Hamilton International Airport

[sofasurfer]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

Until they get a proper terminal with skywalks to planes

It's no different to what I recall at airports in Europe such as London City, Rotterdam, Marseille... all of which do very nicely - and, indeed, complement larger airports close by (LHR/LGW/STN, AMS, NCE respectively) as less-hassle places to begin a journey.

I'll happily concede that none of the above have quite the same winters, mind you... but don't other solutions exist that don't have the same upfront capital costs as full-on skywalks? Just thinking aloud here...

[highwater]

They didn't have a skywalk in Edmonton when we landed there last December in -40 weather. We survived.

[drpgq]

Yeah, check out Frankfurt-Hahn or Schoenefeld. Those airports are hellholes (although I haven't been through Hahn lately), yet they still get a ton of Ryanair and Easyjet traffic.

[LikeHamilton]

This was at Amsterdam Airport when I was there in 2006. In this one area, there where more than 40 aircraft, all being served by buses from the terminal to the aircraft. They’re where other areas like this at this airport. This was the largest of them and somewhere close enough to walk from the terminal. I found this the same at all of the airports that I traveled through out Europe.

Airlines do not always like air bridges to the aircraft. The airports charge extra to use them.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by sofasurfer

It's no different to what I recall at airports in Europe such as London City, Rotterdam, Marseille... all of which do very nicely - and, indeed, complement larger airports close by (LHR/LGW/STN, AMS, NCE respectively) as less-hassle places to begin a journey.

I'll happily concede that none of the above have quite the same winters, mind you... but don't other solutions exist that don't have the same upfront capital costs as full-on skywalks? Just thinking aloud here...

You have made a good point, but the airports you mention are all secondary airports in the areas mentioned.

My question is do we want a mickey mouse regional airport with flights to places nobody really wants to go to or do we want direct flights to primary destinations. For the most part all HI has ever generated are the secondary flights to nowhere. The only reason Westjet still flies out of Hamilton is that they cannot get enough gate space in Toronto to accomodate all of their flights, otherwise they would be gone as well.

Basically, all we are getting is the crap nobody else wants. I remember years ago flying out of Hamilton to go to Florida. I had to fly in this cramped turboprop to get to Pittsburgh then get a connecting flight to Atlanta then on to Orlando. It was on one of the commuter airlines run by I think US Air or United. After that experience I swore never again and have flown out of Toronto or Buffalo ever since.

My point is, are people willing to fly out of Hamilton's bus terminal like airport or would they rather go first class and fly out of Toronto or Buffalo. I think we all know the answer, thats why Hamilton airport as it is will never be anything more than what it is now.

[bornagainbiking]

If anyone chooses to fly Buffalo or Tororto it is about time and/or money. There is such a limited selection of flights from here, you are forced to Toronto. If you live anywhere in hamilton you can be at the airport here in 20 mins. With the Linc, 403 and Redhill.
I used to fly regular from Hamilton to Winnipeg with West Jet and i could get off work, catch my flight arrive, drive 2.5 hrs and still be home for 11.
Airports should be about practicality. they are used about 16 hrs for the terminal and maybe 24 in the shops and maintenance areas.
So if you want a cheap flight don't expect all the bells and whistles. Do you really need a cocktail lounge with overpriced drinks or food. Just something quick and simple to tide you over.
The bigger the building the more the upkeep. We have gone with Air Canada from Term 1 to Term 3 back to Terminal 1 (numbers might be off)so two retrofits and still expensive parking and the hassle when you drop anyon off or pick them up.
Give me more flights from home anyday as I don't want to live at the airport just walk thru it to my plane, briefly maybe time for a quick Tim's
Buffalo is sure dominating the market here and should be considered the competition. PIA just has more flights to more locations.
Run a direct bus from Aldershot to HI.
Winnipeg airport is on the edge of the city and is spitting distance from malls and lots of hotels not to mention the football arena at one time. it is the start point of a bus route and the city bus sits there prior to it's regular departure so travellers wander over, load up and talk to the driver or the city's first representative who steers them in the right direction downtown.

[urban_planner]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

You have made a good point, but the airports you mention are all secondary airports in the areas mentioned.

