Atlantic Canada airport thread

[someone123]

London is a work destination too, not just holidays, although it's a nice city to visit year-round. I was there last winter.

The only thing is, if you think Halifax is dark.. Halifax is 44 N and London is 51 N. The constant London rain stereotype is exaggerated but it's very overcast. Even so, London has plenty of nightlife for 3 pm and later.

Sometimes when people visit NS from the UK, including in winter, they remark on how many more sunny days there are.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

Presumably a lot of people, considering that AC has operated YHZ-LHR daily for about 60 years now.

Okay sure, but over much warmer, sunnier destinations in Europe?

I’m not saying get rid of the London flight… I’m asking why no transatlantic winter flights to sunnier destinations like the Azores, the Canaries, Ibiza, the South of France, etc?

The Azores seems to an especially logical destination given geographical proximity.

[bingun]

You should also keep in mind that London is one of the most important airports for international connections.

Many folks travelling onto India, Africa, and elsewhere have to first go to London.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by bingun

You should also keep in mind that London is one of the most important airports for international connections.

Many folks travelling onto India, Africa, and elsewhere have to first go to London.

^This......and a world city like London really is a year round destination. A winter vacation there beats the insane summer crowds and not everybody is looking for sun and sand. Theater, shopping, museums, fine dining, historic sites etc easily fill a get away week or 10 days in Feb or March. I'd rather tour a major city in 10C than 35!

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by sailor734

^This......and a world city like London really is a year round destination. A winter vacation there beats the insane summer crowds and not everybody is looking for sun and sand. Theater, shopping, museums, fine dining, historic sites etc easily fill a get away week or 10 days in Feb or March. I'd rather tour a major city in 10C than 35!

London might be a more cultured destination than Ibiza, but I'll take Italy or the south of France in the winter over England any day.

Would be nice to see at least one more year round transatlantic flight to a sunnier, warmer winter destination than London. Portugal seems to be quite popular among Canadians now. I'd much rather go to Portugal and actually explore the country and its cities than stay in some all inclusive resort in Mexico or the Caribbean and barely see the country.

Europe is a pain in the ass in the middle of summer at the height of tourist season, and can be sweltering hot. The south of France, in particular, has nearly perfect winter weather for getting out and exploring. Hotels can be significantly cheaper in the low season too. Nice has the second most hotel rooms among French cities, despite being the 5th largest city.

It would be nice to fly directly to places like Lisbon, Nice, or Rome in the middle of winter from Halifax, without having to first fly to Montreal, Toronto, or London.

[miniborder]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Who the hell wants to travel to London, England during the winter anyways?

For me, and likely many others: business doesn't just disappear into thin air in the winter? Lots of focus on leisure travel in this thread...

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

I'd much rather go to Portugal and actually explore the country and its cities than stay in some all inclusive resort in Mexico or the Caribbean and barely see the country.

I've been to the Yucatan a few times and have never stayed at a resort.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Okay sure, but over much warmer, sunnier destinations in Europe?

I’m not saying get rid of the London flight… I’m asking why no transatlantic winter flights to sunnier destinations like the Azores, the Canaries, Ibiza, the South of France, etc?

The Azores seems to an especially logical destination given geographical proximity.

None of those places you list are beach vacations in the winter. 10-15C is probably an average high. It varies by location but many hotels, restaurants and tourist shops close for a few months in the off season.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by someone123

London is a work destination too, not just holidays, although it's a nice city to visit year-round. I was there last winter.

The only thing is, if you think Halifax is dark.. Halifax is 44 N and London is 51 N. The constant London rain stereotype is exaggerated but it's very overcast. Even so, London has plenty of nightlife for 3 pm and later.

Sometimes when people visit NS from the UK, including in winter, they remark on how many more sunny days there are.

3PM sunsets make London sound like an absolutely dismal place for Canadians to visit during the winter. I'd much rather visit the UK the summer and enjoy much later sunsets, especially in the north of the UK.

Originally Posted by sailor734

None of those places you list are beach vacations in the winter. 10-15C is probably an average high. It varies by location but many hotels, restaurants and tourist shops close for a few months in the off season.

Yeah, i never said they were warm beach locations during the winter, but would be a pretty pleasant change from the Maritimes in the middle of the winter.

