Saskatoon and Regina Air Service

[Robag]

Flew back from Vegas last week on United through Denver. We were bumped off our plane because it was overbooked by 8 people. Ended up staying the night in Denver and getting stand-by on the first flight from Denver the next morning. We were fortunate enough to get on the first flight, but our baggage did not arrive till late that night. Anyway, talking with a bunch of people in Denver, they said these flights on United from Chicago and Denver are overbooked quite often and people are getting bumped regularly. I am a little nervous as I fly through Chicago in April on my way to New Orleans and back through Denver. I've now noticed they have downgraded the plane from a 70 seat to a 50 seat plane through Chicago. Does anybody know why we get the small CRJ's when they keep overselling these flights? One lady I talked to in Denver, said she was bumped 2 nights in a row in Chicago, they flew her to Denver and she was bumped again. It's great that we have this expanded service through Denver, Chicago, and Minneapolis, but people will start flying through Calgary and Toronto again on their way to the states if they are getting bumped off their flights all of the time. I wonder how many complaints the YQR authority takes on this per month/year. Does the airport authority not have any way of requesting bigger planes on these direct flights to the states? I've known 3 other people get bumped off their flights coming back from Denver in the last year. To me, that is unacceptable.

[sask1982]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

I am shocked that you rank the Minneapolis airport so low. It is an awesome airport. It is huge and requires some walking, but so does O'hare. It is very modern with lots of amenities and relatively efficient. That's my 2 cents.

Agreed...I really enjoy Minneapolis airport. Some of their staff, not so much. But the airport itself I find very enjoyable and easy to maneuver around.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by Robag

I've known 3 other people get bumped off their flights coming back from Denver in the last year. To me, that is unacceptable.

United/Continental is cutting back capacity 5% this fall. If the Regina flights are full, that might just give United the ability to service Regina with slightly bigger jets like CRJ-705s or Embraer E170s.

Delta uses E170s to Saskatoon but CRJ100/200s to Regina. United is using CRJ100/200s on YQR-DEN and YQR-ORD right now.

[Hawker]

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

United/Continental is cutting back capacity 5% this fall. If the Regina flights are full, that might just give United the ability to service Regina with slightly bigger jets like CRJ-705s or Embraer E170s.

Delta uses E170s to Saskatoon but CRJ100/200s to Regina. United is using CRJ100/200s on YQR-DEN and YQR-ORD right now.

Skywest's fleet for United Connection is mostly CRJ 100/200s, with some 700's in a 3 class 66 seat configuration. Those would be the options for serving both Saskatoon and Regina. Even one flight a day being with the 700's would be nice, but there might be problems with having only economy on 1 flight a day and Econ, Econ+ and business on the other.

In a related vein, I wish that AC or WJ would have transborder flights to a hub such as Denver or Salt Lake. People can complain about flying in Canada all they want, but I had a horrible time getting from SFO to YYC via United/Skywest (let's just say that TSA was the best and most customer friendly part of the trip!)

[khabibulin]

Air Canada cutting routes as fuel costs rise
CBC News Posted: Mar 16, 2011 3:24 PM MT Last Updated: Mar 16, 2011 3:24 PM MT

Montreal-based Air Canada announced Wednesday it is cutting six of its domestic and international routes because of rising fuel costs.

Canada's biggest airline said it would eliminate Ottawa-Thunder Bay, Calgary-London (Ontario), Ottawa-Washington Dulles, Montreal-Washington Dulles, Calgary-Chicago and Calgary-San Francisco.

The cuts take effect May 1.

Customers will be offered alternate flights or routings, the airline said in a release.

Besides the route cuts, the airline will also reduce the frequency of flights on other routes and fly smaller planes.

Altogether, that will reduce growth in the number of available seats this year to between 4.5 to 5.5 per cent, compared with 2010. On Feb. 10, it had estimated 5.5 to 6.5 per cent for 2011.

The airline said it still expects to cut costs by two per cent, compared with 2010, mainly because of the stronger Canadian dollar.

Air Canada has hiked fares and introduced fuel surcharges on flights where the market can bear it. It said it continues to adjust fares and fuel surcharges "in response to market conditions."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...oute-cuts.html

[The Bess]

kind of a cool site

http://flightaware.com/live/airport/CYXE

[1ajs]

• Video Link

[Robag]

http://www.yqr.ca has an online survey right now regarding the service to and from Denver through United. Take the time to fill it out. Maybe the RAA is doing this survey because they have had enough complaints regarding the terrible service that United offers. They oversell their flights all of the time. Here's hoping they will improve their service with bigger planes or more flights.

[mooke]

Originally Posted by Robag

Flew back from Vegas last week on United through Denver. We were bumped off our plane because it was overbooked by 8 people. Ended up staying the night in Denver and getting stand-by on the first flight from Denver the next morning. We were fortunate enough to get on the first flight, but our baggage did not arrive till late that night. Anyway, talking with a bunch of people in Denver, they said these flights on United from Chicago and Denver are overbooked quite often and people are getting bumped regularly. I am a little nervous as I fly through Chicago in April on my way to New Orleans and back through Denver. I've now noticed they have downgraded the plane from a 70 seat to a 50 seat plane through Chicago. Does anybody know why we get the small CRJ's when they keep overselling these flights? One lady I talked to in Denver, said she was bumped 2 nights in a row in Chicago, they flew her to Denver and she was bumped again. It's great that we have this expanded service through Denver, Chicago, and Minneapolis, but people will start flying through Calgary and Toronto again on their way to the states if they are getting bumped off their flights all of the time. I wonder how many complaints the YQR authority takes on this per month/year. Does the airport authority not have any way of requesting bigger planes on these direct flights to the states? I've known 3 other people get bumped off their flights coming back from Denver in the last year. To me, that is unacceptable.

