YEG - Edmonton Int Airport

[SHOFEAR]

I suppose that makes more sense...I didn't even think of that.

[Coldrsx]

after being at YYC twice in 8 days...i found it "a bigger airport feel" but not as nice as YEG

[kcantor]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

after being at YYC twice in 8 days...i found it "a bigger airport feel" but not as nice as YEG

and now we know another reason why calgary maintains bigger passenger counts than edmonton - we're still letting them count us as calgary passengers.

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by cdnklc

and now we know another reason why calgary maintains bigger passenger counts than edmonton - we're still letting them count us as calgary passengers.

indeed.

We had a group of 61 of which 60% were from Edmonton but we flew YYC because of a $100 diff.

i hated the 3hr drive

[CMD UW]

Given the cost of fuel, time and perhaps parking, it is worth it for $100...not really.

[CanadianCentaur]

I don't exactly give a — if $100 makes a difference - I'll still try to fly out of YEG.

[Rocket252]

Let me give you an example regarding Calgary that is affecting me:

We are planning on going to Europe next year and have an opportunity to use RBC Points to get there. I have just heard that we can redeem our RBC points for 50% more British Airway points which means we could go through Calgary via BA.
Now those of you out there will say "well he does not really count because he is using points and not paying full fair" but this is something that sways people such as myself into considering Calgary in my flight planning.

I would rather fly through Edmonton and want to support it as much as I can but if you are presented with this sort of opportunity it makes things difficult and reflects the reality of how airlines are able to "funnel" passengers into hubs.

[kcantor]

Originally Posted by Rocket252

Let me give you an example regarding Calgary that is affecting me:

We are planning on going to Europe next year and have an opportunity to use RBC Points to get there. I have just heard that we can redeem our RBC points for 50% more British Airway points which means we could go through Calgary via BA.
Now those of you out there will say "well he does not really count because he is using points and not paying full fair" but this is something that sways people such as myself into considering Calgary in my flight planning.

I would rather fly through Edmonton and want to support it as much as I can but if you are presented with this sort of opportunity it makes things difficult and reflects the reality of how airlines are able to "funnel" passengers into hubs.

i believe you can catch british airways out of vancouver and there isn't much difference in either price or time in the air... you can also use your rbc points to get to vancouver so even if you can't get there from here, you should still be able to get there without using calgary. don't get me wrong, i'm not "anti-calgary", just anti "how they count connecting passengers using their airport" and i will go out of my way not to contribute to that if i can help it. if that means using vancouver or seattle or minneapolis or denver as a connecting hub instead of calgary if need be, from my perspective that's why they are there (in addition to supporting their edmonton flights and edmonton's passenger counts at the same time).

[Rocket252]

If Vancouver works then we will certainly use them instead of Calgary.

Thanks for the info.

[LO 044]

Originally Posted by Rocket252

Let me give you an example regarding Calgary that is affecting me:

We are planning on going to Europe next year and have an opportunity to use RBC Points to get there. I have just heard that we can redeem our RBC points for 50% more British Airway points which means we could go through Calgary via BA.
Now those of you out there will say "well he does not really count because he is using points and not paying full fair" but this is something that sways people such as myself into considering Calgary in my flight planning.

I would rather fly through Edmonton and want to support it as much as I can but if you are presented with this sort of opportunity it makes things difficult and reflects the reality of how airlines are able to "funnel" passengers into hubs.

I agree. These little advantages for YYC really make a difference. I look at the new LH flight out of Calgary. It gets into Frankfurt early in the morning which allows you to connect much easier and quicker to another European city either by air or even by rail. It is a distinct advantage of flying through Frankfurt this way than to connect through LHR.

[Rocket252]

The airlines are not dumb - They know how to schedule to achieve maximum use of their hubs.

That's why it is so difficult to persuade the ordinary passenger not to use Calgary.

[Jasper and one o nin]

Last trip I took, I had many option but I only considered YEG-LHR. The connections sucked and I had to take three separate airlines to get to my final destination. It cost me about $500 more. But flyedmonton first. Flyedmontonfirst, in my case, was a huge headache.

[EdmTrekker]

Originally Posted by LO 044

I agree. These little advantages for YYC really make a difference. I look at the new LH flight out of Calgary. It gets into Frankfurt early in the morning which allows you to connect much easier and quicker to another European city either by air or even by rail. It is a distinct advantage of flying through Frankfurt this way than to connect through LHR.

