"If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline." --Richard Branson

:haha:

Looks like AC answered my own question, also YOW-LHR is moving to a 788.
https://aircanada.mediaroom.com/2019...ondon-Heathrow

Curious if maybe AC is maybe holding off a decision on YYC-NRT to see what WS has planned for next summer.

There we go. Confimed.

AC YOW-LHR goes B788
AC YOW-FRA canceled as of this October.

Except the A343 is not a real quad. It has hair dryers instead of engines...;)

Is it actually canceled or suspended for the season per usual? Their wording isn't clear. "Suspended" and "another option" lead one to believe it's coming back next year.

Maybe I'm reading too much into the words, but usually words matter.

Canceled, suspended......suffice it to say, it's not coming back next year.

If you say so, but it's not what the words say. And for the record I don't doubt that it's done and being taken over completely by LH.

Service was perfect on the way back, and no one made us put up our seat backs until 10 minutes out - much better.

What's the old saw about the A343? It doesn't take off, the world slowly curves away from it on the runway.

I somehow missed the YOW-LHR change in the last schedule update :(

Current weekly requirement for 788:

14 - YVR-BNE
5 - YVR-KIX
4 - YVR-CDG
7 - YUL-BRU
5 - YYZ-BRU
7 - YOW-LHR
7 - YYZ-MXP
7 - YVR-LHR

Need exactly 8 planes... but how would it work to share 2 planes between YVR, YYZ, KIX, CDG, and BRU though? More changes are coming I presume...

Yup.

In fact, as the plane is climbing out of YOW on its way to FRA, we should be able to easily spot it from the YUL control tower......nice and low.... ! :D

Most likely.

YUL-BRU could easily switch to an A333 or B789.

YUL-BRU was just switched from an A333 to a 788, so that seems unlikely.

YVR-ZRH also is a 788, if it returns. I don't know how AC does in the route, but the loads I have seen on WK are horrendous, so I don't foresee both sticking around. Though that is just my observation.

If I had to guess, I would suggest that YYZ-MXP will be a 789, I am fairly certain it was this summer for most of the peak flying time, and goes 788 in the shoulder seasons.

YVR-ZRH is planned on a 789 in S20.

Most likely YVR-CDG will go 789 as well to rotate with ZRH.

2019 Half Year international numbers

1. JFK 16,446,821 (+4.5%)
2. YYZ 16,114,002 (+~ 3.4%)
3. LAX 12,537,810 (-1.0%)
4. MIA 11,408,213 (+4.7%)
5. CUN 8,995,343
6. PTY
7. MEX 8,519,587
8. SFO 7,302,001
9. EWR 6,947,478 (+3.2%)
10. ORD 6,908,165 (+4.6%)
11. YVR 6,688,626 (+3.0%)
12. ATL 6,422,853 (+1.8%)
13. YUL 6,301,228 (+7.6%)
14. IAH 5,504,972
15. DFW 4,591,841 (+7.1%)

2019 July YTD International numbers (unless otherwise noted)

1. JFK 16,446,821 (+4.5%) (til June 2019)
2. YYZ 19,124,226 (+~3.4%)
3. LAX 15,073,699 -1.2%
4. MIA 13,466,626 (+4.4%)
5. CUN 10,480,240
6. PTY
7. MEX 10,239,458 (+3.6%)
8. SFO 7,302,001 (til June 2019)
9. EWR 6,947,478 (+3.2%) (til June 2019)
10. ORD 6,908,165 (+4.6%) (til June 2019)
11. YVR 8,062,810 (+2.4%)
12. ATL 6,422,853 (+1.8%) (til June 2019)
13. YUL 7,667,913 (+7.1%)
14. IAH 6,579,531
15. DFW 5,640,315 (+8.4%)
16. FLL 5,438,017‬

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lib...wing-1.5280484

#slowclap

People really aren't letting this go.

https://i.postimg.cc/65mvpW71/2.png

https://i.postimg.cc/XYByZRdN/1.png

Petition here if you care to sign: https://www.change.org/p/reinstate-a...ium=nurture_v2

Fingers crossed it pushes our airport authority to do something. The St. John's-Dublin flight was WestJet's most successful route launch; they said so. A few leaks to the media have confirmed it was moved because Halifax, as part of its ongoing efforts to be an Atlantic Canadian flight hub, offered WestJet a much better deal; also, most of the traffic on the Halifax-Dublin flight still originates in St. John's. So if our airport authority would be as aggressive and smart about it as Halifax, we could get something back.

This route is really all people want. Once you're in Europe, you can get anywhere for near pocket change. And Dublin is the most appropriate connection for us - for many, it's the final destination.

This is doubtful. I'm kinda sick about hearing about this honestly. Westjet is a business. They will go where the money is and only fly routes that are profitable.

Maybe Provincial Airlines should buy or lease an aircraft with enough range to reach Ireland and start a Dublin-St.john's route.

Halifax has always been the largest hub airport in Atlantic Canada due to it's size and geographic location.

YYT-DUB is well within the range of a 737, so the economic and logistical barriers to establishing this route are far lower than they would be for a transatlantic route on a widebody jet. If they can't make it work with a 737, then that tells you something.

But who knows, maybe it'll come back once the 737 MAX situation is resolved? There have been a lot of routes affected due to the shortage of aircraft it has caused.

I’m sure the load factors were very good, from what I’ve heard anecdotally, but it probably made more operational sense to group all of the Atlantic-Europe/UK flights together out of one common base.

The flight was definitely performing well (literally their most successful route launch ever, and they've also noted demand had nothing to do with the cancellation) and still is. If what's been said in the local media here is true, then the issue is simply up to the airport authorities. St. John's was charging WestJet a lot more than Halifax offered to use its airport for the flight.

Our government, which previously was very involved in trying to solicit new flight connections, also stopped making that effort a while before the cancellation. So they're getting a bit of the public backlash.