McDonalds is a business, the airport is a government owned public service. It would be more like McDonalds telling Waterloo they will only open a restaurant in the city if the city denies any other fast food restaurant there.

I think it’s safe to assume that YKF did their legal due diligence before deciding to offer exclusivity agreements.

The thing is though all airlines need to negotiate agreements to operate out of each airport. So they can limit as to who comes in. Now having said that, what's stopping an existing carrier from launching a competing route (pretty much WS as WG will never fly domestic out of YKF), I'm not sure? I guess it would take a court challenge to find out the legalities of the exclusivity agreements. I can see why they want them to bring the airport stability so that WS can't have their flanker brand "Swoop" in, drive Flair out and then 3 months later see the predatory Swoop pack up and leave town and leaving the city with a deserted expansion...like so many other airports (mostly in the USA) have seen. I think they've seen YHM's decades of rollercoaster, not to mention their own lack of prior success. Letting F8 pull at PD at YKF also helps with F8's longer-term viability to have an airport mostly to themselves.

With YKF allowing Flair to launch YUL-YKF to the chagrin of Pivot (aka the ex-Air Georgian), I'm sure they're not going to wait around forever to let Pivot get off the ground to exclusively operate YKF-YOW. I imagine if Flair steps in and says 'we'll take it', Pivot will be given an ultimatum to 'launch or get tossed'.

April 2022's pax numbers were YOW's best since the start of the pandemic beating August 2021 by 248 pax. The airport has now handled 1.7 million pax in the past 12 months or approximately 33.3% of pre-pandemic traffic. About 1.52 million of that total is in the past 9 months, which is approximately 44.5% of pre-pandemic traffic levels.

Sector / Apr-21 / Apr-22 / % Change
Dom: 20,716 / 187,290 / +804.1%
TB: 0 / 12,288 / #DIV/0!
Int'l: 0 / 8,395 / #DIV/0!
TTL: 20,716 / 207,973 / +903.9%

Sector / YTD 2021 / YTD 2022 / % Change
Dom: 95,827 / 549,738 / +473.7%
TB: 0 / 33,031 / #DIV/0!
Int'l: 0 / 42,722 / #DIV/0!
TTL: 95,827 / 625,491 / +552.7%

12 Months Rolling / % Change vs Year End 2020
Dom: 1,597,861 / +54.8%
TB: 44,273 / -72.9%
Int'l: 58,319 / -65.4%
TTL: 1,700,453 / +24.7%

The meaningful indicator these days for looking at trends
Month-Over-Month Change
Sector / Mar-21 / Apr-21 / % Change
Dom: 161,216 / 187,290 / +16.2%
TB: 10,204 / 12,288 / +20.4%
Int'l: 14,252 / 8,395 / -41.1%
TTL: 185,672 / 207,973 / +12.0%
Avg/Day: 5,989 / 6,932 / +15.7%

I would guess May will come in at around 240,000 pax which would be in line with circa 1994 pax levels.

Check TV is saying it was something that looked like a bomb in a checked bag.

https://www.cheknews.ca/rcmp-inciden...ights-1034616/

Hopefully the CASTA people were mistaken. However it is probably better to be safe than sorry.

Looks like all flights from about 3 to 9 are cancelled or diverted.

YYG 2020 & 2021 pax traffic number released: https://flyyyg.com/news/charlottetow...ublic-meeting/

-2021 saw 111,160 passengers go through YYG Charlottetown Airport.
-Passenger numbers were up 55% from the record low of 71,480 in 2020, but still only reached 29% of 2019 record levels.

YQM 2021 pax and cargo results: https://cyqm.ca/news/greater-moncton...neral-meeting/

Can't remember if YFC was already reported, but here it is: https://yfcfredericton.ca/Latest-New...-restrictions/

YFC are forecasting 9% more capacity in summer 2022 than summer 2019: https://yfcfredericton.ca/Latest-New...n-ever-before/

Pretty remarkable given the loss of all service to YHZ.

Will round out the big three in NB with YSJ

Source: https://www.country94.ca/2022/05/12/...normal-at-ysj/

2021 YSJ Annual Report here: http://saintjohnairport.com/assets/U...sh-M10-6pm.pdf

The airport terminal is currently undergoing a minor expansion/reconfiguration to handle the increase in flights / larger aircraft from Flair & Swoop.

YYJ shutdown and flights diverted due to 'an incendiary device'?????

Never assume anything.

