Atlantic Canada airport thread

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

From the Canada section:



That's right - Moncton/Calgary via WestJet is going year-round!!!

And, it is apparently going to be daily next summer (currently 6x weekly)

That’s good news and I wish we had WJ YyZ service from YQM to help us connect through with either DL or WJ to other destinations.

[lirette]

One of the fastest growing urban areas in Canada moving its airport to a small farming town is one of the funnier things I've read on this forum in a long time .

Lets also not forget that people using the airport in Moncton potentially come from Shediac, Bouctouche, Cap Pele, Sackville, Amherst, Richibouctu etc. Adding anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to your travel time to the airport in a small province like NB is not the same as people travelling 1.5 hours to Pearson. The more difficult you make it and earlier you have to get up people will just start looking elsewhere for flights. I might as well start looking for flights in Halifax or Bangor if I'm going to have to overnight for my 6am flight in Sussex in the winter so I can sleep in till 3:30 AM>

This doesn't even address things like lack of amenities upon arrival in a place like Sussex. Cabs / Rental Cars / etc.

As others have said, better to spend this money on improving non existing high speed rail service in NB if we want to think about convenience of travel. If we had a quality rail service that was affordable and fast I would use it 5-6 times per year for trips to SJ/Fredericton/Halifax

This is reminding me of that guy who had that plot of land in the middle of nowhere that was proposing to move Avenir Centre out towards Hillsborough NB.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by lirette

As others have said, better to spend this money on improving non existing high speed rail service in NB if we want to think about convenience of travel. If we had a quality rail service that was affordable and fast I would use it 5-6 times per year for trips to SJ/Fredericton/Halifax

Let's face it, this is just as much of a pipe dream as a single airport.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Let's face it, this is just as much of a pipe dream as a single airport.

Absolutely, considering there isn't a single politician that seems to be advocating for any improvement to rail service local, provincially or federally. At least its far more logical than an airport in sussex though.

From a more realistic perspective, now that Moncton has a consistent connection to the west, the only other thing I'd love to see at YQM is 3X per week connection to the US (New York or Boston?) and perhaps 1 seasonal connection to Europe. I'd love to see this within the next 5 years.

[J81]

Originally Posted by lirette

Absolutely, considering there isn't a single politician that seems to be advocating for any improvement to rail service local, provincially or federally. At least its far more logical than an airport in sussex though.

From a more realistic perspective, now that Moncton has a consistent connection to the west, the only other thing I'd love to see at YQM is 3X per week connection to the US (New York or Boston?) and perhaps 1 seasonal connection to Europe. I'd love to see this within the next 5 years.

We had daily to EWR and during the summer double daily for a couple years. The demand is there. The number of pilots is not however. Hopefully itll come back someday

[MonctonRad]

VP of WestJet was in Moncton today to announce the year round service to Calgary.

https://tj.news/times-and-transcript/102145141 (paywall)

The VP went out of his way to state that there is a place for Moncton and NB in WestJet's future growth strategy, although he didn't elaborate.

He did mention that SunWing will increase it's service levels in Moncton this winter with 18% more seats to sun destinations, including Cancun, Caya Coco, Montego Bay, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana and Varadero.

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by lirette

One of the fastest growing urban areas in Canada moving its airport to a small farming town is one of the funnier things I've read on this forum in a long time .

Lets also not forget that people using the airport in Moncton potentially come from Shediac, Bouctouche, Cap Pele, Sackville, Amherst, Richibouctu etc. Adding anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to your travel time to the airport in a small province like NB is not the same as people travelling 1.5 hours to Pearson. The more difficult you make it and earlier you have to get up people will just start looking elsewhere for flights. I might as well start looking for flights in Halifax or Bangor if I'm going to have to overnight for my 6am flight in Sussex in the winter so I can sleep in till 3:30 AM>

This doesn't even address things like lack of amenities upon arrival in a place like Sussex. Cabs / Rental Cars / etc.

As others have said, better to spend this money on improving non existing high speed rail service in NB if we want to think about convenience of travel. If we had a quality rail service that was affordable and fast I would use it 5-6 times per year for trips to SJ/Fredericton/Halifax

This is reminding me of that guy who had that plot of land in the middle of nowhere that was proposing to move Avenir Centre out towards Hillsborough NB.

