Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW/CYOW) - Page 43

YOWhopeful · #**841** Posted **Jul 2, 2026, 8:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dominion301

AF 328 is showing inbound from CDG a 1/2 hr early today and is a 772.

I wonder how AF are handling the likely ~275 stranded pax each from yesterday both at YQB and YOW? Hopefully today's AF 327 had 30 or 40 empty seats that could fill some of the gap. Probably some pax were sent to YUL last night and probably again tonight to fill any empty seats on AF. From YQB, the only options would be AF sends pax to YOW both direct and via YUL & YYZ on AC or charter a few buses or Via Rail.

Looking at flightaware the 77W that diverted yesterday to YQB is showing as deadheading to CDG this afternoon: https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/AFR386V/history/20260702/2100Z/CYQB/LFPG.

Why didn’t the plane continue on to YOW after the storm? Was there a mechanical issue? Is it heading back to CDG from YQB empty of passengers?

Dominion301 · #**842** Posted **Jul 2, 2026, 9:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

Why didn’t the plane continue on to YOW after the storm? Was there a mechanical issue? Is it heading back to CDG from YQB empty of passengers?

My guess would be the crew timed out. The return to CDG carries a ferry flight #.

thenoflyzone · #**843** Posted **Jul 3, 2026, 7:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfguy9

I wonder if those F seats are bookable to/from YOW. Of note that 77W - registered F-GSQB has not yet been retrofitted with their new cabins which would have been a treat if they were.

They weren't.

BA routinely sends F equipped 787s (all the -9s and -10s are F equipped) to YUL and YYZ. First class seats on board are sold as business.

AF does the same. A quick glance on the AF website doesn't show any La premiere seats for sale in/out of YOW in the coming weeks/months.

Quote:

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

Why didn’t the plane continue on to YOW after the storm? Was there a mechanical issue? Is it heading back to CDG from YQB empty of passengers?

My guess is, all passengers were probably re-accomodated via other methods, so the need for a sweeper flight (YQB-YOW-CDG) wasn't there.

A similar situation happened at YUL on June 20th. Relentless barrage of thunderstorms all evening long. A lot of diversions. One of the AF flights diverted to YQB and then flew a sweeper flight YQB-YUL-CDG the next day. BA diverted somewhere (can't remember where, maybe YYZ) and did the same thing the next day. So if there is a need, airlines will most definately complete the flight the next day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dominion301

My guess would be the crew timed out. The return to CDG carries a ferry flight #.

If there was a need, the crew could have operated YQB-YOW-CDG the next day. I think the reason they didn't is because all passengers were re-accommodated somehow.

Dominion301 · #**844** Posted **Jul 3, 2026, 9:03 PM**

Today’s departure count: 91

Today's cancellation count (so far): 5

Dominion301 · #**845** Posted **Jul 4, 2026, 1:52 PM**

Today’s departure count: 84

Today's cancellation count (so far): 3

AF 327 on gate 17, AC 345 on 15 and AC 888 on 28

RomanR27 · #**846** Posted **Jul 4, 2026, 7:38 PM**

AC888/889 for the week. Wednesday was cancelled but I got AC889 before it was. I didn't grab AC889 today.

Monday: AC889 - 14/31 J, 18/24 PY; AC888 - full Y, 28/31 J. 23/24 PY
Wednesday: AC889 (cancelled - 789) - 24/30 J, full PY
Thursday: AC889 - full Y/PY, 19/31 J; AC888 - full Y/J, 14/24 PY
Saturday (789): AC888 full Y/PY, 25/30 J

RomanR27 · #**847** Posted **Jul 4, 2026, 8:55 PM**

Air Canada is closing the YOW Maple Leaf Lounge as of Monday (July 6) for renos. Reopening at the end of the year with a "brand new look".

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home...leaf-lounge-details.html#/!lounge@ottawa

Dominion301 · #**848** Posted **Jul 5, 2026, 1:51 PM**

Today’s departure count: 94

Today's cancellation count (so far): 2 - second day in a row the UA IAD & EWR RONs cnld

Dominion301 · #**849** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 12:59 PM**

Today’s departure count: 96

Today's cancellation count (so far): 0

AF 327 on gate 17, AC 345 on 28 and AC 888 on 15.

RomanR27 · #**850** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 1:28 PM**

WestJet appears to have removed the token 2x weekly YEG flight from this winter's schedule, demoting it to a seasonal route alongside YWG. That means just YYC and YYZ will be the only domestic options from WS this winter. It sounds like their winter schedule announcement should be coming soon, so we'll see if any other frequency adjustments are made.

