Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW/CYOW) 1.0

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by MountainView

Syracuse already takes a lot of traffic away from Ottawa. Ogdensburg would also have to compete with Syracuse as well. Their main focus should be to lure the Ottawa traffic that already drives to Syracuse to their airport as it is a much shorter distance from Ottawa.

I have flown out of Syracuse a few times, but Ogdensburg if they get their act together would be a much bigger threat. Syracuse is still 3 hours away so for most destinations adds considerable time to the journey. Ogdensburg is only an hour away which from Barhaven and Kanata might mean not much more than an extra 30 minutes. Factor in the much faster security lines and abililty to park right at the airport at a very reasonable rate and you can probably leave your house later flying from Ogdensburg. Now it is worthwhile for even $100 in savings.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I have flown out of Syracuse a few times, but Ogdensburg if they get their act together would be a much bigger threat. Syracuse is still 3 hours away so for most destinations adds considerable time to the journey. Ogdensburg is only an hour away which from Barhaven and Kanata might mean not much more than an extra 30 minutes. Factor in the much faster security lines and abililty to park right at the airport at a very reasonable rate and you can probably leave your house later flying from Ogdensburg. Now it is worthwhile for even $100 in savings.

Hold on a second. It is worthwhile even for $100 in savings? You would really have to discount the cost and time of driving an extra 100 km or so (round trip) to make that equation work.

Ottawa is such an efficient airport that I can't imagine in-airport time savings being that big a draw, particularly when Ogdensburg requires a drive in winter (for most flights to sun destinations) and a border crossing. Personally, I really value the ability to take a cab and be in my house 30 minutes after landing. I expect many share that view.

I get the idea that a small border airport could draw certain types of passengers, but I have my doubts that Ogdensburg is that airport. Whatever portion of the Ottawa market that it could capture would never be enough to support the airport by itself, and there isn't much of a population base in that area to make up the difference required for a decent range of destinations.

Plattsburgh succeeds (if 300,000 passengers is a success) because it draws from Montreal, which is a much bigger customer base. It is also well established as a shopping destination for Montrealers. The Ogdensburg UPS store just isn't quite as big a draw.

[1overcosc]

Agreed. People often don't recognize just how fast YOW is. I recently flew to Edmonton from YOW. My flight left at 8am, and I got to the airport at 7:10am. I know people in Kingston who prefer YOW over YYZ and actually try to fly YOW whenever possible because they like the airport much better.

[OTSkyline]

It's all about cost and timing... Ogdensburg would either have to save travellers money or save them time.

I due a lot of research everytime I book a flight and often check prices from Ogdensburg or Syracuse and have yet to see a real good deal (most of the time it is the same price of maybe +/- 50$ (which isn't really worth it).

I DOUBT flying out of Ogdensburg would be faster than flying out of YOW (including time to get to the airport AND time to process/check-in...let's be real YOW rarely has any huge line-ups a-la Pearson).

So, right now, I don't think it's a big threat, but if they start getting better deals and price differences start to spread then I might try it one day...

[YOWhopeful]

I am concerned that passenger traffic at YOW was down in 2013 compared to 2012. In fact, month to month in 2013 (except December) saw less passenger traffic compared to 2012, in all categories domestic, transborder and international.
Does anyone know if a decrease in passenger traffic happened at YUL and YYZ as well in 2013?
Are passengers driving to YUL or YYZ or Syracuse to fly from there?
I thought YOW had plans for 7 new gates. Won't these numbers change the scope of the expansion?
From what I gather, a decrease in passenger traffic means slump in the local economy...

[MountainView]

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

I am concerned that passenger traffic at YOW was down in 2013 compared to 2012. In fact, month to month in 2013 (except December) saw less passenger traffic compared to 2012, in all categories domestic, transborder and international.
Does anyone know if a decrease in passenger traffic happened at YUL and YYZ as well in 2013?
Are passengers driving to YUL or YYZ or Syracuse to fly from there?
I thought YOW had plans for 7 new gates. Won't these numbers change the scope of the expansion?
From what I gather, a decrease in passenger traffic means slump in the local economy...