My question is do we want a mickey mouse regional airport with flights to places nobody really wants to go to or do we want direct flights to primary destinations. For the most part all HI has ever generated are the secondary flights to nowhere. The only reason Westjet still flies out of Hamilton is that they cannot get enough gate space in Toronto to accomodate all of their flights, otherwise they would be gone as well.

Basically, all we are getting is the crap nobody else wants. I remember years ago flying out of Hamilton to go to Florida. I had to fly in this cramped turboprop to get to Pittsburgh then get a connecting flight to Atlanta then on to Orlando. It was on one of the commuter airlines run by I think US Air or United. After that experience I swore never again and have flown out of Toronto or Buffalo ever since.

My point is, are people willing to fly out of Hamilton's bus terminal like airport or would they rather go first class and fly out of Toronto or Buffalo. I think we all know the answer, thats why Hamilton airport as it is will never be anything more than what it is now.

So tell me wince when was Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg Halifax London Glasgow Dublin Belfast nowhere. do some research about where you can fly to from YHM before making a silly remark. Also Westjet has this feautre on there website that once a flight gets to a point were there are 10 seats or less left on the flight it shows on the website and I have taken a look before and usually most of the flights are showing a remaing number left which means they are getting really good loads out of here still.

Oh and I also think 545,800 passengers is a pretty solid number thats greater then the population of the city of hamilton.

Anyway if you don't want to support the airport that fine the other 500,000 plus people will.

one last think the terminal is far nicer then any bus station i have been in including the dump to our north east

Anyway if Hamilton airport stayes as it is then i would honestly be happy with that. Its better then the days of 4 US air express flights to Pittsburgh.

Oh and don't for get the cargo that is growing through the use of significantly larger aircraft.

Oh and for flying to Florida just thought it would be predent to point out that area of travel has also taken on an advancement. A non stop flight on a jet liner just imagin that.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by urban_planner

So tell me wince when was Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg Halifax London Glasgow Dublin Belfast nowhere. do some research about where you can fly to from YHM before making a silly remark. Also Westjet has this feautre on there website that once a flight gets to a point were there are 10 seats or less left on the flight it shows on the website and I have taken a look before and usually most of the flights are showing a remaing number left which means they are getting really good loads out of here still.

I don't consider 14 hour flights to Edmonton to be practical. It took a friend of mine that long not too long ago. With stops in Winnipeg and Calgary along the way. The flight originated in Toronto. The majority of Westjet flights originating from HI have numerous stops along the way, some including a stop in Toronto. As for the flights to Great Britain they are seasonal only. So if you want to go there in the spring , winter or fall you are out of luck.

Oh and I also think 545,800 passengers is a pretty solid number thats greater then the population of the city of hamilton.

Compared to Toronto and Buffalo that is just pitiful.

Anyway if you don't want to support the airport that fine the other 500,000 plus people will.

I kind of doubt that. I'll bet if you ask travel agents how many flights are booked in Hamilton compared to the number of Hamiltonians that fly out of either Toronto or Buffalo it would be a very low percentage.

Anyway if Hamilton airport stayes as it is then i would honestly be happy with that. Its better then the days of 4 US air express flights to Pittsburgh.

I'll agree with you on that. It's still better than what we have had, but I envision much more. For a city this size we deserve much better service.

Oh and don't for get the cargo that is growing through the use of significantly larger aircraft.

Another point that I agree with you on. It's the one redeeming factor for the airport.

Oh and for flying to Florida just thought it would be predent to point out that area of travel has also taken on an advancement. A non stop flight on a jet liner just imagin that.

HI does not have regularily scheduled flights to Florida. The flights to Florida from HI are charters that leave once per week.

[markbarbera]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

I don't consider 14 hour flights to Edmonton to be practical. It took a friend of mine that long not too long ago. With stops in Winnipeg and Calgary along the way. The flight originated in Toronto. The majority of Westjet flights originating from HI have numerous stops along the way, some including a stop in Toronto.

Wherever you got your information about WestJet flights from YHM, it is horribly wrong. First off, absolutely no WestJet flights from/to Hamilton are via Toronto. They never have been, nor would they (or any airline) ever consider such a stop.

