The more popular resorts like Varadero and Punta Cana have an insane number of direct flights to/from Canadian cities.. even to places like Val D'Or and Deer Lake. IIRC, seasonal direct flights to Varadero are available to something like 30 Canadian airports.

One thing I find neat is that there are a number of domestic trips in Canada for which a hypothetical connection through a Carribean resort airport is actually the only one-stop connection available. For example, if you want to fly from Val D'Or to Kelowna... any flight within Canada requires two stops (Montreal and at least one other, typically Toronto), but you could do a one-stop transfer through Varadero. I don't know if transiting through Cuba is actually possible, though.

Pearson is hiring a swath of PMs and managers for 'a new expansion program'.

Looks like expansion will kick off soon.

If it is a Canadian airline operating both legs, theoretically, it is possible. But you're looking at long layovers, as most secondary and tertiary Canadian cities have only 1 or 2 weekly service to Cuban destinations.

If it's Cubana, say YYZ-VRA and then VRA-YUL, it is not allowed, as that is cabotage.

Same way AC isn't allowed to pick up a passenger in ORD and get him to BOS via YYZ. (at least not on a single booking)

About time that third pier gets constructed.

^^ Indeed - it's high time. But I think they'll need the fourth and fifth if the below pans out. ;)

In the news, looks like YYZ and Air Canada are getting even more ambitious... 80 million pax by 2035? Why not. Calling for the federal government to help.

Toronto Star article

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...o-meg-hub.html

Toronto Pearson news release

http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases...603966216.html

Link to report:

https://torontopearson.com/uploadedF...HubAirport.pdf

So, would that be in addition to a new airport in Pickering, or instead of?

There is no need for a Pickering passenger airport. There's the opportunity to create an intermodal cargo hub (air-rail-road) and general aviation, but Pearson can handle all the passenger demand here on forward.

Pickering keeps getting banded about, but it will never take off. There's room for at least two more runways at Pearson, at least one of which will get built before Pickering even gets any serious consideration.

Pearson's problem is lack of gates and terminal parking. It needs Piers G and H built urgently, as well as the infield terminal opened up for regular use.

Hamilton is already a significant cargo airport, and can easily handle much more, again negating the need for Pickering. Oshawa can handle Dash-8s, but would require adjustments to the terminal building to make it compliant with passenger security screening. There are plans to extend the runway at Oshawa, with a few extra thousand feet it could handle smaller jets up to something like the E190 for example.

I would also expect to see jets permitted into the Island before Pickering is built too.

Bigtime essentially nailed it for Western Canada even if he was talking about YYC only. Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica are the only Carribbean destinations I am aware of from Winnipeg and west (plus I guess Bahamas). I don't count the east side of Mexico in that. As a whole, western Canadians travel to Mexico more than anywhere else it seems judging by the number of flights.

YVR October 2016 numbers
 

[From the YVR Airport Thread]

Some further breakdown of the YVR October 2016 & Year to Date 2016 numbers.

Total Passengers (Domestic, Transborder, and International) | October 2016 – 1,780,096 [up 11.5% from October 2015]
Total Passengers (Domestic, Transborder, and International) | Year to Date 2016 – 18,838,334 [up 9.5% from Year to Date 2015]

Domestic | October 2016 – 924,594 [up 6.6% from October 2015]
Domestic | Year to Date 2016 – 9,387,269 [up 7.0% from Year to Date 2015]

Total International (incl. Transborder) | October 2016 – 846,777 [up 16.1% from October 2015]
Total International (incl. Transborder) | Year to Date 2016 – 9,451,065 [up 11.4% from Year to Date 2015]

Transborder | October 2016 – 410,071 [up 12.4% from October 2015]
Transborder | Year to Date 2016 – 4,623,755 [up 6.5% from Year to Date 2015]

International – Asia Pacific | October 2016 – 288,954 [up 18.3% from October 2015]
International – Asia Pacific | Year to Date 2016 – 2,955,653 [up 14.9% from Year to Date 2015]

International – Europe | October 2016 – 117,693 [up 18.1% from October 2015]
International – Europe | Year to Date 2016 – 1,423,186 [up 17.1% from Year to Date 2015]

[edit: I skipped Miscellaneous International, so the numbers of Transborder, Asia, and Europe do not add up to the Total International.]

Ya but then it looks like I was hiding that I was wrong, gotta take my lumps! :)

Though it sounds like a lot its really an attainable goal. 80 million by 2035 implies a 3.19% average growth rate over the next 20 years. Not small but not outrageous either.

Only issue for Pearson and AC is that a lot of air travel demand is outside of their control and related to much broader macroeconomic influence. If things keep going like they are 80 million should be achievable... but who knows what the future holds.