I think 10-15C is perfect weather for exploring a city on foot, and would rather do that than chill out drinking at a resort. Winter might be the only time to go to Ibiza and not be surrounded with a bunch of drunk tourists from the UK and the rest of Europe. London might be a world class city, but I think Rome is a more interesting tourist destination, especially for Canadians looking for a "winter escape". London is pretty dreary during the winter, with an average high around 5-10C, which is not even much different than Saint John on a lot of winter days.

November and December are the rainiest two months each year in Rome... improving the chances of being able to visit the Pantheon during a rainstorm. Not only would it be amazing to see rain fall through the oculus, it would be nice to not deal with the large summer tourist crowds.

• Video Link

Would sure love to see this one day, and fly there directly from Halifax.

Originally Posted by OliverD

I've been to the Yucatan a few times and have never stayed at a resort.

While Yucatan has much lower gun violence than the rest of Mexico, all the Canadians that have been killed in Mexico sort of puts me off travelling there, including Yucatan. I'd rather visit safer countries in Europe with much less gun violence.

I really would like to go Mexico one day to visit some Mexican friends from university, but I'm still a bit apprehensive about travelling to Mexico at all, or many other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, due to many of the countries in these regions having the highest rates of gun violence in the world. Hopefully the statistics paint a less dangerous picture one day.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by miniborder

For me, and likely many others: business doesn't just disappear into thin air in the winter? Lots of focus on leisure travel in this thread...

Yeah, I get why the year round flight to London exists, but do Halifax businesses really do more business with the UK than the EU? Seems like there could have been another year round flight to the EU added post Brexit.

Hopefully this happens one day... the more flight options the better. Frankfurt might be the logical destination, but I hope it could be Rome. 🏛

[someone123]

I'd be surprised if London isn't still the top flight hub and business destination, despite Brexit.

The EU probably does have more trade in total than just the UK but it's a large region, and it doesn't matter much if you land in London and transfer to Rome or land in Frankfurt and go to Rome.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by someone123

I'd be surprised if London isn't still the top flight hub and business destination, despite Brexit.

The EU probably does have more trade in total than just the UK but it's a large region, and it doesn't matter much if you land in London and transfer to Rome or land in Frankfurt and go to Rome.

Heathrow remains the busiest airport, but I don't think it's much ahead of Frankfurt.

It would be a benefit for Halifax to have one more year round transatlantic route to the EU, especially if we do see a huge increase in cooperation between Canada and the EU.

Hopefully having more than one year round flight to Europe could result in more competitive pricing on both flights.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Interesting to see he has almost 10 years of experience working at Air Canada including 3 years as General Manager Operations for Air Canada at YVR and 3 years as well as 3 years as Director Customer Experience with Air Canada.


Hope this new CEO can help improve the state of YSJ!

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Interesting to see he has almost 10 years of experience working at Air Canada including 3 years as General Manager Operations for Air Canada at YVR and 3 years as well as 3 years as Director Customer Experience with Air Canada.


Hope this new CEO can help improve the state of YSJ!

YSJ needs one thing above all and that is an increase in daily flights on major carriers to various hubs for connections on the network. Fingers crossed but I'm not sure how much any YSJ CEO can influence that.

[bingun]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Interesting to see he has almost 10 years of experience working at Air Canada including 3 years as General Manager Operations for Air Canada at YVR and 3 years as well as 3 years as Director Customer Experience with Air Canada.


Hope this new CEO can help improve the state of YSJ!

Yes, his background, at least on paper, sounds quite impressive. I wonder how they convinced him to take over the role in Saint John.

As others have said, YSJ's only priority should be getting regular flights to Toronto/Montreal back. I don't personally care about anything else at this stage.

[miniborder]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Yeah, I get why the year round flight to London exists, but do Halifax businesses really do more business with the UK than the EU?

I'd encourage everyone to think less about SMEs/trades/exports ("doing business" in Europe) and think more about the behemoth that is finance/insurance/management consulting.

My colleagues and I generally travel to our London office five times for every one time we travel to our Geneva/Frankfurt/Paris offices. That's not even mentioning how popular London is as a conference destination. There is no EU city that holds a candle to London in our context.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by bingun

Yes, his background, at least on paper, sounds quite impressive. I wonder how they convinced him to take over the role in Saint John.