WestJet flights from Hamilton to Halifax, Moncton, Orlando, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton are all direct - no stops on the way (guess your friend should have flown from Hamilton). The flight duration for the daily direct flight from Hamilton to Edmonton is just three and a half hours

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

HI does not have regularily scheduled flights to Florida. The flights to Florida from HI are charters that leave once per week.

Hamilton International does have scheduled service to Florida in addition to charter flights. WestJet has scheduled direct service from Hamilton to Orlando.

Starting this winter, WestJet will also be offering scheduled service from Hamilton to Mexico, The Dominican Republic, and Hawaii.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by markbarbera

WestJet flights from Hamilton to Halifax, Moncton, Orlando, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton are all direct - no stops on the way (guess your friend should have flown from Hamilton). The flight duration for the daily direct flight from Hamilton to Edmonton is just three and a half hours

I flew Wesjet direct YHM to Edmonton on business last May, and it was great. The flight was pretty full as I recall. On that trip I then flew to Edmonton to Calgary to visit a friend and then flew back to YHM from Calgary direct again.

Worked great. I love the direct flights offered.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by markbarbera

Wherever you got your information about WestJet flights from YHM, it is horribly wrong. First off, absolutely no WestJet flights from/to Hamilton are via Toronto. They never have been, nor would they (or any airline) ever consider such a stop.

I know they have in the past and I remember people complaining about it because they also used to do the same with flights originating in Hamilton stopping in Toronto.

WestJet flights from Hamilton to Halifax, Moncton, Orlando, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton are all direct - no stops on the way (guess your friend should have flown from Hamilton). The flight duration for the daily direct flight from Hamilton to Edmonton is just three and a half hours

I just texted my friend to confirm her story. She flew out of Hamilton, the flight did originate in Toronto with a stop in Winnipeg and a plane change in Calgary before going to Edmonton. That was back in January. I just checked the Westjet schedule for the last week of July, they have 1 daily direct flight to Edmonton the rest stop in Calgary with some having a plane change. Maybe they have made some changes, but when I was looking at a flight to the same location to visit her back in March. The schedule also included 2 stops.

Hamilton International does have scheduled service to Florida in addition to charter flights. WestJet has scheduled direct service from Hamilton to Orlando.

The next scheduled flight to Orlando isn't until November, and it's once per week, hardly a regular schedule.

Starting this winter, WestJet will also be offering scheduled service from Hamilton to Mexico, The Dominican Republic, and Hawaii.

The flights to Hawaii include 2 plane changes and stops. The other flights are just seasonal. Not exactly a regular schedule.

[markbarbera]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

I just texted my friend to confirm her story. She flew out of Hamilton, the flight did originate in Toronto with a stop in Winnipeg and a plane change in Calgary before going to Edmonton. That was back in January. I just checked the Westjet schedule for the last week of July, they have 1 daily direct flight to Edmonton the rest stop in Calgary with some having a plane change. Maybe they have made some changes, but when I was looking at a flight to the same location to visit her back in March. The schedule also included 2 stops.

I have no reason to doubt your friend's account of her flight. However, I would have to reiterate that WestJet never scheduled flights to Edmonton and Calgary that also had both a Toronto and Hamilton leg to the journey. Perhaps this was an unscheduled weather-related stop (it was January), or perhaps an unscheduled repositioning of an empty plane from Toronto to Hamilton.

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

The next scheduled flight to Orlando isn't until November, and it's once per week, hardly a regular schedule.

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

The flights to Hawaii include 2 plane changes and stops. The other flights are just seasonal. Not exactly a regular schedule.

Seasonal flights are always part of an airline's regular schedule. This is certainly not anything unusual and commonplace for most airlines serving sun destinations.

As far as Hawaii goes, two-stop flights are commonplace when flying from eastern North America to any Polynesian destination. The vast majority of flights leaving Pearson for Hawaii are also two-stop flights. Pearson does have two scheduled flights with just one stop en route, but the rest are all two stops or more. So, the service offered from Hamilton to Hawaii is really no different from that offered down the road at Pearson (save for frequency of course).