Best advice I can offer is check-in early online, if you've got status with a star alliance carrrier *S or *G you have a better chance of not getting bumped. I was on a flight recently from DEN-YWG with an oversell situation, they bumped 4 people, last 4 people that checked in got the boot. I always check-in online 24 hrs in advance to make sure that doesn't happen.

[Robag]

Originally Posted by mooke

Best advice I can offer is check-in early online, if you've got status with a star alliance carrrier *S or *G you have a better chance of not getting bumped. I was on a flight recently from DEN-YWG with an oversell situation, they bumped 4 people, last 4 people that checked in got the boot. I always check-in online 24 hrs in advance to make sure that doesn't happen.

I usually do as well, but Vegas hotels charge for internet use, and I didn't feel like spending 15 bucks to check in.

Regardless, 4 people still got bumped off of your flight which is still unacceptable. I could try and check in early, and still be too late to guarantee my seat. Is that right even if I had booked my flight weeks or months in advance? No! They shouldn't be overselling these flights. If the flight is oversold, you can't "make sure that doesn't happen" doesn't necessarily apply.

[mooke]

Originally Posted by Robag

I usually do as well, but Vegas hotels charge for internet use, and I didn't feel like spending 15 bucks to check in.

Regardless, 4 people still got bumped off of your flight which is still unacceptable. I could try and check in early, and still be too late to guarantee my seat. Is that right even if I had booked my flight weeks or months in advance? No! They shouldn't be overselling these flights. If the flight is oversold, you can't "make sure that doesn't happen" doesn't necessarily apply.

Although I agree with you, the fact of matter is majority of airlines overbook by 20% to insure they fill their seats and they bank on people no showing. Just so you know, most Vegas hotels will check you in at the front desk if you ask them and with United you can check-in with a mobile device too, don't just have to do it online. Anyway, hope it all works out for you.

[The Bess]

here's link to web cam at saskatoon airport

http://www.yxe.ca/cam.php

[armorand93]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

• Video Link

LMAO! Haven't seen that video in ages

[The Bess]

More options for flights

Saskatoon to see more flight options
Weekly flights to Panama City have been added as well as flights to Santa Clara, Cuba
Reported by Chris Carr
First Posted: Sep 26, 2011 8:43am

Passengers flying out of Saskatoon are finding themselves with more and more options.

Maxime Montgomery with the Saskatoon Airport Authority said there will soon be weekly flights to Panama City.

The new route this winter will be started courtesy of Air Transat.

“From what I understand from our travel agents, it’s selling really, really fast,” said Montgomery.

She said new flights will also be added to Santa Clara, Cuba. There will also be an extended season with sun charters.

The new flights mean greater expansion at the airport to accommodate this type of growth.

“We are starting our expansion in March,” explained Montgomery. “So this year is going to be relatively the same as everybody has always experienced. It’s going to be busy at the airports early in the morning but it’s going to be business as usual.”

Edited by News Talk Radio's Sabeen Ahmad.

Jared Knoll / News Talk Radio

[macblaze]

Officials contend to bring European airlines to Sask.
Airport authority officials hope to bring direct flights from Europe to Saskatchewan
Reported by Samantha Maciag
First Posted: Sep 27, 2011 4:00pm | Last Updated: Sep 27, 2011 6:22pm
Change text size: + -

Regina and Saskatoon airport CEOs are heading to Germany next week with the goal of bringing airlines to Saskatchewan that offer direct flights to Europe.

Regina Airport Authority president and CEO Jim Hunter is among a group heading to Berlin for a ROOTS conference to make a Saskatchewan push, along with the Saskatoon airport, Tourism Regina and Enterprise Saskatchewan.

Hunter says the conference is where airports meet airlines to make their business case. The Saskatchewan group has lined up appointments with 14 different airlines.

While he doesn’t expect any results from the conference anytime soon, he says part of the mission is to catch the notice of the airlines and “to make these guys aware of Saskatchewan,” says Hunter.

“We are leading the country in economic development,” said Hunter.

Ideally, Hunter would be happy to see summer charter service alternating every other week out of Regina and Saskatoon.

heard this on the radio today

[Robag]

Heard on the radio today that YXE will be getting an expansion makeover starting in 2012, only 10 years after their last expansion. Here is the link from the Saskatoon Airport Authority.

http://www.yxe.ca/documents/FinalAppproval.pdf

[Treesplease]

Originally Posted by Robag

Heard on the radio today that YXE will be getting an expansion makeover starting in 2012, only 10 years after their last expansion. Here is the link from the Saskatoon Airport Authority.

http://www.yxe.ca/documents/FinalAppproval.pdf

Expansion? Holy crap its almost going to double in size!

[dsim249]

Here's a video tour of the airport expansion.

[Robag]

Originally Posted by dsim249

Here's a video tour of the airport expansion.

Thanks for that link. Makes it look like a big city airport with the amount of space and the design. Congrats Saskatoon!

[macblaze]

Originally Posted by dsim249

Here's a video tour of the airport expansion.

Wow it's very nice I like how open it is . I sure am envying you guys now I wish we had something in the works . Also has that big city airport feel looks awesome