Saskatoon and Regina Air Service

[roryn1]

SREDA is forecasting Saskatoon airport passenger traffic hitting 1,763,571 by 2023.

https://sreda.com/isl/uploads/2019/03/Airport-GDP.pdf

[kalin_10]

No additional sun destinations; however an increase of flights from Edmonton to Saskatoon of 18 - 23 a week.
https://canadianaviationnews.wordpre...nter-schedule/

[one_brick_at_a_time]

Originally Posted by kalin_10

No additional sun destinations; however an increase of flights from Edmonton to Saskatoon of 18 - 23 a week.
https://canadianaviationnews.wordpre...nter-schedule/

Not great news for Regina.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by one_brick_at_a_time

Not great news for Regina.

I'm really puzzled as to why we're not getting more service. I realize Saskatoon has a bit more traffic, but we must be the most underserved 1.3-million-passenger on the continent.

We've shifted most of our travel from air to road - it takes more time but with the fares for the places we've been going, it's actually made sense for us to drive and make a bit of an adventure out of the trip, exploring places on the way there and back. I wonder how many other people who have the choice have made similar decisions.

This year looks to be the first year I haven't flown anywhere since 2004. I only flew once last year (to London ON on business). Every year before that, up to and including 2005, it was at least twice.

[Crisis]

Nice to see Saskatoon getting some more flights to Edmonton, but I'd rather see the Winnipeg routes restored.

I find a flight to Edmonton only marginally better than driving, as the road trip can be made in 4-1/2 hours (5 hours, 9 minutes on Google Maps), which is only about 60-90 minutes more than the total travel time when flying, depending on what one is doing for baggage & ground transportation. Winnipeg, on the other hand, is a crappy drive from Saskatoon.

[pappcam]

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

I'm really puzzled as to why we're not getting more service. I realize Saskatoon has a bit more traffic, but we must be the most underserved 1.3-million-passenger on the continent.

We've shifted most of our travel from air to road - it takes more time but with the fares for the places we've been going, it's actually made sense for us to drive and make a bit of an adventure out of the trip, exploring places on the way there and back. I wonder how many other people who have the choice have made similar decisions.

This year looks to be the first year I haven't flown anywhere since 2004. I only flew once last year (to London ON on business). Every year before that, up to and including 2005, it was at least twice.

Yep. I drive pretty well everywhere now within reason as flying out of Regina sucks as far as availability and pricing goes. It's actually a sad joke.

[jigglysquishy]

http://reginask.iqm2.com/Citizens/De...g.aspx?ID=4616

Interesting ask by YQR. They're asking for $311,000 per year tax exemption on the condition they get a year round flight to one of Denver or Chicago.

[KTBuild]

Is this the first that a Chicago flight has been rumored since the new CEO has taken over?

Personally, Chicago would be a much better choice than Denver. Would open up more flights to eastern/southeastern USA. I hope this happens.

[EDM753Fan]

Originally Posted by jigglysquishy

http://reginask.iqm2.com/Citizens/De...g.aspx?ID=4616

Interesting ask by YQR. They're asking for $311,000 per year tax exemption on the condition they get a year round flight to one of Denver or Chicago.

Not an unfair request. YQR is a major economic driver in the region. All the best with this RAA, hopefully it works out. Personally Denver would be optimal for us.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by KTBuild

Is this the first that a Chicago flight has been rumored since the new CEO has taken over?

Personally, Chicago would be a much better choice than Denver. Would open up more flights to eastern/southeastern USA. I hope this happens.

I used Chicago as much as Denver when we had both, but I think Denver is more likely. It's a decent hub for the southeast, south and southwest US, and acceptable for many international connections. It's not terrible to the US mid-Atlantic either. O'Hare is good to the northeast, east and southeast but results in much longer trips to the south, southwest and west. It does have more international connections, though.

Another thought - it's much easier to transit DEN than ORD. ORD is a huge airport with some traffic issues at times, although I was lucky and never had any problems.

[Missinglink]

As some one who travels south 1-2 times a month the Denver option would be my last choice. At least ORD is a gateway airport. I still prefer the MSP connection so I either drive to Minot or Saskatoon. And if the price of a new connection out of Regina is to much I will continue to drive.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by Missinglink

As some one who travels south 1-2 times a month the Denver option would be my last choice. At least ORD is a gateway airport. I still prefer the MSP connection so I either drive to Minot or Saskatoon. And if the price of a new connection out of Regina is to much I will continue to drive.

See, I prefer UA to DEN (or ORD) because then at least I'm collecting points I can use with AC (or use AC on UA's program if that works out better for me). I liked having YQR-MSP but I never used it. (Anytime I checked the fares to where I was going, it cost more than flying on UA via DEN or ORD.)

