YEG - Edmonton Int Airport

[Coldrsx]

air china then...i know many people who like flying it.

[rapid_business]

I flew China Southern from Zhengzhou to Haikou a couple of years ago on a ATR 72. (72 seater prop.) Smoking and the whole 9 yards was a go. An Chinese businessman who wanted to practice his English moved to sit beside me and smoked like a chimney the whole flight. To top it off, some weird purple smoke came out of a vent and flooded the whole plan to 'cleanse the cigarette smell' as my new best-friend the chimney smoker told me.

It sure was different from the norm.

[Rocket252]

Sounds like Chinese airline horror stories day yesterday.

Even if we have the traffic for far East routes I think Calgary would get a flight sooner than us and we will route through them.

That and YVR as well. There are a tons of flights from there.

The realities of living close to hubs

[Edmonchuck]

more the reality of not being a hub for any network...

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by ExcaliburKid

^With EDMTREKKERs numbers there, I dont see whats holding airlines back, other than available slots. I would imagine those routes would succeed.

Not having available slots is a pretty big impediment to new flights, as are half century old ICAO agreements. Also, even if you could support a flight, all the money is made on business and first seats, so you need not just backpackers going to Thailand, but people willing to spend ten times as much.

It just makes sense to route through Vancouver for Edmonton, since the flights are so frequent anyways.

[LO 044]

Originally Posted by kyle_olsen

all the money is made on business and first seats, so you need not just backpackers going to Thailand, but people willing to spend ten times as much.

It just makes sense to route through Vancouver for Edmonton, since the flights are so frequent anyways.

Exactly.

[EdmTrekker]

An extract

http://www.whitehorsestar.com/auth.php?r=47651


Air North enjoyed jump in revenue and passengers

By TREVOR WALES

Air North held its annual general meeting on Tuesday evening to cap off what president Joe Sparling calls another successful year.
One hundred and sixty shareholders showed up at the meeting to discuss the achievements of the company over the past year, and where it’s headed in the future.
“It was a strong year, I’m very happy for us,” Sparling said in an interview this morning.
Air North generated $37.5 million in revenue in the past year, up 25 per cent from the previous year.
Ridership also rose from just under 100,000 passengers to approximately 107,000 passengers.
The airline also moved four million pounds of cargo, which also experienced a slight increase from the previous year.
“The shareholders present were all pretty happy,” Sparling said. “There wasn’t much in the way of concerns.”
Come September, class-C shareholders with Air North will have to choose from two offerings.
If they want their money back, they can turn in their shares. Or, they can convert them into a different type of shares if they wish to retain their flight dividends.
Sparling suspects the majority will convert them to a different type in order to hold onto their flight benefits.
Air North has almost 600 shareholders.
Sparling said the airline is exceeding expectations in the Alberta market, where it’s experiencing larger-than-expected passenger loads.
Air North currently flies to Calgary and Edmonton four times a week. It may begin flying there five times weekly to accommodate the bigger loads over the summer season.While it hasn’t been as successful within the Yukon and British Columbia, Sparling said both passenger and cargo traffic had still increased in those markets from the previous year.
The company recently launched a television ad campaign on Global television. It also painted the tails of all its aircraft orange and added a Yukon logo to the aircraft.
“It’s really distinctive and eye-catching,” Sparling said. “In all the places we go, people are able to identify us as from the Yukon.”
The airline will be doing interior refurbishments on all of its aircraft in the near future, such as replacing the cabin upholstery, and Sparling said it also has a couple long-term plans.
He said there is the possibility of bringing in a newer generation of Boeing aircraft for the airline’s southern routes within the next year, and that they would like to begin offering jet service to its northern destinations of Dawson City and Old Crow.
Before it adds jet service, however, there will have to be infrastructure improvements such as runway work, which is up to the territorial government.
Sparling said Air North has been encouraging the government to think about making such improvements.

Delta is looking at adding LAX-YEG per airliners.net

[EdmTrekker]

AC to China

Interesting article saying AC is having trouble with freight to China - so much competition. Makes me wonder who will be surving in the end.

http://www.domain-b.com/aero/June/2007/20070626_air_canada.htm

Capacity glut: Air Canada terminates freighter operations to China
26 June 2007

Toronto: Air Canada will terminate its freighter operations to China at the end of this month, and return a leased MD-11 freighter to ACMI provider, World Airways. The Canadian carrier was running an all-cargo service between Shanghai and Toronto.

According to Claude Morin, president, Air Canada Cargo, capacity glut and declining yields forced the decision, and pointed to the multitude of trans-Pacific freighter flights from Shanghai that have been launched over the past year.

Over the past year, US carriers such as UPS and Polar have boosted their Shanghai operations. Chinese carriers, Shanghai Airlines and Yangtze River Express, too, have commenced US flights, and Jade Air Cargo was poised to start a B747-400ERF operation from its hub at Shenzhen via Shanghai to Vancouver and Houston this month.

Industry analysts acknowledge that yields in the trans-Pacific market have suffered as capacity has increased. The market is hurting more with new entrants adding capacity to an already over-served market.

Air Canada has been gradually scaling back its China freighter operation. Eight months back it handed one of the two MD-11 freighters it was operating on the route, back to the leasing company and reduced the frequency of it flights to Shanghai's Pudong airport from five to three flights a week.

Air Canada still has daily passenger flights to-and-from Pudong, which still deliver some 90 tonnes of cargo a week to the market.

