board"
Pros: "Super friendly staff, on-time flight, good entertainment options; very satisfied"
Pros: "Clean planes, positive and a bit funny attendants, easy in boarding. Service that is wonderful."
Cons: "first time taking a westjet flight and we sat on plane for 2 hours before takeoff. disappointing"
Pros: "The crew was amazing and the boarding process went smoothly and fast."
Cons: "There was no entertainment for those of us without a compatible mobile/tablet device (I have a Nokia, therefore can't access the app). As always no complimentary meal but that's becoming a norm in most companies - strange how the prices don't really go down though... Seats were hard and unconfortable"
Pros: "The stewards and stewardess were fantastic."
Cons: "Its a little cramped in the seats."
Pros: "Delayed 2hours 30 min"
Cons: "Never flying with wast jets any more"
Pros: "Entertainment was good"
Cons: "The flight was delayed over an hour and then after landing baggage took a long time to come in. There were a lot of people gathered by the time baggage arrived and caused chaos."
Cons: "Boarding outside with no notice or warning"
Cons: "Our hour-long flight home from Toronto to Ottawa was delayed by two days. WestJet provided a hotel voucher and food vouchers for one day but refused to refund us for a car rental that would get us home in time. While we made our own way home, we were emailed to say that our flight home was delayed twice more."
Pros: "I liked the friendliness of the crew and how accommodating they were of me and of their guests!"
Cons: "There was quite a delay on my flight and I didn’t get an email to let me know there was a delay. Because I happened to go to check in earlier, I happened to noticed the delay. I wasn’t happy about not getting an email. I called West Jet to find out about the delay and it took approximately an hour to speak to someone. When I did, the delay was explained as weather related and the reason for not getting an email was because they hadn’t gotten to it yet I believe. I wasn’t happy with that as a reply. The flight was then delayed again by several minutes. I would have appreciated some form of compensation as I was going to get a lift home from the airport and ended up having to pay for a taxi as I was coming in so late. In all other flights, I know west jet to be quite an accommodating airline. The crew was great, I simply didn’t appreciate how the delay was handled."
Pros: "Got a window seat Good deal on price from kayak"
Cons: "Delayed by 2 hrs Lost my luggage and no word on when it will be returned Never told us about why delayed"
Cons: "Didn't fly on the day I was supposed to fly due to delays. I had to figure out for myself that I wasn't going to make my connection and thus I went back home. We agreed to itinerary for the next day that had a 2+ hour wait at la Guardia and yet I still almost missed the N.Y. to Tampa flight due to delays out of toronto. Had to sprint from one terminal to the other. In Toronto we sat on the tarmac for 90 mins, and this was after dealing with security and other issues with checkin before i even got on the plane. For example, it was difficult to explain that i had already paid for my checked bag the day before. As a result I never got a chance to eat the entire day. And then my bag didn't get to Tampa until later that night anyways. Although the individual staff members were all very nice, there were institutional flaws that made two days very frustrating. I have some sort of debilitating delay on more than half my flights over the last few years, and rarely is there ever an explanation or compensation."
Cons: "It was delayed."
Pros: "It was on time. Quick to board."
Cons: "I’m used to entertainment."
Pros: "Friendly crew"
Cons: "Entertainment selection is lacking."
Cons: "Delays Boarding: boarding from both doors: back door and front door, but no direction from the crew to anyone. Ended up with passengers trying to get in the front from the back and passengers trying to get to the back from the front. This created another extra 15 minutes delay when everyone were stuck in the middle...The rest of the passengers waited outside in Canadian winter cold. On a flight already late."
Pros: "Short flight"
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "I like that I got the plus seat for no extra charge."
Pros: "The airline attendants were very friendly"
Pros: "Stewardess let me change seats to a cooler part of the cabin at the back of the plane."
Cons: "The air temperature in the cabin was too hot."
Pros: "smooth, on time"
Pros: "Always on time and arrived early"
Cons: "Better snacks like porter"
Cons: "No entertain system"
Pros: "Consistent experience that gets you from A to B while providing nice perks (free stame-day standby on the old Rapidair routes)."
Pros: "We didn’t crash."
Cons: "We continue not to crash."
Pros: "I sat in a seat that wasn’t my assigned seat, and no one said anything. It was awesome!"
Pros: "Air Canada is fantastic. Will never use air india."
Cons: "I liked everything about AirCanada and nothing about Airindia."
Cons: "waiting so long for baggage"
Pros: "Helpfullness of Air Canada staff."
Cons: "Not much"
Cons: "Air Canada is just worse and worse"
Pros: "Ease of checking in, timely announcements and updates. Smooth ride"
Pros: "Everything"
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "They allowed us to make an earlier connection without any fee. That was very kind. Thank you."