The problem with your argument is that you're advocating for a shorter drive for very small population centers versus centralizing an airport for the three major population centers in the province. NB cities are all growing nicely from a statistics perspective but are very small cities individually and can't compete.

Arguing for an airport to service tiny villages is the funniest post Ive read on this forum in a very long time, and a big part of what continues to hold NB back.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

The problem with your argument is that you're advocating for a shorter drive for very small population centers versus centralizing an airport for the three major population centers in the province. NB cities are all growing nicely from a statistics perspective but are very small cities individually and can't compete.

Arguing for an airport to service tiny villages is the funniest post Ive read on this forum in a very long time, and a big part of what continues to hold NB back.

No, I'm advocating for a shorter drive for the largest and fastest growing city in the province, in addition to all of those smaller villages to the north of the city. Im simply adding additional things to consider. YQM is showing strong numbers from their airport, and the other 2 airports are showing promise as well. Lets keep the momentum going.

You do know that Sussex is 1.5 hours from Fredericton right? If no one should be bothered by that drive then lets centralize in Moncton instead

[Pugsley]

Many years back, I actually did my graduating project from Urban Planning on the economic pros and cons of a centralized airport and was able to show, well at least from my grade and prof's feedback, that instead of a centralized airport the province would be better served with an airport in Moncton and one between Saint John and Fredericton. Crazy, I know, but in it I argued that being west of CFB Gagetown and midway between the two cities, it would have a greater population capture to support better overall frequency of flights and connectivity IF a new four lane road and direct rail link to the port was also built along the same corridor to service it.

Essentially, it would have been only 10 minutes longer to access than that of the airport in Halifax to downtown Halifax and both airports would provide for overall better connectivity for the eastern and western communities in the province relying on existing road infrastructure at the time. This was in the late 90s.

Further, I argued that the new airport between Saint John and Fredericton could serve as an additional air base to support CFB Gagetown, with direct access and connectivity to the base and its network of interior roads, making it an ideal outbound facility for deploying troops and equipment as well as inbound troops conducting training exercises in support of NATO.

But likely never to get off the ground given the political agenda at the time.

I also argued successfully that the current sprawl to the east of Saint John would only become worth with an airport located in Sussex, further contributing to urban decay and flight from the city. Moving the airport to the proposed location would likely result in more development in the Grand Bay/Westfield region and would, based on examples from other urban areas, create an economic corridor that would better link Fredericton and Saint John. This combined with the rail link to the port would further position it as a gateway.

[MonctonRad]

This makes a lot of sense.

There are essentially two New Brunswicks anyway (SW & NE). Leave YQM to serve the NE part and, the rest of the central Maritimes. A new combined Saint John/Fredericton airport equidistant between the two cities would be a lot like YHZ (located between Halifax and Truro). It would be a strong competitor to YQM. I agree that complete four-laning of route 7 would be necessary if this were to happen (should be done anyway), and , a full airport here would make a lot of sense for troop deployment from Gagetown. Not so sure about the railway bit, but, Freddy should be reconnected to the national railway system anyway.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

Many years back, I actually did my graduating project from Urban Planning on the economic pros and cons of a centralized airport and was able to show, well at least from my grade and prof's feedback, that instead of a centralized airport the province would be better served with an airport in Moncton and one between Saint John and Fredericton. Crazy, I know, but in it I argued that being west of CFB Gagetown and midway between the two cities, it would have a greater population capture to support better overall frequency of flights and connectivity IF a new four lane road and direct rail link to the port was also built along the same corridor to service it.

Essentially, it would have been only 10 minutes longer to access than that of the airport in Halifax to downtown Halifax and both airports would provide for overall better connectivity for the eastern and western communities in the province relying on existing road infrastructure at the time. This was in the late 90s.

Further, I argued that the new airport between Saint John and Fredericton could serve as an additional air base to support CFB Gagetown, with direct access and connectivity to the base and its network of interior roads, making it an ideal outbound facility for deploying troops and equipment as well as inbound troops conducting training exercises in support of NATO.

But likely never to get off the ground given the political agenda at the time.

I also argued successfully that the current sprawl to the east of Saint John would only become worth with an airport located in Sussex, further contributing to urban decay and flight from the city. Moving the airport to the proposed location would likely result in more development in the Grand Bay/Westfield region and would, based on examples from other urban areas, create an economic corridor that would better link Fredericton and Saint John. This combined with the rail link to the port would further position it as a gateway.

