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.

Oh boohoo, Swoop only bringing this up because Flair is doing extremely well out of YKF and want flair to be brought down by the CTA. It was a well-known fact that YKF was offering exclusivity deals, even before flair entered YKF.

Swoop couldn't give two [bleeps] about YKF. Just look at YXU and their sad 4x weekly service to YEG.

Just an anecdote... a friend here in Halifax told our coffee group yesterday morning that he had booked return air to London, ON. His choices for his desired dates were AC at approx. $1,200.00 or Flair at approx. $300.00 (even after extras added). The thought was that clearly AC wants nothing to do with London, ON airport.

It’s clear that Flair wants nothing to do with making a profit. As long as the lease payments are funnelled to Florida, everything is hunky dory.

Oh, AC is just happy to clean up on business fares.

Why scrape the bottom with the low-yield visiting family and friends crowd when airline costs are shooting up? Let Flair, Swoop, and Westjet (to a lesser extent) have that crowd.

Had one hell of a time getting to Vancouver just over a week ago (Air Canada, YSJ->YYZ->YVR). Gather round as I regale you with my first experience flying since late 2019...

The early evening flight out of YSJ was delayed over 2 hours departing because of congestion at Pearson - one runway closed, we were told. Was forced to run at breakneck speed through the terminal (they always seem to place your connection at the opposite end!) in order to catch my next flight, only to be denied boarding when I miraculously got to the gate in time. Apparently making that connection was so unlikely, they had automatically bumped me to a flight the next morning!

Got about 4 hours of sleep at the hotel they put me up at before I needed to head back to the airport. I had been assured that my luggage would be checked through to Vancouver and would arrive with me in the morning.

My morning flight to YVR was smooth and uneventful (the YYZ domestic security line was longer than I've ever seen it, but moved fairly quickly, at least at 6:00am it did). However, my luggage most certainly did not arrive on my flight. After waiting for almost an hour, baggage services confirmed it was still in Toronto and would arrive on an undetermined future flight. I had to purchase a couple changes of clothes in Vancouver to tide me over, and my luggage eventually arrived via courier the following afternoon, roughly 48h after I had checked it at YSJ.

My return flights connecting through YUL were thankfully without incident.

TL;DR - YYZ is a bit of a nightmare to travel through right now, even domestically! I might be heading to Toronto in a few months, and if that trip happens, I'm already planning to use YTZ and steer well clear of Pearson.

I don't get why the thinking is that AC wants nothing to do with London, when they are the one that flies here and Flair doesn't. Also as an anecdote, my dad and his wife, who live in London, wanted to fly to Halifax this July so I compared flights for them. It was $1200 for both on AC or WS from London and just under $1000 for both on Flair from Kitchener. I was helping them with the bookings and was surprised how the extras kept adding up on Flair. Flair has the plus that it's one flight, and avoids Pearson. But, it's Kitchener, so they chose London.

AC to add 2nd daily flight from YCG to Vancouver starting July 1st.
Departure from Castlegar 6:05pm.

The role of Swoop in the WestJet family is as the enforcer. It is there to get into price wars with upstart airlines that are behaving in irrational ways.

They are both fair to provide what communities need. We need airline network that provide interlining and the ability to support business development by having daily connection to major domestic, US and international business centers. Both Swoop and Flair fail at that.

Yeah, it is kind of funny how Westjet used to cry about that being an AC tactic yet now that the shoe is on the other foot....:rolleyes:

LH temporarily converting MUC-YUL to Eurowings Discover for June and July. Finnair A350s operating on wet lease.

https://simpleflying.com/eurowings-d...nair-montreal/

It will be a nice change for planespotters at least.

Lufthansa Group is the most convoluted thing.

Leave it to the Germans to make things complex for reasons. Reasons for which I've not the foggiest, but reasons nonetheless.

Cool to see Finnair livery back in the country, and the A350 is something not seen often in the eastern part of Canada.

LH is using the same aircraft for its YYC-FRA on Eurowings starting in August, so both these airports will get exotic spotting

Flair has a press conference scheduled on Wednesday June 1, 2022 which will outline steps based on the CTA ruling.

This could be interesting…

YHZ-FRA as well.

YUL sees plenty of A350s.

For one, LH on MUC-YUL is an A350. So Finnair is just a change in livery, not aircraft type.

Also TK and AF are regular A350 operators to YUL. AF sends quite a mix of equipment on a daily basis actually. Often, the 3 daily flights are on different equipment each, usually one 772, one 77W and one A350. Nowadays, it's 2 A350s and 1 77W.

But yes, it will be nice to see Finnair return to Canada, (and to 3 destinations no less), even if it's not from HEL. They used to serve HEL-YYZ back before the pandemic. B757, then A330.

As for YHZ, they used to stop there for fuel with the 757s in winter, on their HEL-POP runs. When they got the A330s, the fuel stop was no longer required.