Pros: "Not a lot"
Cons: "Poor aircraft, uncomfortable seats, not recommended."
Pros: "Everything was great"
Cons: "We're Not Satisfied With Our Seat From SFO TO YVR"
Cons: "My bag did not arrive at the same time I did. It was delivered several days later. I had to buy new clothes with my own money while I waited. Horrible experience."
Pros: "Arrived on time"
Pros: "Pretty routine"
Cons: "Long delay, but weather dictated this."
Cons: "Seats are always too close to the ones in front , crushing knees."
Pros: "Good movies, had gluten free snack choices, so important"
Cons: "Would LOVE closed captioning ability on the movie screens."
Pros: "same as above"
Cons: "same as above"
Pros: "good overall...so MUCH BETTER THAN Air Canada rouge service we took from Ottawa to Venice. Rouge service is very poor!!"
Pros: "Everything on time"
Cons: "Nothing"
Cons: "Gate 91 was allocated on boarding pass. It was switched to 95 Android did not inform anyone of the 10 pax waiting at gate 91. We were informed by one of the passenger that went to figuer out how Come that only 10 pax waiting at gate 91"
Cons: "The amount of hand luggage taken on board is getting totally out of hand people are boarding with two or three huge bags."
Pros: "Ability to charge my iPhone )"
Pros: "Good organized"
Cons: "None"
Cons: "AC was helpful arranging a delivery of the delayed luggage. But carrier was further delayed from the scheduled delivery time."
Cons: "Lost our bags for 3days"
Pros: "Airbus 380"
Cons: "We had a hard time reserving seats in advance"
Pros: "Service was poor. Attitude was less than enthusiastic."
Pros: "Landing and take off"
Cons: "The fact that we couldn't get seating assignment until last minute"
Pros: "Did not like anything about Air Canada. Very unfriendly and Rude staff is not the exception, me and my family have encountered this each time we went on Air Canada( three times)"
Cons: "From the check in desks to the airplane the staff are generally very rude, dis respectful and lazy and unorganized. Not only to my family , we saw them do this to all."
Pros: "film selections are up to date with previously released films"
Cons: "one of the staff attitude was demeaning unhelpful maybe just because I was asian"
Cons: "In order to make more money, Air Canada purposefully sits couples, families etc. who book together separately, in order to try to get them to buy upgraded seats together."
Cons: "No snack."
Cons: "Movies and audio lacked currency, simply old and little variety."
Pros: "good staff, very courteous and caring"
Cons: "took a long time to board, couldn't watch videos bc of bad sound"
Cons: "No good movies or music"
Pros: "They boarded anyone carrying a musical instrument early."
Cons: "No snack; not even peanuts!"
Pros: "I liked the comfort and the service"
Cons: "the long delay in Montreal"
Pros: "Check in and boarding process ok."
Cons: "Had to buy meal on the SFO-Montreal leg, which was at the snack/wrap level. Constraint space seats."
Cons: "Bag was given wrong tag # by check in attendant and went to wrong airport. Has been extremely hard to track down"
Cons: "Love it"
Pros: "Very nice people, seats large enough"
Cons: "impossible to work on my computer, plug without enough power turn off automatically"
Cons: "2hrs delayed and no explanation the reason. So my arrival time in Toranto 2am instead of 10:45pm."
Pros: "Free TV."
Cons: "Tiny seats. Guy behind me was loud and kept kicking/pushing my seat."
Pros: "We checked in late and therefore weren't able to get seats together. At the ticket counter, we asked to get put together and were able to get these seats."
Cons: "As with all coach seats, they were cramped."
Pros: "Space and meals"
Cons: "Entainment"
Cons: "They kept us in the airplane 3 hours before"
Cons: "The aid line lost one bag of mine, should have back today..."
Cons: "Too cold.... It is no possible to be in this temperature!"
Pros: "Well organized"
Cons: "No free wifi :("
Cons: "Showed up at airport w 2 15 yr olds traveling alone. We're told we needed to pay $150 each way. We were NOT told when tix were purchased. Accused of lying about the girls ages when we booked. Tix were booked and paid by two different parents and times. Agent relented and waived fee. At the gate we were again challenged and had to go thru it all again. No more United for us!"
Pros: "Nice airplane"
Pros: "Nothing"
Cons: "Everything was bad!!!! With a lot of delay"
Pros: "The flights were on time and without incident."
Cons: "I did not get an email to check in, what is up with that! I bought a 14" roller bag to fit under any seat. However it does not fit under all of your aisle seats. Can you indicate seats with less space on your maps. I bought the bag so I wouldn't have to lift it up. Leg space is better on Delta and under seat room also."
Pros: "Roomier comfortable seating."
