Atlantic Canada airport thread

[bingun]

I've taken the trip up to Halifax from Saint John several times in the last couple of years for more convenient or cheaper flights, and while it has worked out well, it isn't without its downsides. It always sounds better when I book it, but it often feels like a wash afterwards. Many people don't take things into account when comparing prices.

Parking in Halifax is a lot more expensive and unavoidable, since you can't get friends or family to drop you off. If you use the covered or exterior lot, it is $180 or $150 a week, or $30/25 a day, which adds up for long trips. I know there is a park-and-fly, but I don't want to deal with that in the winter months, especially if I have to drive home for four hours straight away. YSJ is only $80 a week or $16 a day.

It is also a return trip of over 700 km. I don't have the best gas economy in my car, so I will need about 60L, which at today's prices is $100. If you factor in the wear and tear on your car, it could easily be $200-300. If there is a group of you, it isn't too bad, but for one, it's brutal.

It also often results in a very long travel day. I will typically head out about 6 hours before departure, so I have time to stop and a buffer for delays. Add a long flight and travel on the other side, and it can be very draining.

[magee_b]

YSJ is sharing some news releases around now. But more interesting is the update posted by the CEO

https://ysjsaintjohn.ca/and-now-some-big-news/

Since I arrived here in December, I have been talking about the momentum building at YSJ.

This month, that momentum is picking up speed, and I’m delighted to be sharing news that truly changes the game for Saint John Airport.

Starting June 15, Saint John Airport rejoins the Porter Airlines network – something that opens up destinations throughout Canada for our passengers in a really exciting way.

Through a partnership with Pascan Aviation and the brand-new Montréal Metropolitan Airport, YSJ travellers will have access to Porter’s national network on a single ticket, with seamless baggage connections.

Seven days a week, Pascan whisks Saint John passengers to the new Montréal terminal where they can easily connect to other domestic Porter flights, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and both Pearson and Billy Bishop airports in Toronto.

Even better, the morning flight leaves Saint John at 6:55 a.m., which means same-day travel to any of these destinations, connecting in as little as 45 minutes.

You can leave here and be in Western Canada before noon.

And it’s possible to return to Saint John from some destinations in one day, if you need to, thanks to the final Pascan return flight, which lands at YSJ at around 11 p.m.

This is enormous.

Pascan has been part of our story for a couple of years now, but this partnership changes its role entirely.

Daily service to Montréal, with speedy onward connections, is not a side note – it’s transformational for this community.

We’re not stopping with this. I continue to meet with airline executives across the country and I’m able to share with them some impressive facts about YSJ that folks here might be surprised to hear.

In the first quarter of this year, we saw nearly nine per cent passenger growth – and that’s without a single additional flight.

Flights are full. Demand is real.

And when airlines look at our operational performance, what they find is an airport that leads Atlantic Canada in fewest delays, shortest delays and fewest cancellations – and one that ranks among the top airports in Canada for on-time performance.

Those are the kinds of numbers that get noticed.

Part of what is driving that growth is the work of Team YSJ – a group of business and community leaders who meet quarterly to understand what we are doing, share feedback, and help carry the message forward. Their investment in this airport matters, and it shows up in the numbers.

There is more to come. I am glad to say the path we have been on is producing results – and this community deserves every bit of it.

I'm generally more on the pessimistic side when it's come to how YSJ has operated in recent years, but 9% growth in passenger numbers in a quarter without additional capacity is nothing to sneeze at.

There is a separate post put up today on the airport website which outlines work going on behind the scenes to build the business cases for future air service increases - sounds like they have been working with a firm on a proper air service development plan, something which has been missing since pre-covid. Very happy to hear that. It was roughly 10 years ago that they had someone driving air service development, and at the time it lead to an increase in frequency, Porter Airlines first flights to Ottawa, more competitive fares, and record passenger numbers for the airport. Time will tell if we could see the same sort of improvements, and if they can be sustained.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by magee_b

YSJ is sharing some news releases around now. But more interesting is the update posted by the CEO

https://ysjsaintjohn.ca/and-now-some-big-news/


I'm generally more on the pessimistic side when it's come to how YSJ has operated in recent years, but 9% growth in passenger numbers in a quarter without additional capacity is nothing to sneeze at.

There is a separate post put up today on the airport website which outlines work going on behind the scenes to build the business cases for future air service increases - sounds like they have been working with a firm on a proper air service development plan, something which has been missing since pre-covid. Very happy to hear that. It was roughly 10 years ago that they had someone driving air service development, and at the time it lead to an increase in frequency, Porter Airlines first flights to Ottawa, more competitive fares, and record passenger numbers for the airport. Time will tell if we could see the same sort of improvements, and if they can be sustained.

Great to see. Would be great to see if some more affordable, reliable airport shuttle options arise, or simply a 3-4 times daily service to the AirPort Express route for $10… such a service could easily be expanded to 5-6 times daily if the amount of daily flights at YSJ were to drastically increase one day.

A bus that runs for the earliest flight, twice mid day, and the last flight of the night would be a very useful service that I think a lot of Saint Johners would take advantage of.


It’s very promising to see this more stable connection developed between Saint John and Montreal… Air Canada charges exorbitant prices for their flights between YSJ and YUL.

Repeating what others have said, it would be great to see Pascan negotiate agreements with AC and West Jet, but also Air Transat via Quebec City, which has quite a few options, including transatlantic flights.

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by magee_b

YSJ is sharing some news releases around now. But more interesting is the update posted by the CEO

https://ysjsaintjohn.ca/and-now-some-big-news/


I'm generally more on the pessimistic side when it's come to how YSJ has operated in recent years, but 9% growth in passenger numbers in a quarter without additional capacity is nothing to sneeze at.