The official YYZ & YUL numbers are not in yet but I believe YUL hit 14,000,000 this year and I'm sure YYZ is up. Of course people are driving to YYZ, YUL, and SYR to catch flights. There's definitely a stigma with some of the people who believe you can't fly anywhere from Ottawa and that is of course a misunderstanding. The problem is YUL & YYZ offer much more non-stop flights to a much wider variety of places that YOW does and have far more carriers than us. If you're traveling with a family of 4 or 6 to Florida and can save $50-100 each if you leave from YUL (for example) a lot of people will value this savings over their transit time. SYR offers cheaper flights because of US airport tax system. So once again, if you're flying with others there can be quite a bit of cost savings flying out of SYR. Nevertheless, I think we had a decrease in traffic this year because of government cuts and the fact that they weren't flying as much to conferences, meetings, etc. When the government has a year full of cuts, Ottawa's entire economy suffers.
I think for an airport our size, we have plenty of flights to great destinations that other airports (especially in the States) wish they could have. I think eventually we'll see flights to Miami and perhaps SF or LA. Everything else is probably a pipe dream. If Ottawa was geographically located somewhere else, say on the East coast, we would have FAR more direct flights than we do now. Problem is we are too close to YYZ and YUL and they take a lot of our traffic.

[YOWhopeful]

Thanks for your input Mountainview. But don't you think the decrease in passenger volume in Ottawa is also due to decreased capacity?
USAIR started service to Charlotte with 2 flights per day, now down to one daily; and service to Philadelphia dropped from 3 to 2 daily.
Delta used to serve detroit with 3 flights daily including an early morning flight but now it's down to 2; I took the early morning Delta flight many times and it was always full.
Air Canada used to fly A320 to YYZ and is now using Embraer.
And 2014 will see decreased capacity to Chicago now that AA is out of Ottawa.
If there's less planes flying out of YOW then there will be less passengers.
In my experience, the demand is there. It just seems the airlines are less "interested" in the YOW market....

[MountainView]

Originally Posted by YOWhopeful

Thanks for your input Mountainview. But don't you think the decrease in passenger volume in Ottawa is also due to decreased capacity?
USAIR started service to Charlotte with 2 flights per day, now down to one daily; and service to Philadelphia dropped from 3 to 2 daily.
Delta used to serve detroit with 3 flights daily including an early morning flight but now it's down to 2; I took the early morning Delta flight many times and it was always full.
Air Canada used to fly A320 to YYZ and is now using Embraer.
And 2014 will see decreased capacity to Chicago now that AA is out of Ottawa.
If there's less planes flying out of YOW then there will be less passengers.
In my experience, the demand is there. It just seems the airlines are less "interested" in the YOW market....

You have to remember that airlines are running a business as well.

Delta - will probably see the 3x daily back in the summer. They code share with Westjet via YYZ for their flights to DTW and onwards. It's probably more economical for them to do this than to run 3x daily in the slower winter months.

Us Airways - Charlotte was always 1x daily and they did try a 2x on Sundays only during the winter (last winter) for connections to the south but did not bring this back this year. Philly was 3x daily and still is except on Sundays or Saturdays I believe. Will most likely return to 3x daily during the summer months.

American - They had one big problem for their Chicago - Ottawa flights: There was no morning trip ORD - YOW. From a business travelers perspective this means they could not make it to YOW for a morning meeting. Their first flight arrived YOW around noon when it was 3x daily and 5pm when it was 2x daily. This was really their demise especially when United (AC code share) has a morning ORD -YOW flight that arrives 9:30-10am. It also didn't help they flew the route on 35-40 seat gas sucking Embraer 135/145 aircrafts. Also with their merger with US Airways they probably thought it made sense to leave the Ottawa market for now. Will hopefully return someday.

United - Since they are Star Alliance and code share a majority of their flights with Air Canada they are strong in the Ottawa market for flights to the US. 5x daily Chicago, 3x Daily Newark and Washington Dulles. They are upgrading I think 2 of their flights to 50 seat CRJ from the 35 seat Embraers starting in April which will add capacity for the summer. With the absence of AA on the ORD route now they may even go 6x if the demand is there.