DEN is a "major hub" for United, and serves the following destinations via UA:

United Airlines Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Billings, Boise, Boston, Bozeman, Burbank, Calgary, Cancún, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbus–Glenn, Dallas/Fort Worth, Des Moines, Detroit, Eugene, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Grand Rapids, Hartford, Honolulu, Houston–Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Jacksonville (FL), Kahului, Kansas City, Kailua–Kona, Las Vegas, Lihue, Los Angeles, Madison, Medford, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Missoula, Nashville, New Orleans, New York–LaGuardia, Newark, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orange County, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Puerto Vallarta, Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), San José del Cabo, Santa Barbara, Seattle/Tacoma, Sioux Falls, Spokane, St. Louis, Tampa, Tokyo–Narita, Toronto–Pearson, Tucson, Tulsa, Vancouver, Washington–Dulles, Washington–National, Wichita

Seasonal: Burlington (VT), Cozumel, Eagle/Vail, Edmonton, Fairbanks, Fort Myers, Jackson Hole, Kalispell, Liberia (CR), London–Heathrow, Miami, Montrose, Palm Springs, Portland (ME) [53]

United Express Albuquerque, Amarillo, Appleton, Aspen, Atlanta, Austin, Bakersfield, Billings, Birmingham (AL), Bismarck, Boise, Bozeman, Burbank, Calgary, Casper, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Charleston (SC), Charlotte, Cody, Colorado Springs, Columbia (MO), Columbus–Glenn, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dayton, Des Moines, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Durango (CO), Eagle/Vail, Edmonton, El Paso, Eugene, Eureka, Everett, Fargo, Fayetteville/Bentonville, Flagstaff, Fresno, Gillette, Grand Junction, Grand Rapids, Great Falls, Greenville–Spartanburg, Gunnison/Crested Butte, Hayden/Steamboat Springs, Hays, Helena, Hobbs (begins October 27th, 2019), Houston–Intercontinental, Huntsville, Idaho Falls, Indianapolis, Jackson Hole, Jamestown (ND), Kalispell, Kansas City, Kearney, Knoxville, Laramie, Liberal, Lincoln, Little Rock, Louisville, Lubbock, Madison, Medford, Memphis, Midland/Odessa, Minot, Missoula, Moab, Monterey, Moline/Quad Cities, Montrose, Nashville, New Orleans, North Platte, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Palm Springs, Pierre, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Prescott, Pueblo, Rapid City, Redmond/Bend, Reno/Tahoe, Richmond, Rock Springs, Sacramento, St. George (UT), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose (CA), San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Fe, Santa Rosa, Savannah, Scottsbluff, Shreveport, Sioux Falls, Spokane, Springfield/Branson, Syracuse, Tri-Cities (WA), Tucson, Tulsa, Vancouver, Vernal, Watertown (SD), Wichita, Williston, Winnipeg

Seasonal: Brownsville, Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Mammoth Lakes, North Bend/Coos Bay, Pensacola, Sun Valley, Traverse City

That's not counting Star Alliance partners you could use on codeshares.

So... I don't feel short-changed with Denver. The only real drawback is the lack of overseas connections, but we have good overseas connections via YYC, YVR, YEG, YYZ and YOW.

[one_brick_at_a_time]

Regina airport wants tax exemptions to entice U.S. flights/Airport Renovations

https://www.cjme.com/2019/08/08/regi...e-u-s-flights/

https://www.yqr.ca/en/yqr-passenger-...s-now-underway

I like the open glass dividing wall and the extension of hold room right to the windows overlooking the main apron.

[Pinus]

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

The only real drawback is the lack of overseas connections, but we have good overseas connections via YYC, YVR, YEG, YYZ and YOW.

I wouldn't count YEG or YOW as having "good overseas connections". They have two or three token routes, and the rest are generic, plain-jane US/Caribbean destination. YYC is just a bit higher but it's still not all that "good".

It's really YYZ, YVR and YUL (Montreal) that are the "good overseas connection" points in Canada.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by Pinus

I wouldn't count YEG or YOW as having "good overseas connections". They have two or three token routes, and the rest are generic, plain-jane US/Caribbean destination. YYC is just a bit higher but it's still not all that "good".

Fair to a degree. You can get to:

from Ottawa: LHR, FRA
From Calgary: LHR, FRA, NRT, LGW, ZRH, PEK, AMS, CDG

Ottawa's not a lot but they are major, major hubs at least. Calgary has quite a lot actually.

I excluded Mexican cities since they are more designed to be destinations than hubs.

[YYCguys]

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

Fair to a degree. You can get to:

from Ottawa: LHR, FRA
From Calgary: LHR, FRA, NRT, LGW, ZRH, PEK, AMS, CDG, + DUB

Ottawa's not a lot but they are major, major hubs at least. Calgary has quite a lot actually....

*Added DUB as an additional overseas destination from YYC.

[Pinus]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

*Added DUB as an additional overseas destination from YYC.

I can accept the big three as being the main airport hubs for Canada. What I don't accept are Westjet and AC using the hub and spoke model to bolster Calgary as another hub whilst stifling non-stop passenger service expansion at other prairie cities, specifically Winnipeg and Edmonton. I will never advocate for growth in Calgary at the expense of the other cities.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by Pinus

I can accept the big three as being the main airport hubs for Canada. What I don't accept are Westjet and AC using the hub and spoke model to bolster Calgary as another hub whilst stifling non-stop passenger service expansion at other prairie cities, specifically Winnipeg and Edmonton. I will never advocate for growth in Calgary at the expense of the other cities.

Calgary's been a hub for both Air Canada and WestJet for a long time. In fact, Calgary's been a WestJet hub for as long as there's been a WestJet.

You don't have to like it, but it's not new. And if you don't, I suggest you vote with your wallet and drive to Winnipeg and Edmonton instead of flying. Mind, that will only worsen the airlines' desire to provide service to these cities to/from Regina.

[djforsberg]

https://www.cjme.com/2019/08/27/coun...d-sears-outlet

The Regina Airport is getting its desired tax exemption to try and get back a US connection.

[one_brick_at_a_time]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

https://www.cjme.com/2019/08/27/coun...d-sears-outlet

The Regina Airport is getting its desired tax exemption to try and get back a US connection.

Great move by the city!