[realcity]

Seriously tho. YHM is a little bush-league for a city this size. that's bc of the same reasons we don't have NHL -- Toronto and Buffalo.

Tradeport needs to get more creative.

[urban_planner]

Real City

I agree YHM chould be more then it is. What you compare with Cities the size of hamilton they have bigger airports. However most of these cities are not compteing with a much larger airport. having said that, there are still a crap load of people who live close to YHM then any other airport. Why its not growing faster I 'don't know. Some could be the poor attitudes of Hamilton and area residents. COuld be lack of Jet ways Who know one can only hope this get better.

As far as the other discussion regarding viability I have nothing to say that hasn't been siad except i hope your don't like near the airport which is your basis for the comeplaints.

If this is the case odds are the airport was there before you were, if this is not the case of you living close then disregard.

[tuffyy]

I don't consider 14 hour flights to Edmonton to be practical. It took a friend of mine that long not too long ago. With stops in Winnipeg and Calgary along the way. The flight originated in Toronto. The majority of Westjet flights originating from HI have numerous stops along the way, some including a stop in Toronto. As for the flights to Great Britain they are seasonal only. So if you want to go there in the spring , winter or fall you are out of luck.


^Why they got put on such a long routing is amazing to me when you consider there are 3 daily NONSTOPS to Edmonton by WestJet...Then again the nonstops may have been full.

[YHMGal]

Originally Posted by tuffyy

The majority of Westjet flights originating from HI have numerous stops along the way, some including a stop in Toronto.
^

I think someone else has said it before, but there are not nor were there every Westjet flights originating in YHM that stop in Toronto.
Most of the flights departing YHM are direct. Several years ago there was a flight to Calgary that stopped in Thunder Bay but that stopped a long time ago.

Daily Schedule

a.m. flight non-stop to Calgary
lunch time flights - 1 non stop to Halifax, 1 non stop to Moncton
Mid afternoon - 1 non stop to Calgary
Dinner time flights - 1 non stop to Edmonton, 1 non stop to Winnipeg and
1 non stop to Calgary (which does continue on to Vancouver)

It does not make sense when you are flying west that the plane would back track east to Toronto.

[markbarbera]

In today's Spec:

DHL Express expands air operations at city airport

A major tenant at John C. Munro International Airport in Hamilton is expanding.

Airport president Richard Koroscil announced yesterday DHL Express (Canada) Ltd. is moving its transborder air operations to the airport.

The transborder air service will start with five flights per week to Cincinnati, a major United States hub for DHL.

DHL uses the airport as its central Canada distribution point for domestic air service.

"We are pleased that DHL is helping to grow Hamilton International Airport as Canada's number one multi-modal cargo airport," Koroscil noted.

Said Wayne Trottier, director of Network Planning at DHL: "The move to Hamilton International Airport allows DHL to consolidate and streamline the Canadian network."

The new transborder service commences next month.

[LikeHamilton]

Extra flights into Hamilton Sunday due to the weather.

Jazz JZA7969 DH8A Richmond Intl
Air Transat TSC191 A310 Frankfurt Int'l
BWIA BWA600 B737-800 Piarco Int'l
Air Canada ACA1192 A319 Victoria Intl
Jazz JZA7792 DH8A Sault Ste Marie
Air Canada ACA270 A320 Winnipeg Int'l)
Jazz JZA114 CRJ9 Austin-Bergstrom Intl
Westjet WJA517 B737-700 Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier Intl
Air Tansat TSC737 A310 Cancun Int'l
Jazz JZA7925 CRJ2 Charlotte/Douglas Intl
KLM KLM695 A330-300 Amsterdam Schiphol)
Air Canada ACA119 A319 Victoria Intl
Westjet WJA568 B737-700 London Int'l (London) (CYXU / YXU)

[LikeHamilton]

Mondays SATA A310 from the Azores to LA via Hamilton.

[urban_planner]

There are 3 more Diversions to YHM this afternoon.

Air Transat flight 351 an A310 from Amsterdam
Air Canada flight 264 an A320 from Winninpeg
Westjet flight 404 737-800 from Calgary

Hope somone can get some shots.