Cons: "Paying for luggage and food"
Pros: "At least there was room to sprawl out and rest."
Cons: "We boarded our plane and during preflight check on the runway the captain learned there was mechanical error (in the right engine fuel something). The issue could not be solved and we had to change planes. On the second plane, the captain shared with travelers that "and two loose wires were found, so it's good we caught that and changed planes". What the heck? Shouldn't basic functions be checked before a plane is boarded? What was supposed to be a 1030 red eye, turned out to be a 1 AM bloodshot eye."
Pros: "Everyone was very polite and easy going. Definitely kept me comfortable(:"
Cons: "Didn't seat us together, although I selected seats at purchase."
Pros: "They were prompt and polite"
Cons: "Seats were EXTREMELY uncomfortable and felt like a very old mattress in desespertly need of replacement"
Cons: "We were trying to print our boarding passes and computer didn't recognize our bar code. United employees were trying to help us and they couldn't print it either until we approched counter. We didn't see that much of professionalism on United employees. At one point one of the employees told us to go back to Air Canada counter and I thought she was not trained properly."
Pros: "The fact that everything went as planned with no delays."
Cons: "Nothing"
Cons: "It was a very unpleasant experience overall."
Cons: "I was treated with the most disrespectful tone, hurried like cattle."
Pros: "Comfort"
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "Everything"
Pros: "Glad they waited for me."
Pros: "Service"
Cons: "None"
Cons: "They lie about carry luggage space. The somehow don't want the overhead space to be full and force your luggage to be checked in when boarding. You'll end up spend possibly 20 more minutes waiting for your luggage after arrive."
Pros: "Seats fit for midgets"
Pros: "On time, organized boarding"
Pros: "787 is a great machine. Quiet and comfortable. Free movies with great touchscreen and audio."
Cons: "standing on the tarmac for a few minutes, waiting to board, was uncomfortably cold / I wasn't dressed for that."
Cons: "It was delayed by 3 hrs"
Cons: "Online check in was ambiguous and I wasnt sure if I as checked in or not. The gate did not have scanners for the boarding passes on the united mobile app."
Pros: "It was on time and the lights were dimmed so I could sleep better. The staff was also very friendly and helpful."
Pros: "The service was good, boarding and take off on time."
Cons: "The ride was so bumpy! I've traveled back and forth from Boston to SFO and it's not usually this bumpy from SFO to Boston."
Pros: "The staff for united were super helpful and accommodating. Made traveling with my pet super easy."
Cons: "Nothing. Everyone was acceptional!"
Pros: "Na"
Cons: "Na"
Pros: "The service is not close ro KOREAN AIR ON THE PLANE. The plane is old . The cres is tired.."
Pros: "Had ways to stay entertained onboard"
Cons: "Hard to get comfortable"
Cons: "have no idea if I'll even make it thru the day."
Pros: "Staff seemed lively and created good atmosphere; thank you."
Pros: "Both flights were early, which was nice for a change."
Cons: "A little bumpy"
Pros: "Service was good"
Cons: "Many alerts in my e-mail."
Pros: "comfort and everthing was good"
Cons: "ac was too cold"
Cons: "I did not make it on time to a wedding because of the delay & problem with the plane."
Pros: "The personnel were attentive and polite on the flights"
Cons: "Both going to Eugene and returning the plane was dirty, crumbs and dirt on the floor, garbage/trash in the seatbacks...very poor standard How do you people live with yourselves,?this was a substandard experience for a substantial amount of money."
Cons: "Was told I could sit next to my travel partner but when we went to check in at the boarding gate, we did not have seats together...."
Cons: "Never made it to Sna. Whiched me to lax because that was fastest time back. Wasted more money on uber to get home from la"
Pros: "Nice big plane and great staff"
Cons: "45 minute delay"
Cons: "Delayes"
Pros: "Nothing"
Cons: "Old planes, blanket with hair, no complimentary meals"
Pros: "Was impressed w the new plane"
Cons: "Overhead storage a little small"
Pros: "Google service on United Airlines not pleasant in the flights were delayed all the time"
Cons: "Bad experience flying with United Airlines sorry"
Pros: "Nice place"
Airlines flying from San Francisco to Ottawa have enacted additional safety measures and adjusted policies to better accommodate travelers. Policies vary by airline.
Heightened sanitation
Daily cleaning, installation of cabin HEPA filters on flights from San Francisco to Ottawa
Mandatory masks
Masks required on board, masks provided on flights from San Francisco to Ottawa
Social distancing seating
Middle seats unavailable to book on flights from San Francisco to Ottawa
Pre-flight testing
Testing for antibodies, testing for symptoms for flights from San Francisco to Ottawa
Flexible cancellations
Waiving of change fees. Search flexible flights from San Francisco to Ottawa