I don't usualy come in contact with juicy gossip, especially gossip that is airport related but here is a bit.

I've heard that the idea of a Pickering Airport is being persued VERY strongly at this time. This would of course be in direct competition with Hamilton's Airport, seeing as its the same distance (if not closer ) from Toronto only on the east side.

The source I talked to was convinced that a new airport east of Toronto was all but guaranteed, nothing official but it looked to him that it was going to happen.

it's been the same story for decades. nothing new there.

Everyone involved with the GTAA is convinced and have been for years that Pickering will "take off".

Fact is: No one on Pickering wants an airport. Dalton & his Libs are against it. And there is an already functioning, expandable airport in Hamilton.

Pickering will not happen.

I should mention, I saw a news story on CBC a couple weeks back that showed the final tenant on the Pickering land being forced from his home. He held out for the past 15 years and now was forced out by the feds. So, it would appear that they are trying to move forward. Good luck though. Nobody out there wants an airport. It's totally unnecessary.

A 35% increase in service from YHM? The poor darlings at CATCH are going to have to kick their creativity up a notch when it comes to manufacturing statistics "proving" the demise of the airport.

Appears WestJet is adding another "bank" of east-west connecting flights, thought I haven't had a close look at the revised schedule. When it comes to connecting passengers in the middle of the country YHM is the cheaper option than YYZ. Since yield is the same on a given set of connecting flights, it's more cost-effective for WestJet to physically connect that passenger at the lower-cost airport. For once simple economics in Hamilton's favor. A lack of appropriate facilities for connecting passengers at Hamilton has also been addressed--at least in part--by the addition of food and retail options within the airport's secure zone.

Great news.

Two of these flights are the normal summer increases. That would be Calgary and Edmonton. The other three are new. The big surprise is Orlando. The first year of service was once a week and they added a second for the peek season. This year they started with one fight per week and then had to add two more flights. They have since added a forth flight due to demand. This is on top of the twice weekly to Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa and that gives them daily service to Florida and twice on Saturdays. If it is true that they are going daily year round to Orlando and Florida, it would be huge and a big sign that the airport is taking off and that WestJet maybe coming back in a big way. Their only problem is that they cannot get planes fast enough.

London England has several airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Standstead, City, and Luton. Even if Pickering is built, I am sure that Hamilton will still continue to grow. It serves a large population base west of the GTA and in Niagara.

yea, I'm no airport expert, but I don't see the point in Pickering?? whats the use?? there's nothing out there and they're less than an hour from Pearson...it makes no sense. hence the willingness of the feds to pump billions into it.

I doubt Hamilton would compete too strongly with Pickering. The plan for its use is more to serve the eastern parts of Toronto. It's anticipated that Pearson won't have much room for expansion after 20-30 years, so more traffic will have to be picked up by other airports. Obviously Hamilton isn't ideal for someone east of Toronto.

only problem is most of the GTA growth is happening between Hamilton and TO, not out by Oshawa. Perhaps folks east of Victoria Park would use Pickering airport, but I doubt it. maybe east of Markham Road?? it just doesn't make sense. The population drops off quickly once you exit Toronto east of Scarborough.

With the 407 pushing further east into Durham Region, you can count on growth picking up in Pickering, Ajax, and elsewhere in Western and Central Durham Region.

Head west on the 407 and it'll take you right to the 403 and Hamilton International - welcome aboard!

Multiple airports work in some cities and not in others. There is actually far more at play than just geography. The truth is--for people east of Toronto to start using a Pickering airport Pearson would have to become completely intolerable--which it is far from being. Hamilton has it's niche--and a wider audience to draw from in Niagara and Southwestern Ontario.

A multitude of flights and frequencies at Pearson would mean it would continue to be the airport of choice for the vast majority of travellers. Though it was several years ago, the attempt at passenger operations at Buttonville wasn't exactly a resounding success (and at the time Pearson was far less pleasant from a passenger perspective).

This whole discussion amuses me--just what the GTAA needs, MORE debt.

Fact is Pearson is nowhere near capacity. It is the 17th largest airport in North America in terms of passenger volume and 15th in terms of cargo volume. The purpose of the Pickering airport is to open up employment lands in the east of Toronto.

^^ Thanks, Retro. You just answered my question. I always wondered why the GTAA wanted a new airport so bad... it never dawned on me that they have no other reason to build a whole new airport besides the $$ they'd get from employment lands.

Are they trying to turn Pickering into another Mississauga? They're already on the right path with their "Downtown" (aka Mall Pkng Lot) hahaha

GTAA also wants to operate a low-cost competitor to YHM.

Does the GTAA have a business plan that will allow Pickering to be a low-cost operation? It seems to me that their massive debt load would prevent that--particularly given the debt assumed by construction of a second airport.

From a passenger perspective Pearson has a long way to go before it becomes expensive and crowded enough to drive people away--there are convenient flights to hundreds of destinations and dozens of international carriers at YYZ--and Canada doesn't have a large enough domestic airline industry to have an operator of size leave Pearson to set up a large scale operation at Pickering.

Comparing Toronto to any other international city with multiple airports doesn't make sense--the aviation industry in Canada is too unique to make such comparisons plausible.

That being said, Hamilton is in a position where not only Western GTAers but also those in Southwestern Ontario and Niagara could be enticed to use it as an alternative. East doesn't have comparable population or growth to west.

I agree....I fail to see how Pickering is competition for Hamilton.
Who in their right mind in the Oakville-Brantford-Niagara corridor would drive all the way to Pickering instead of YHM??
It's a non-issue.

And do you have any idea how much that trip will cost? There are no free rides on the 407(legitly). The camera sees all and traces as well as cross-references all.

You are thinking from the perspective of a passenger. GTAA's customers are the airlines, both cargo and passenger. I would expect that GTAA would focus on primarily cargo at Pickering, supplemented by low cost passenger airlines.

More airlines are expressing concern over the high landing fees at Pearson and are looking for more affordable landing fees. Pickering would give the GTAA the opportunity to offer a no frills landing facility that could offer a lower landing fee to the airline. That way their customer is not lost to YHM, simply transfered to another GTAA facility.