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Snow. The myth of snow is about the only thing that is stopping more of us from crossing the border for a flight that is not only cheaper but usually faster and more convenient — even once you factor in driving time.

“The biggest thing is there is a false perception that we have a ton of snow and it’s difficult to get to,” said Mr. Cohen, who figures a family of four flying out of Buffalo to Orlando, versus Toronto, can save $500 on average and sometimes as much as much 60%. “The Buffalo airport never closes for weather.”

Canadians took about five million flights outbound from a U.S. city last year, according to the Conference Board of Canada. About 40% of those flights originate from the Buffalo area but cross-border flying has been common in other jurisdictions. Vancouver residents use Bellingham, Washington, and Plattsburgh International Airport now bills itself as Montreal’s U.S. airport and fully bilingual.

Full disclosure here. I’ve flown out of Buffalo’s airport before and I will be doing it again in the near future for a trip to Fort Lauderdale with the main reason being $1,200 in savings for my family of four.

The inconvenience is often touted as reason not to go but Mr. Cohen pointed out to journalists during a presentation that you have to get to a Canadian airport about three hours early for an international flight. Flying out of Buffalo or another U.S. city is a domestic flight so you can arrive one hour before flight time because you’ve already cleared U.S. customs.