As others have said, YSJ's only priority should be getting regular flights to Toronto/Montreal back. I don't personally care about anything else at this stage.

Agreed! Everything else comes a distant second to me.

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Okay sure, but over much warmer, sunnier destinations in Europe?

I’m not saying get rid of the London flight… I’m asking why no transatlantic winter flights to sunnier destinations like the Azores, the Canaries, Ibiza, the South of France, etc?

The Azores seems to an especially logical destination given geographical proximity.

If there was demand, likely a carrier would offer the service. If you feel there's demand, there is nothing preventing you from wet leasing some aircraft to run such a service. You could brand the service as Envision.

[bingun]

Saint John Airport names new CEO

https://tj.news/saint-john-south/saint-john-airport-names-new-ceo

Speaking to Brunswick News, Harley said the board utilized a recruitment firm in establishing a list of candidates for the job that resulted in “a number of applicants, north of 50 applicants in total” which was whittled down. She said the board felt it was important to look nationally when seeking a new CEO and wanted someone with industry experience.

Once the candidate list was shortened, she said, Edeburn proved to be the right fit for the position.

“A few things made him stand out,” explained Harley. “His experience in the airline industry…. He has significant experience in the airline industry, which was very important to us. Also, his last job, prior to coming to us, he was the executive at Rocky Mountaineer and he really turned that business around from a company that was doing okay to a company that excelled. He really accelerated the growth there and that’s what we’re looking for.”

Part of that projectory includes the 650 acres of development-ready land surrounding the airport. When first announced in 2023 the airport had pointed to potential developments and amenities such as a hotel, food and beverage services and covered parking.

And while development plans continue and are a focus for the airport, Harley said the hope with Edeburn coming on board is to see development more on the travel side.

“Our focus isn’t on the land. Our focus is really on growing passengers, air traffic…. The land development is important, for sure, but in terms of how we spend our time, our focus, our major focus, is on growing the airport operation itself,” she said. “More flights in and out of Saint John, more convenience for passengers, growing the volume of people who travel through there… We will also continue to look at developing the land, but it’s not our major focus.”

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

The new CEO seems to be saying all the right things. Here's hoping he's given the tools, funding, and cooperation from partners needed to succeed. Good to see he was hired for his extensive experience in the airline industry, and not some sort of local patronage hire like is so often the case. I expect we will see some big changes at YSJ with this new CEO, and if he delivers on what he says (more flights in and our of YSJ) he probably won't be YSJ's CEO for long, as another airport will scoop him up. I wish him the very best.

Originally Posted by bingun

Yes, his background, at least on paper, sounds quite impressive. I wonder how they convinced him to take over the role in Saint John.

As others have said, YSJ's only priority should be getting regular flights to Toronto/Montreal back. I don't personally care about anything else at this stage.

With the new CEO's Air Canada's connections, I hope he can talk some sense into the people in Montreal that are running Air Canada regarding the ticket prices and availability of flights between Saint John and Montreal, which are horrendous.

At least Pascan is now an option to get to Halifax and Montreal, but it needs to be a more affordable option to connect onwards with other airlines on a single booking. I've tried to look up bookings to other destinations such as Paris, and it would spit out a flight like this back out, but always sold out, for any day I looked up:



And then when I'd try and look it up this itinerary on many different dates on Priceline, Expedia, or Porter's website, nothing. Porter has quite a few destinations listed for Saint John via Pascan, but many seem to unavailible, seasonal destinations, and none are located outside of North America.

Originally Posted by sailor734

Agreed! Everything else comes a distant second to me.

We definitely need to get more of the Toronto and Montreal flights back, and would be very good to get Porter back, as Air Canada needs to face more direct competition.

Maybe there's also room to get creative with new routes, that also involve flights between Toronto/Montreal and YSJ.

I hear there's a lot of Canadians living in Portugal now, and YSJ is pretty much directly along the way to Lisbon from Toronto...



Even if only smaller portion of the seats on this route were reserved for YSJ passengers, this type of seasonal, transatlantic route would be quite a huge development for YSJ, and be one more flight option to Toronto.

I wonder how much time and money would it cost Air Canada to pick up some passengers in Saint John on the way to Lisbon from Toronto, and how many of the seats along such a route could be sold to more than 1 passenger. Just a thought.