Anyways, Ottawa is adding 3 or 4x weekly flights to Whitehorse and Yellowknife starting in February on Air North and Westjet will begin daily flights to St John's, NFLD in late May/ early June to offer great connections to their upcoming St. John's - Dublin flight. Do I think Ottawa could sustain more flights to the US? Yes. But at what cost? For the airliners the YOW - DEN flight we used to have ate out of their YOW - ORD/IAD profits so they cut that. Also didn't help that the flight was on a E70 for 3+ hours. In the future I would see a Miami link (probably one of the most traveled markets by YOW-ers that is not served direct) but if this happens we may see the loss of CLT since AA & US are now one. I would be happy if Westjet kept the Las Vegas flights year round (3x weekly) and I would be happy if we could see increases in route frequencies over more destinations. I think 2014 will be a good year for YOW.

[citydwlr]

Ottawa Airport is looking for Expressions of Interest from retailers and food & beverage operators to set up shop in the passenger terminal (via The Moodie Report)

The airport is seeking participation from potential partners for up to eight locations within the passenger terminal building at Ottawa International Airport.

In a statement today, it said: “The locations are a mix of pre- and post-security, and include both existing and new outlets. The Authority is looking for a variety of uses and welcomes local, regional and national/international brands.”

I wonder if they've decided to ramp up the retail, and f&b operations due to the recent "Polar Vortex" fiasco causing days of grounded flights?...

[kevinbottawa]

Bearskin Airlines ending service from Waterloo Region to Ottawa

CTV Kitchener
Published Tuesday, March 25, 2014 11:25AM EDT
Last Updated Tuesday, March 25, 2014 6:38PM EDT

Bearskin Airlines will no longer fly out of the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

The airline announced Tuesday that it is ending its service between Waterloo Region and Ottawa effective April 1, after seven years at the local airport.

It’s part of a broader move that sees Bearskin pulling out of the Ottawa International Airport – which it has used as a hub for flights to a number of destinations in northern Ontario.

Bearskin officials say the routes simply weren’t financially viable – even though planes flying between Waterloo Region and Ottawa were often quite full.

“The demand for service was certainly there, however our cost to deliver service has consistently been higher than our ability to cover the revenue,” the company’s sales and marketing director tells CTV News.

Airport general manager Chris Wood says he knew Bearskin was having trouble competing with other airlines flying into and out of Ottawa, but was still surprised to hear the service will be discontinued entirely.

Also caught off guard were passengers who use the service, like Sarah Duplan – who lives in London, but attends an Ottawa university and uses Region of Waterloo International Airport to travel between her two homes.

“Buses and trains take a lot of time, plus they’re even more expensive. I’d rather fly with Bearskin,” she says.

Bob Sicard and his coworkers make use of the Bearskin flights several times per month.

Without those flights, Sicard says, they’ll likely fly out of Toronto – even though they’d rather use the local airport.

“It gets us to Ottawa, and then from there we can connect to go anywhere in Ontario,” he says.

“We’re willing to pay more because we don’t have to drive to Toronto, because we don’t have to pay the Toronto parking rates.”

With Bearskin gone, Wood says he’s already talked to other airlines to gauge interest in taking over the route.

“We’re going to do everything we can to try and replace this service,” he says.

Passengers who had booked flights with Bearskin for April 1 or beyond can obtain a refund by calling the airline at 807-474-2624 or their travel agency.

http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/bearskin-air...from-waterloo-region-to-ottawa-1.1744906

[kevinbottawa]

Bearskin grounds flights that connect Ottawa to northern Ontario

OBJ Staff
Published on March 25, 2014

The Ottawa Airport has lost flights that connect passengers in the capital to many points in northern Ontario.

Bearskin Airlines announced in a news release issued on Tuesday that, starting on April 1, it will be cancelling flights that offered nonstop service to North Bay and onestop service to Sudbury that connected to Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and Kapuskasing.

It also announced on its website that flights between Ottawa and the Region of Waterloo International Airport will be grounded as of April 1 as well.

That will discontinue service that takes passengers from Ottawa to Kitchener/Waterloo, North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Kapuskasing and Thunder Bay.

It’s unclear what service will be available to take passengers from Ottawa to Northern Ontario in the future.

The Ottawa Airport website listed Bearskin as the only carrier with flights to those locations over the next two days.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/Tourism/2014-03-...hat-connect-Ottawa-to-northern-Ontario/1

[MountainView]

Just to add to what kevinbottawa said; Bearskin will be terminating all routes out of Ottawa, not just the Ottawa-Waterloo route. This means they are ending Ottawa-North Bay/Sudbury/Timmins and will no longer operate out of Ottawa Airport. I'm pretty surprised by the move especially by the short notice as well. Service is terminated as of April 1.