YOWetal · #**851** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 1:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RomanR27

Air Canada is closing the YOW Maple Leaf Lounge as of Monday (July 6) for renos. Reopening at the end of the year with a "brand new look".

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home...leaf-lounge-details.html#/!lounge@ottawa

Wonder if it will end up with a leas seating as there will be a huge drop off in status holders next year.

RomanR27 · #**852** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 3:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Wonder if it will end up with a leas seating as there will be a huge drop off in status holders next year.

I'd wager they will try and get more seating crammed in. If they expect status holders and usage to drop next year, why invest money in a ~6 month reno and not just leave it as-is?

golfguy9 · #**853** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 3:47 PM**

Renovated lounge is welcomed. YOW pales in comparison to the ones with their new design language but 6 months seems like a while. Could be worse, YHZ's will have been closed for over a year by the time it's finished.

OTSkyline · #**854** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 6:30 PM**

I really hope Air Canada/Aeroplan plans to give its elite members access to the Aspire lounge while Maple Leaf Lounge is under reno.

rocketphish · #**855** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 6:37 PM**

Air Canada scales back U.S. flights again. These routes are affected.

The Canadian Press
Published: July 06, 2026 at 12:28PM EDT

MONTREAL — Air Canada is once again scaling back flights to the U.S. amid high jet fuel costs and lower demand for trips south of the border.

Schedule changes by the country’s largest carrier show it is halting or delaying eight transborder routes starting this fall.

Three routes from Toronto and Montreal to cities in America’s Midwest will be cancelled for the second winter in a row, while three seasonal routes from Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City to Florida will start in December rather than October.

Two previously suspended routes from Montreal and Toronto to New York City’s JFK airport also will not be returning this winter.

Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat all made cuts to their summer flight capacity to the United States earlier this year as the war in Iran sent jet fuel prices soaring, rendering some routes unprofitable.

Preliminary figures from Statistics Canada show that the number of Canadians returning by air from the U.S. fell 28 per cent to fewer than 462,000 between May 2024 and this past May.

“Air Canada regularly reviews its schedule to ensure capacity is aligned with customer demand and seasonal travel patterns,” said spokeswoman Angela Mah in an email.

The airline plans to return to JFK in the future, she added. In the meantime, it aims to beef up its presence in New York with up to five daily flights between Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport and LaGuardia Airport this winter, she said.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/article/...flights-again-these-routes-are-affected/

Zmonkey · #**856** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 6:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

I really hope Air Canada/Aeroplan plans to give its elite members access to the Aspire lounge while Maple Leaf Lounge is under reno.

They have not done this in other cities when lounges have gone in renovations.

kwoldtimer · #**857** Posted **Jul 6, 2026, 10:06 PM**

What are the three cancelled routes?

rocketphish · #**858** Posted **Jul 7, 2026, 12:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

What are the three cancelled routes?

I know... great reporting from the Canadian Press eh?

I found it here:

https://simpleflying.com/air-canada-cancels-8-us-routes/

Toronto (YYZ) to Indianapolis (IND)
Montreal (YUL) to Detroit (DTW)
Montreal (YUL) to Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP)

YOWetal · #**859** Posted **Jul 7, 2026, 4:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RomanR27

I'd wager they will try and get more seating crammed in. If they expect status holders and usage to drop next year, why invest money in a ~6 month reno and not just leave it as-is?

I guess to make it more premium as it becomes for a smaller mostly business travelling crowd. I wonder if they also give some of the space back to the Airport as it was already pretty roomy compared to other over-crowded lounges.

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfguy9

Renovated lounge is welcomed. YOW pales in comparison to the ones with their new design language but 6 months seems like a while. Could be worse, YHZ's will have been closed for over a year by the time it's finished.

YHZ was barely a lounge so not much of a loss though. Ottawa was fine as it was.

Zmonkey · #**860** Posted **Jul 7, 2026, 11:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I guess to make it more premium as it becomes for a smaller mostly business travelling crowd. I wonder if they also give some of the space back to the Airport as it was already pretty roomy compared to other over-crowded lounges.

YHZ was barely a lounge so not much of a loss though. Ottawa was fine as it was.

With what Air Canada is doing, they are not doing this for smaller crowds. Lounge usage his record number each year for Air Canada assume this is driven by how easy it is now to get in via premium credit cards.

They are going to have a consistant look for lounges across Canada and Ottawa will likely just be similar to what is planned for Halifax and what happened in Montreal.

- New furniture
-New ceilings
- Way more wood features