There is a separate post put up today on the airport website which outlines work going on behind the scenes to build the business cases for future air service increases - sounds like they have been working with a firm on a proper air service development plan, something which has been missing since pre-covid. Very happy to hear that. It was roughly 10 years ago that they had someone driving air service development, and at the time it lead to an increase in frequency, Porter Airlines first flights to Ottawa, more competitive fares, and record passenger numbers for the airport. Time will tell if we could see the same sort of improvements, and if they can be sustained.

Agreed that 9% growth is impressive and that was before Flair was operating.

With Flair going, and the Porter announcement and the demand growth it seems likely and would be nice to see YSJ get back to Pre-Covid levels of ~400,000 passengers a year in the near future.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

Agreed that 9% growth is impressive and that was before Flair was operating.

With Flair going, and the Porter announcement and the demand growth it seems likely and would be nice to see YSJ get back to Pre-Covid levels of ~400,000 passengers a year in the near future.

Yes.....and an increase in flight frequency rather than just capacity would also be great. While I'm not a huge fan of the Q400's I'd happily put up with them operating some flights in return for AC going back to 3-4 departures a day to Toronto and 3 to Montreal. PAL (operating as Air Canada express) competing with Pascon to Halifax would also be great.

[bingun]

I saw news about the additional Pascan flights and Porter connections circling (CTV, TJ, etc.), so that is positive.

Below is the news about future service development. I hope this is released after the AGM. I would love to read it.

https://ysjsaintjohn.ca/agm-preview-building-air-service/

At the AGM, Marcus will share insights from the study and outline what it will take to move forward.

[J81]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Agreed, Pascan having even a basic interline agreement with AC and Westjet would help with flying through Halifax a lot.

That probably wont happen with AC. WJ maybe but still cant see it.

Was SJ one of the regional routes out of YHZ announced by AC/PAL last year? I remember YQM, YYG for sure but i cant remember the others. YQY maybe?

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by J81

That probably wont happen with AC. WJ maybe but still cant see it.

Was SJ one of the regional routes out of YHZ announced by AC/PAL last year? I remember YQM, YYG for sure but i cant remember the others. YQY maybe?

Nope, YSJ was left out.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by J81

That probably wont happen with AC. WJ maybe but still cant see it.

Was SJ one of the regional routes out of YHZ announced by AC/PAL last year? I remember YQM, YYG for sure but i cant remember the others. YQY maybe?

YFC and YQM only.

[J81]

Originally Posted by sailor734

YFC and YQM only.

Bummer

[q12]

Route map updated a few days ago for YHZ:

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Would be sure nice to replace that year round Orlando flight with a year round Lisbon flight

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Would be sure nice to replace that year round Orlando flight with a year round Lisbon flight

Agree. 100%.

[Offshore1]

St. John's International (YYT) Airport CEO mentions future expansion in the article. Planning is important, and as the airport with the absolute worst weather in the country I hope a parking garage would be part of any future construction. That said, the numbers show traffic increasing modestly and just now reaching pre-pandemic levels. Not anticipating much change in the short term.

https://vocm.com/2026/05/06/298364/

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by Offshore1

St. John's International (YYT) Airport CEO mentions future expansion in the article. Planning is important, and as the airport with the absolute worst weather in the country I hope a parking garage would be part of any future construction. That said, the numbers show traffic increasing modestly and just now reaching pre-pandemic levels. Not anticipating much change in the short term.

https://vocm.com/2026/05/06/298364/

Why pay for parking at all when there’s convenient bus service to YYT?

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Why pay for parking at all when there’s convenient bus service to YYT?

Because convenience......and who wants to wait for a bus when you can drive yourself and not be at the whim of their schedule?

[Offshore1]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Because convenience......and who wants to wait for a bus when you can drive yourself and not be at the whim of their schedule?

Precisely - plus not everyone lives in the city to avail of the "convenient" bus service.

[MonctonRad]

Moncton airport welcomes new service to Toronto, Montreal
Flair Airlines will begin new Moncton-Toronto service May 15
Author of the article:Alan Cochrane
Published May 06, 2026 • Last updated 21 hours ago • 2 minute read
https://tj.news/moncton-miramichi/moncton-airport-welcomes-new-service-to-toronto-montreal {paywall}

The Greater Moncton Romeo LeBlanc International Airport (YQM) will hold a celebration May 15 as Flair Airlines launches a new service to Toronto.

Courtney Burns, President and CEO of the airport authority, said this week that Flair Airlines will have flights to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), three times per week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, beginning May 15.

Burns said Porter Airlines will also begin a new service on June 19, between Moncton and the new Montréal Metropolitan Airport, which is located 15 kilometres from downtown Montreal. Porter already offers service from Moncton to Ottawa and the Toronto City Airport.

In 2025, the airport also added two new passenger boarding bridges, opened a new Connections Café and Souvenir shop.

Burns said the airport is starting to plan for an expansion of the airport terminal, which was officially opened in 2002 by Queen Elizabeth II. Burns said the proposed plan will be to expand the waiting area for passengers who have passed through security, which is in the centre of the building.

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Moncton airport welcomes new service to Toronto, Montreal
Flair Airlines will begin new Moncton-Toronto service May 15
Author of the article:Alan Cochrane
Published May 06, 2026 • Last updated 21 hours ago • 2 minute read
https://tj.news/moncton-miramichi/moncton-airport-welcomes-new-service-to-toronto-montreal {paywall}

Hopefully they will have lots of days of the week on this route. Cheap flights to Toronto that can align with other flights in YYZ would be great.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by bridgeoftea

Hopefully they will have lots of days of the week on this route. Cheap flights to Toronto that can align with other flights in YYZ would be great.

3x weekly at present.