It's still surprising... not that long ago the plan was 55 million by 2035 as the airport's theoretical capacity. I think the expansion scope might be a lot larger than we anticipated. I could see an AC-focused international pier built while the hammerhead becomes other * carriers and transborder AC ops.

Getting through security at Pearson canbe painfully slow. If I didn't need to travel to BC so much I would never use it. Also I'm a little paranoid in airports and never feel comfortable until I get through security. They definitely need to hire new people in security. Those relatively new self bag check machines have only forced you to wait in yet another line making your pre-boarding experience that much worse.

No there are no plans to expand Oshawa... you made that up.. surely you know that there will be no expansion at Oshawa. It was killed in 2012. Basic well know fact.
http://www.durhamregion.com/news-sto...ficially-axed/

Now that calls the rest of your reply into question does it not?

Interesting... whereas in Ontario, it's all about Cuba. And for Quebec it's Florida.

Ontario is about to pass a law that would make it illegal for rewards points held by Ontario residents to expire, and Air Miles is lobbying hard against it. Surprise, surprise.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/expir...ates-1.3183694

Back in 2007, Ontario was the first jurisdiction to ban expiry dates on gift cards, and everyone else followed suit shortly thereafter. Something similar will likely happen now. A win for consumers :)

Now let's see. You quote an article from four and a half years ago that is way out of date. What other credentials do you have to back up your last sentence? Or any of your totally erroneous statement for that matter?

I'm an air traffic controller that works for Nav Canada and have friends who work at Oshawa. I've seen first hand the actual plans for the expansion, which will undergo construction at the end of August 2017. The airport will be closed for four weeks whilst the runway is extended and resurfaced. That is a fact. Not something I made up. If you were to fly into Oshawa today you will see all the taxiway and runway 23/05 lines were recently repainted. 12/30 was not repainted because it will be dug up as part of the extension and resurfacing.

Yes, this particular addition will only add approximately 500' to Runway 12/30, but there is additional consideration for the long-term future to add another 2000'.

The point I made is that it is still far more likely that Oshawa will get the extra 2000' or so long before Pickering has shovels in the ground. So no, it does not call into question anything I said in my post!

Air Canada inaugurates newly redesigned International Maple Leaf Lounge in YUL.

http://aircanada.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1084

"Located between gates 52 and 53, the new lounge measures 1,022 square meters and has seating capacity for 259 customers. With floor to ceiling windows offering spectacular tarmac views....
The new lounge offers customers a full service bar and complimentary alcoholic beverages including a selection of Canadian wines, a live food station with a chef, barista-style specialty coffees, complimentary Wifi, a cyber work counter and facilities, living rooms, lounge chairs, showers with heated floors and an exclusive private area for special guests. It also features multiple zones inspired by nature including a garden ceiling that creates the illusion of a forest canopy with ceramic pieces by Quebec artisan Pascale Girardin that imitate the sound of rustling leaves, travel inspired photography by Montreal based Nicolas Ruel, special maple wood and Ontario Eramosa marble. Custom furnishings are by local Canadian designers Nienkämper, Mobilier Moderne, and Brent Comber."

Of note, AC recently opened a MLL in EWR, will expand the YVR international MLL next summer, will build a new domestic lounge in Saskatoon in the fall of 2017 and refurbish the domestic lounges at YYZ, YVR and YUL in 2017.

Also of note, Desjardins bank will soon open a new Odyssey lounge in YUL as well, in order to compete with the National Bank Mastercard VIP lounge. It will be located in the newly built extension of the international pier. So along with the AF/KL Lounge, that will bring up the number of VIP lounges in the international pier to 4. (domestic passengers can access these lounges, as the international and domestic piers are connected air side.)

I'm pretty sure that Cuba is bigger on average with Quebeckers than it is with Ontarians or Canadians from other provinces. Almost every resort I've been to in Cuba had service in French and employees who could speak it quite well. I didn't see that in Mexico or Jamaica and definitely haven't seen it in hotels in Florida. (but yes, a lot of Quebeckers do vacation in Florida)

I know the flights from places like Val-d'Or, Rouyn-Noranda, North Bay, etc. are direct on the way down to the tropical destination. But they have a stop on the way back for passengers to clear customs. I was on one that was returning to Rouyn-Noranda but stopped in Ottawa on the way back. You had to get off the plane, get your luggage, go through customs and then put your luggage back to be loaded back onto the place and then fly.

How do you figure 23? I only count 21 if you include Qantas as seasonal and both Beijing Capital and HK Airlines. And I included Aeromexico as well so in reality it would only be 20 non NA carriers.