Not so...I fly into LHR often and then catch different flight outs - quicker and cheaper. Next month I fly into LHR from YEG and then catch a Lufthansa flight (booked directly with Lufthansa on their German site) to Cologne which was 19 Euros. Yes it IS a 10 minute tunnel walk to a differant terminal - and I have time plus I have only carry-on size luggage. But even If I have more at times, I collect it and walk the 10 minutes. Heathrow has some great price offerings from mainliners - particularly from Lufthnasa because they are competeting with BA. If you book in advance you can do this sort of thing. This way I DO fly non-stop from YEG on AC - but do not let AC funnel me through their HUB at YYZ (YYC wanebe HUB) or YVR to Frankfurt which would result in me (1) paying more (2) more connections to my final destinations and (3) more time to get where I am going (which is never FRA). This trip I get to Cologne 6-8 hours earlier than AC best routing through FRA and 350.00 cheaper at least! Here are the one way specials right now from London Heathrow on Lufthansa:

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/uk/specials/booking?l=en&nodeid=2039492&cid=1000243

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/april-sale/public/en_gb?openads=hpbanner


Check out the specials from any mainliner flying into/out of Heathrow. Gatwick is always an option as I am sure you know.

[KrisYYC]

Originally Posted by Jasper and one o nin

Last trip I took, I had many option but I only considered YEG-LHR. The connections sucked and I had to take three separate airlines to get to my final destination. It cost me about $500 more. But flyedmonton first. Flyedmontonfirst, in my case, was a huge headache.

Wow you spent $500 more and had a pain in the — itinerary just because you don't like the fact that YYC has more pax than YEG. Incredible.

You realize that if you flew YEG-YYC-wherever you would have been counted in YEG's pax numbers??

[ExcaliburKid]

^Yeah but doesnt that count as 2 for YYC?

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by ExcaliburKid

^Yeah but doesnt that count as 2 for YYC?

But is it really worth it in the end? I mean no offense, but asides from the very few in both cities that are very well educated in air travel and actively try to support their airports isn't it a losing proposition?

Long story short, good on Jasper for supporting YEG but does his one example really help in the long run versus all the other Edmontonians that don't do like he does?

Please, enlighten me. I'm not looking to stir up a war here.

[240glt]

I just hate flying back into YYC, then having to drive 3 hours. I'll gladly pay a little extra to fly out of YEG.

The YEG numbers speak for themselves, I think.

P.S... I won't go on another Transat holiday, as they wanted an extra $600 to fly me & the other half down to Mexico from YEG. We did end up flying out of YYC, but arriving back from Puerto Vallarta at 1 am, from +30 to -25, then realizing that SOMEONE left the satellite radio on in the truck all week and the battery drained, really made me wish I could just call a cab to get home.

[Coldrsx]

^yup...i arrived at 445am sunday into YYC with a blizzard and had to not only stay the night, but leave my car and drive back a friends car 1/2 a sleep to make it back for a hockey final.

[ExcaliburKid]

Scenario:
Edmonton has a non-stop flight to a preferred destination that Calgary also has. The flight through YEG happens to be $250 less. As a Calgarian, do you:
A) Fly through YEG, I want the cheaper fare, to heck with the pax #'s.
B) Fly YYC and spend more dough, fly Calgary first!
C) Not go at all.

[LO 044]

Originally Posted by EdmTrekker

Not so...I fly into LHR often and then catch different flight outs - quicker and cheaper. Next month I fly into LHR from YEG and then catch a Lufthansa flight (booked directly with Lufthansa on their German site) to Cologne which was 19 Euros. Yes it IS a 10 minute tunnel walk to a differant terminal - and I have time plus I have only carry-on size luggage. But even If I have more at times, I collect it and walk the 10 minutes. Heathrow has some great price offerings from mainliners - particularly from Lufthnasa because they are competeting with BA. If you book in advance you can do this sort of thing. This way I DO fly non-stop from YEG on AC - but do not let AC funnel me through their HUB at YYZ (YYC wanebe HUB) or YVR to Frankfurt which would result in me (1) paying more (2) more connections to my final destinations and (3) more time to get where I am going (which is never FRA). This trip I get to Cologne 6-8 hours earlier than AC best routing through FRA and 350.00 cheaper at least! Here are the one way specials right now from London Heathrow on Lufthansa:

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/uk/specials/booking?l=en&nodeid=2039492&cid=1000243

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/april-sale/public/en_gb?openads=hpbanner


Check out the specials from any mainliner flying into/out of Heathrow. Gatwick is always an option as I am sure you know.

I guess there are deals everywhere but flying to or through somewhere in Germany usually nets me the best price by far. Last year i flew YEG-YYZ-FRA-YYZ-YEG departing July 21 and returning August 27 on AC and paid a total price including taxes of $946.74. I still think it was a glitch in AC's website or something because this was not an announced seat sale. Basically you could fly out of YEG via YVR, YYC, YUL or YYZ to get to anywhere in Germany or Paris to get this sweet price. The ticket to London alone was something like $1250.

As for LHR, i wouldn't mind flying through it but in my case my destination is usually a drive or train ride away from a large city so the earlier i can get in to Europe the better. The YEG-LHR flight gets you in at around 12 noon the next day then add on the connecting flight. The LH YYC-FRA flight gets you into FRA at 8am.

I know everyone has different circumstances but in mine, FRA is the better option.