Interesting because I've made the same argument though with much less research – glad my idea has some merit.

The exit at Petersville Hill is pretty much exactly equidistant between the two city centres. You could have a small service node there with a hotel or two, gas station, fast food, etc.

I think rail is a pipe dream but you could easily have a shuttle service to both cities for passengers and employees. It's honestly a completely logical solution to this question, if both airports hadn't just dumped tons of money into their respective facilities.

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by OliverD

I think rail is a pipe dream but you could easily have a shuttle service to both cities for passengers and employees. It's honestly a completely logical solution to this question, if both airports hadn't just dumped tons of money into their respective facilities.

Thanks. To clarify, I proposed it as a trunk realignment for cargo only, not passenger. Recommendation was the establishment of a long-term container yard adjacent to the airport feeding from the port. This facility could be used for switching cargo destined for various markets in Canada/US that came in from the Port of Saint John. It also recommended the establishment of adjacent warehousing facilities to support North American-wide next day delivery by air for specialty items imported from the port but requiring longer and specialized storage (medical, pharmaceuticals, etc).

I also proposed a rapid bus service between the two cities with check-in facilities in Saint John and Fredericton. This would allow passengers to arrive at a bus terminal in downtown Fredericton or Saint John, use a kiosk to check-in, and then take a bus to the terminal and bypass the need for additional check-in upon arrival. This was of course before 9-11 but I think it could still be feasible.

As for the highway, I recommended a new alignment west of the actual base following the rural 101 through Hoyt. It would have been a toll road with the 7 remaining a non-toll alternative. It would have begun at the Welsford area, travelled up along the 101, then link up with the current interchange of the 7/TCH south of Fredericton.

The airport itself would have been ,located roughly where Patterson is today.

[DyAm00394]

Saint John Airport is teasing online that an announcement is coming tomorrow, with the caption very much hinting to possibly sun destination(s).

"You’re going to want some SPF for this announcement ������
Tune in tomorrow for some exciting news!
☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Vous allez vouloir du IPS pour cette annonce ������
Rendez-vous demain pour des nouvelles passionnantes!"

https://www.facebook.com/saintjohnairpor...pCeTqiR8XvNBf6DhbEdWzDNhyRwRhZbnsPWsELhl

[NewIreland]

Big announcement concerning YSJ tomorrow. Any guesses as to what it might be? The return of Porter?

[DyAm00394]

Originally Posted by NewIreland

Big announcement concerning YSJ tomorrow. Any guesses as to what it might be? The return of Porter?

Most likely a sun destination(s). The caption of the post mentions "you are going to want some SPF", a bunch of sun emojis, and the image they attached to the post is blurred picture of a sunny place with palm trees. Also in the blurred image they say "Sorry for the cryptic post, we have a Flair for the dramatic" Flair is capitalized. So probably a new flight route to a sun destination through Flair Airlines.

[MonctonRad]

This news release was just issued by WestJet:

https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2023-07-31...-sun-and-leisure-connections-this-winter

In essence it states WestJet's ongoing commitment to Hamilton, but, mentions only sun flights and "ongoing connectivity to Calgary.'

As such, it would appear that, for at least the time being, there will be no WestJet flight replacing the Swoop connection to Hamilton from YQM.

[J81]

Flair airlines to Orlando-Sanford this winter from Saint John. Good for SJ.

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by J81

Flair airlines to Orlando-Sanford this winter from Saint John. Good for SJ.

Wow!! That is the primary flight that really draws SJ folks to BGR so it will be interesting to see what impact that has on passenger numbers. Better book early for March break!

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

Wow!! That is the primary flight that really draws SJ folks to BGR so it will be interesting to see what impact that has on passenger numbers. Better book early for March break!

Great news! We already have our booking in place for Mar 2024 to Orlando, next time though! So convenient. I checked and if I could do the Tuesday it would be $436 & up per person out of my own city. Next time!

[MonctonRad]

Telegraph Journal article states that Saint John will be cut to 1x daily Air Canada service to Pearson after Labour Day, and that Fredericton will be cut to 2x daily service.

Meanwhile, Air Canada service from YQM Moncton to YYZ Pearson will remain at 3x daily.

https://tj.news/telegraph-journal/102151533 (paywall)

Airport executives at both YSJ and YFC are most displeased, especially the CEO in Saint John who muttered darkly about Air Canada showing "favouritism" towards Moncton.