[EdmTrekker]

Originally Posted by brento79

Delta is looking at adding LAX-YEG per airliners.net

Thats odd - I read the post. But the flight is supposedly being operated by Xjet - and they do not have an agreement with Delta (right now). Check out their website.

http://xjet.com/

ExpressJet Airlines, Inc.
With over 7,000 employees, ExpressJet is one of the world’s largest regional air carriers—providing quick, comfortable flights to business travelers through both commercial and corporate aviation.
In addition to its own commercial service, ExpressJet Airlines operates a fleet of Embraer jets as Continental Express to more than 150 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Our customers get friendly, efficient service and comfortable leather seating. ExpressJet Airlines also owns and operates ExpressJet Training Services, which provides outsourced training services.
ExpressJet Services, LLC
ExpressJet Services, LLC provides third-party maintenance, repair and overhaul services for a variety of aircraft types. The business has multiple facilities in the United States. Its 25,000 square foot Shreveport, Louisiana facility is FAR 145-certified and one of the only airline thrust reverser facilities for the Embraer Regional Jet in North America.

[EdmTrekker]

I am now correcting myself (sort of). The ExpressJet site does not say they operate for Delta or even show LAX as a destination. But the Delta Connection site indicates under "Partners" the following:

Delta Connection
ExpressJet also flies under the name Delta Connection, supporting the regional service efforts of Delta Air Lines. One of a half-dozen Delta Connection carriers, our partnership with Delta provides instant access to hundreds of North American cities.

Having said this - its kind of confusing as to what is what. But indeed if we do get the daily flight - hurray for Hollywood (great place btw)!!

[tuffyy]

^Good to see AC getting competition on the route.Rumor has it that WS also wants YEG-LAX aswell.The ERJ-145 is a good airplane having flown on one from IAH-RSW on CO.

[LO 044]

I would imagine WestJet's 737-600/700/800's would trump the ERJ-145 in terms of passenger comfort. AC's E-190's are a different story, they are supposedly more comfortable than Boeing 737's or Airbus 320's. Although i have never flown the ERJ-145, i have friends that have and they weren't impressed. Still, some competition for AC can't be a bad thing.

I hate them, their worst than a crj200

[EdmTrekker]

County adopts airport policy
Ensures commercial flights still head to city

by Conal MacMillan
Wednesday July 04, 2007

The Strathcona Airport won’t be landing commercial flights any time soon even though the recent expansion gives it the capability to land 70-passenger planes.
County council approved a policy last week limiting the size of planes that can land at the Josephburg facility in response to residents’ concerns as well as concerns from the Edmonton Regional Airports Authority (ERAA).
The ERAA was concerned that the $7.4 million upgrade to the 120-acre airport would mean commercial flights could start to land at the county airport.
“Shell is, I believe, about 7 per cent of their business at the city centre airport. So, (the ERAA is) concerned about the loss of income,” said Coun. Jacquie Fenske, who represents the ward in which the airport sits.
However, the new policy makes it clear that the county isn’t interested in accepting commercial flights at the facility.

The policy allows Strathcona County to assure the ERAA that it has no interest in changing regional air service plans, said David Churchill, airport manager. Besides, he added, the airport has no lounge, no terminal building and no cargo bay to support commercial operations such as Air Jazz, Air Canada’s economy planes.
“They could actually come into the site, it’s big enough,” he said adding that the county doesn’t really want that service. The county only wants to provide the infrastructure to service the Industrial Heartland, he said.
Shell, who paid $5.6 million toward the upgrades, will continue to be permitted to land its planes at the airport which is a few kilometres south of its Scotford complex. But other interested industry in the Heartland will have to apply to be able to use the facility.
Fenske said she’s not aware of any industries having taken that step.
The policy also allows the airport manager to restrict the flight patterns of planes, which some Josephburg residents at an open house had concerns with, Fenske said.
The policy also has provisions that allows the airport manager to restrict or suspend other activities.
“If there is a concern with the noise, the policy now allows us to put restrictions into hours of operation or when the jet engines can run up,” Churchill said.
The policy will come before council again in January so they can review it and make any necessary changes.
[email protected]

[Coldrsx]

June Numbers....HOLY CRAP!


dom-434,105 up 20.2%
trans-54,525 up 15.2%
intl 17,487 up 182.9%
------------------------
total 506,117 up 21.7%

[Coldrsx]

for reference....2006

2006 - june:

dom - 359,928
tran - 48,589
intl - 6,182
-------------------
tot - 414, 699



or


92,000 more people in 30 days went through YEG....unreal!

[CMD UW]

/\ UNreal.....holy sh*t!!!

To be honest, I hope they are fasttracking the new terminal, because growth like this is going to bust YEG more than it already is. It's going to get worse folks.

[ibz]

I even had to wait in line at Sparro last time! I agree the way things are going, we havent seen nothing yet when it comes to congestion.

Those #s are incredible though.

[CanadianCentaur]

Originally Posted by LO 044

I would imagine WestJet's 737-600/700/800's would trump the ERJ-145 in terms of passenger comfort. AC's E-190's are a different story, they are supposedly more comfortable than Boeing 737's or Airbus 320's. Although i have never flown the ERJ-145, i have friends that have and they weren't impressed. Still, some competition for AC can't be a bad thing.

I've found AC's E190s about the same comfortwise or only slightly better than in a 737NG or A320. But you sure don't have to worry about middle seats in Y. The E190's not a bad plane to fly in.