You’d think the Flair legal team did their due diligence as well and had all bases covered, as far as them being a Canadian airline, and yet, the CTA investigation is ongoing.

The CTA could just as easily launch an investigation into this as well, now that its all public knowledge.

It has been public knowledge for years in KW. The Record reported on it at the time, when YKF announced the plan.

Some moron trying to bring inert military explosives onboard in their baggage. Seriously, how dumb can you be?:koko:

Yes, insane. It looks like they came to the conclusion he was harmless enough to let him go while he waits his court date.

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...-on-high-alert

Not certain I would left someone who try to bring surplus explosives onto an aircraft. There was some reports in social media that it was surplus grenades, but the media has not reported that yet.

YYC April 2022 Stats: (First month above 1 million pax since February 2020).

Domestic: 738,301 (+279.1%) YTD: 2,380,233 +201.57%
Transborder: 202,523 (+1535.6%) YTD: 586,315 +837.46%
International: 120,181 (+4554.6%) YTD: 398,139 +ALOT.
April Total: 1,061,005 +405.9

2022 YTD: 3,364,687 +282.15%

CHEK reported yesterday that it was two grenades.

The Waterloo Reigon record ran a story on YKF exclusivity agreements:

https://www.therecord.com/business/2...greements.html

Low-cost airline Swoop wants to fly you to Edmonton, Halifax from Waterloo Region, but can’t due to ‘monopolistic’ agreements
Exclusivity agreements allow carriers like Flair Airlines to have control over certain routes for a certain time frame
Brent Davis
By Brent DavisRecord Reporter
Thu., May 26, 2022timer4 min. read
updateArticle was updated 17 hrs ago
...
The destinations suggested by airport officials that aren’t covered by the exclusivity agreements — places like Regina, San Diego and Mazatlán, Mexico — do not represent “like-for-like market opportunities” compared to Edmonton or Halifax, which may appeal more to local travellers wanting to visit family or friends, the company said.

Airport director Chris Wood said YKF has exclusivity agreements with more than one airline, and said not all of Flair’s routes are exclusive. The agreements may provide exclusivity for up to three years.
.
“The purpose of time-limited exclusivity on new routes is to allow airlines willing to take a risk in establishing new routes out of YKF, to truly test the viability of those services,” Wood said in an email.

“The Region of Waterloo would welcome the opportunity to discuss establishing new routes out of YKF with any Canadian airline.”
.
Jones accused Swoop of copying much of Flair’s schedule nationally, saying that’s the type of behaviour the exclusivity agreements aim to prevent.

“It allows an entrepreneurial carrier time to establish a market without WestJet or its puppet, Swoop, dumping capacity and copying the innovator, and then disappearing again when their dirty work is done.”
.
Flair is just days away from learning if its licences will be suspended, as a federal regulator determines whether it is meeting rules on Canadian ownership.

A ruling is expected June 1; Flair has previously said it planned to ask the Canadian Transportation Agency for an 18-month extension so it could pay off debt to U.S. investors.

If the agency rules in Flair’s favour, Cummings said Swoop has asked the federal government to void the exclusivity arrangement with the regional airport; Swoop questions whether the Region has the authority to enter into such agreements in a federally regulated industry.

While he stressed he’s not a lawyer, aviation expert and McGill University lecturer John Gradek said he believes the agreements are above board.

“My take on it, understanding Canadian aviation practices and regulations in the Canadian environment, is that this is not illegal,” he said. “These landing agreements and these operating agreements are contractual, and you as an airport operator can decide who you want to contract with.”

Although exclusivity agreements aren’t common in Canada, they’re prevalent in the United States, especially among airports serving smaller communities, Gradek said.

I love Jones' bluntness: "Swoop is WestJet's flanker brand to put our airline and YKF airport's dominant carrier our of business and then leave. They're free to come in here any time to launch something we don't already do".

He also knows he's got the WestJet bull by the horns because if WS ever dropped YKF-YYC, he knows Flair will "swoop" (lol) right in the very next day onto that. I guess like back in the day with Porter sticking it to AC, it's only 'unfair' if the little guy beats the big guy at their own game.

Easy for Jones to say, when he's violating Canadian regulations regarding ownership that Westjet and AC have to play by. Is Flair a business trying to turn a profit or are they just a vehicle to shovel lease payment profits to a US investment fund...

I guess we'll find out that answer from the CTA next week. Ownership % was never the issue. The issue is whether the debt and former board structure was 'effective foreign control'. Now that Flair have restructured their board, the arguments about control hold far less water.