Flair CAN continue to fly following their foreign ownership review.

Key takeaway's from the CTA ruling on Flair.


[14] The voting interests in Flair are owned and controlled 58.3 percent by Canadians and 41.7 percent by non-Canadians.

[66] The Agency, recognizes that Flair is cash flow self-sufficient and forecasts, based on its bookings, that it will continue to be so.

[72] Flair informed the Agency that it has agreed to purchase one Boeing MAX 8 aircraft from 777. Flair has also been assigned the direct purchase rights previously held by 777 to acquire from Boeing five new MAX 8 aircraft... The first of these aircraft is to be delivered in June 2022.

[80] Flair continues, however, to be financially dependent on 777 for the ongoing funding of its operations, including the leasing of its aircraft.

[81] While Flair continues to be financially dependent on 777 for the majority of the existing debt, Flair has demonstrated that it is now in a position to generate positive cash flow from operations to the point of being cash self-sufficient.

[82] ...Flair has demonstrated that it can lease new aircraft without having to rely on a guarantee being provided by 777.

https://www.otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/a-2022-63

lol.

So now we know. The CTA ruled in favour of Flair. That's good news for Canadians and not so good news for WestJet's dream of returning to an oligopoly...AC has never cared all that much about what Flair does.

A bit incomplete.

In reality, it's more like...Flair can continue to fly, due to the corrections they brought about, following their ownership review.

Let's be clear, because of this investigation, Flair has made significant changes and concessions in the way they do business and their governance.

So they can spin it any way they like, bottom line is, there was a lot of grey area in their business model, in terms of compliance to Canadian ownership rules. The CTA investigation brought that to light, Flair made the corrections, and so they can continue operations.

Fiji Airways is hiring in Vancouver?

Interesting! They flew here many moons ago as Air Pacific, but never non-stop, always operated flights to Hawaii and then continued on. I wonder if this time will be non-stop? I am pretty sure this is far out of range for a 737 Max-8 if it was non-stop, but easily do-able if it stopped in HNL again, or another stopover. Will be interesting to see what they come out with

^ If it happens, it will surely be non stop NAN-YVR service on either A332 or A350.

I saw it on Indeed but at first I only thought it was an office/call centre type of job but sounds like its more. That would be an exotic tail to spot at any airport!

They used to fly here, around the same time Aloha flew to HNL.

Might just be a generic hiring ad, I recently saw one for Qatar and don't think they have any plans to fly here.

This talk about Fiji Airways reminds me of this article that was posted about a month ago.

New Routes On The Agenda For Fiji Airways

https://simpleflying.com/new-routes-fiji-airways/

Although it's just speculation but YVR was mentioned in this article. Also a comment mentioned that they're looking for new destinations outside of Australia, New Zealand, and the US according to Fijian media.

Based on the job posting, it does heavily imply they will be flying here. I saw it on LinkedIn. Some of the job responsibilities:
• Drives and motivates contracted Ground Handler to maximize revenue through ancillary sales and minimize financial risks caused by irregular operations
• Conducts pre-flight checks on system (Customer Management or Amadeus) and communicate the required corrective actions where applicable within company guidelines
• Influences and monitors the delivery of customer service satisfaction by contracted ground handler to ensure compliance with Service Level Agreement, Fiji Airways Ground Operations manual, safety, security and Dangerous goods policies and procedures.

Having worked for an airline for years, doing contracted ground ops for another airline, a role like this would only be required if the airline was flying here (ie. this position is not required for a codeshare arrangement, like what they have with Alaska). It sounds like they plan to fly their own planes but use a contracted ground handler, which is the norm. This position is essentially to make sure operations run smooth and be a corporate presence to manage the ground handler. All airlines that operate here and use 3rd party handlers have these roles, there's always some higher level representative who actually works for the airline that oversees things.

Having a widebody from them would be awesome!

2x weekly non stop to NAN sounds about right.

They have a very limited long haul fleet, so there is only so much they can do, assuming they will ramp up their existing destinations as well, as demand picks up.

Timing is good for a northern winter 2021-2022 launch, if they announce in the next couple of weeks.

At the end of the day I think everyone is happy about Flair's news... ...except maybe WestJet. Oh well.

Apologies for the tangent, but I thought some here would enjoy this story. I listen to Peter Mansbridge's podcast most days and Thursday is mail day. He spends some time in Scotland each year, and he received an email this week from someone who also is in Scotland and suggested Peter visit a particular air museum that has a Concorde on display. The guy goes on to tell the tale that he worked for British Airways in Toronto in the 80's and was selected for a ride on the Concorde up to the Arctic Circle that BA was doing for some staff in Canada. He declined the ride because he had tickets to a U2 concert that same day in Toronto. His reasoning was "I can always catch a ride on the Concorde, but who knows how long this band is going to be around" lol.