I guess they want to concentrate mostly on their Northern Ontario service. Slightly off topic but I feel like Ontario Northland Bus should service Ottawa to compete with Greyhound on these routes. Right now the Greyhound schedule is horrible (tried to use it multiple times but the timing often has you leave Ottawa at 11pm-1am. I chose to drive).

http://www.bearskinairlines.com/web_promos/no_service.html

[Catenary]

I'm scheduled to fly to North Bay tomorrow morning. I'm glad I didn't plan this trip for next week. We'll see what the mood at the airport is like tomorrow. It's odd that Bearskin isn't leaving a link to at least one hub in the North. Hopefully someone picks up the slack.

This is very disappointing. I'm from North Bay and go to school here so it's nice to know there is a way home when needed, which isn't the (awful) Greyhound bus. Yes, Ontario Northland service on that corridor would be greatly appreciated. Their service and vehicles are far better than Greyhound.

The news reports don't mention it, but there will likely remain one flight a week from Ottawa to North Bay on an air carrier, albeit limited. Sunwing has direct flights to sun destinations every Tuesday in the winter from North Bay, and flies return service through Ottawa to allow passengers to clear customs. The B737 is the largest airplane used in passenger service to North Bay, not that it's any use replacing Bearskin.

[OTSkyline]

This is bad but was totally expected. From someone who is from Kapuskasing and have experienced Bearskin firsthand (or Scareskin as people call it), it was just a matter of time.

Very small, uncomfortable planes. Often delayed or cancelled and prices were always ridiculous. Ive flown with them several times when it was company-paid as it was very convenient but when I had to pay for myself I never used Bearskin. Roundtrip flights from Ottawa to Kapuskasing was most times in the $800-$1000 range (which is same price to travel to anywhere in North America, South America or Europe) and at their lowest (or standy) tickets were around $350-500. Now with both Air Canada AND Porter offering flights from Ottawa-Toronto-Timmins, you can usually get tickets in the $250-350 price range for roundtrip but you will need a ride for the 2h drive from Timmins to Kapuskasing upon arrival...

There's not many other options as Train service has been cancelled and bus is a nightmare (16h expensive bus ride with a switch in North Bay). I'm thinking Air Canada or Porter might start offering direct Ottawa-Timmins flight instead of stopping in Toronto.. Or why hasn't WestJet organized flights up north yet?

[YOWflier]

^ Until recently, Westjet operated only Boeing 737 aircraft, which is (generally) way too much aircraft to serve such smaller markets.

Bombardier Q400 aircraft have started flowing to Westjet as part of their "Encore" service launch, but route expansion in Western/Central Canada is the initial strategy (only one Eastern route is announced to-date a la Toronto-Thunder Bay-Winnipeg).

[Catenary]

I flew Ottawa to North Bay one-way last Wednesday. The check in agent asked if I was planning on returning with them, and it was only later I realized why. The ground staff and pilots were discussing what would happen next for all of them. The plane I was on had about 10 people on it, but since it hops Ottawa->North Bay-Sudbury->Sault Ste. Marie->Thunder Bay it did fill up a bit more when only two people got off in North Bay.

North Bay is also planning an airport expansion right now to add an additional gate, and Jazz already has flights from there to Toronto so Ottawa flights may come back at some point.

[VaskoYOW]

It seems that air canada has upgraded their equipment on the YOW-FRA route for the month of May, the route will be service by the A333 instead of the usual B767-300! Wonder, if the summer months will change too??? The B767 is always full in the summer, I've taken it a few times now and it's always been full both ways! It will be nice, if we can get this upgrade for the summer months!

[Harley613]

Nice! I will have to go and spot the A333 sometime! That's the nicest regular metal that's ever flown into YOW!

[BenTheGreat97]

The a333 upgrade is great, and is very welcome by us plane spotters!

Does anyone have any info on whether Air Canada will use their 788s on rapidair test flights?

[Harley613]

i would LOVE to see a 787 in Ottawa. I'm an Airbus guy but the 787 is oh so pretty!