Calgary International Airport II

[Nick]

That's from the Taxiway Romeo bridge. You can tell from the distance between taxiway lights, which is half of normal.

[speedog]

Was snooping around this morning and stumbled onto Transport Canada's Noise Exposure Forecast and Related Programs web site - link.

Didn't download the program - am wondering if anyone has played around with the NEF program.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

And the timing of their increase after LH's exit from YYC. Clearly there was too much capacity for direct service east of London prior to that. KLM was able to absorb some of that after Star Alliance consolidated its FRA ops to AC only from YYC. BA still competing with AC to LHR.

Hey Johnny Aussie,

Word from a few westjetters is that they are seriously looking at picking up the QF 763ERs. What are the interiors like for these airplanes? Also what is the cycle count like on these frames.

From my two trips down under it remember that QF uses the 763 to fly SYD-MEL shuttle. What other routes does the 763 fly?

Also my AC contacts have indicated that lead time for new seats is greater than 18months. There is also indications that WS will accept whatever interior is located on the wide body airplane. The existing QF 763ER interior is if major interest.

[Doug_Cgy]

Originally Posted by Cage

BA needs to sell all four cabins in order to be successful on a route. KLM however is really a 2.5 cabin airplane with much heavier weight to the lower end of the market. This allows KLM to have better overall product mix compared to BA.

Nobody operating out of Canada is successful with their true first class product. True first class is currently operated by BA out of YYZ, EK out of YYZ, and I think perhaps LH out of YYZ, but I seem to remember that LH has pulled out First from all their Canadian routes.

Airlines that have true three cabin product have to make their Business Cabin inferior in order to maintain yields in first. Essentially people have to be encouraged to move forward and discouraged to move backward. In reality this has meant that BA and LH cannot offer the same Business Class product as AC and KLM IIRC CX operates first class on select flights to HKG and these flights continue onto JFK. Therefore First class product is supported from JFK and not solely from YVR.

Little late to the conversation. How is the AC non-stop to London doing? My friend flew it last week, said the flight was full.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by Doug_Cgy

Little late to the conversation. How is the AC non-stop to London doing? My friend flew it last week, said the flight was full.

AC flights to LHR do very well in the summer, but it's a minor tough sell for the winter. Biggest problem is lack of aircraft for the shoulder seasons. The 772/77w is a little to big now that AC has so little feed to use LHR as connection point. AC strategy has made the decision to take the 333 (right size airplane) and hub at YYZ only. The YVR pilot base has transitioned to the 787. Things for the coming winter are tight as the 763 is the only viable airplane for the mission.

Hopefully for winter 2015/16 the 788 and 789 is in sufficient supply that it can be deployed onto the route.

Helping AC over BA is that most traffic is YYC origin, home field advantage to AC. There is some slippage to BA but this is primarily cost reasons. Where BA gets their traffic is LHR connections throughout Europe and to India. I estimate 20+ pax to India on each BA departure.

[Doug_Cgy]

Originally Posted by Cage

AC flights to LHR do very well in the summer, but it's a minor tough sell for the winter. Biggest problem is lack of aircraft for the shoulder seasons. The 772/77w is a little to big now that AC has so little feed to use LHR as connection point. AC strategy has made the decision to take the 333 (right size airplane) and hub at YYZ only. The YVR pilot base has transitioned to the 787. Things for the coming winter are tight as the 763 is the only viable airplane for the mission.

Hopefully for winter 2015/16 the 788 and 789 is in sufficient supply that it can be deployed onto the route.

Helping AC over BA is that most traffic is YYC origin, home field advantage to AC. There is some slippage to BA but this is primarily cost reasons. Where BA gets their traffic is LHR connections throughout Europe and to India. I estimate 20+ pax to India on each BA departure.

Cool - thanks for the insight

[Pegasus]

Originally Posted by Doug_Cgy

Little late to the conversation. How is the AC non-stop to London doing? My friend flew it last week, said the flight was full.

I flew in from LHR yesterday on AC851 (B-777-300) and the pilot proudly announced that we had just landed on the new runway and that it was the second longest runway in North America.

A quick look at Wikipedia shows 9 US runways are in fact longer - three of them commercial (Denver, JFK and McCarron).

The plane seemed full, BTW.

Air Canada now flying into the new Terminal 2 at LHR ("Queen's Terminal")

[Johnny Aussie]

Originally Posted by Cage

Hey Johnny Aussie,

Word from a few westjetters is that they are seriously looking at picking up the QF 763ERs. What are the interiors like for these airplanes? Also what is the cycle count like on these frames.

From my two trips down under it remember that QF uses the 763 to fly SYD-MEL shuttle. What other routes does the 763 fly?

Also my AC contacts have indicated that lead time for new seats is greater than 18months. There is also indications that WS will accept whatever interior is located on the wide body airplane. The existing QF 763ER interior is if major interest.

I'm the wrong guy as I have not set foot on a Qantas plane in over a year. I fly Virgin almost exclusively in Australia and Star Alliance internationally.

I do know they fly the 763s mainly on SYD-MEL and some of the SYD-BNE flights and a few of the MEL-BNE flights. Other than that the odd MEL-CBR, BNE-DRW, SYD-DRW and SYD-CNS. They are being completely removed from the system. They used to fly a lot of the trans Tasman flights to NZ and across to the west coast to PER. Almost all of the PER flights from the Eastern Capitals are now almost all 332s and 333s and NZ flights are all 73Hs now. Jetstar is taking over some of the QF flying as well. Internationally, I understand only SYD-HNL is still a 763 soon to be replaced by A330s as well.

Their cycle count would be huge mainly due to the high number used on the SYD-MEL route (the third busiest in the world). Of the 35+ flights per day in each direction on QF alone 763s are on about 25 of those.

Here's a good article with a concise chart of QF's fleet plans.

http://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-culls-fle...-to-go-airbus-380s-boeing-787s-deferred#

All of the remaining 763s to go by the 3Q of FY15. Fiscal years in Australia end 30 June, so the 763s should be gone from QF by March 2015.

[Bigtime]

From today:


WestJet Encore DHC-8 402 (C-FKWE) by BigtimeYYC, on Flickr


WestJet 737-76N (C-GWSH) by BigtimeYYC, on Flickr


Condor 767-330ER (D-ABUZ) by BigtimeYYC, on Flickr

[Jimby]

^ I'm glad Australian airport codes make sense. I didn't have to google, except for Darwin!

[Bigtime]

Nick or cyeg66, perhaps you can answer this question in a little more detail for the person asking. This comes from the YYC Airport Spotters facebook page:

"Sorry about the (maybe) stupid question but i dont know how does it work..

We have 2 freq for tower

Do they independent each other?
How they handle this?"

In the cab do east and west tower sit on opposite sides (I assume they do for visibility to their respective runway)? Is it easy enough for them to communicate with each other should the need arise?

How about the east/west ground controllers?

[LO 044]

How long did WS hold on to the 737-200's? I could see the same scenario with the 767's where they use them till they "die" no pun intended and then they will also have a little more experience in the international game. At that point, maybe the 787's become available or dare i say the A350.

The big question is seating configuration on whichever aircraft they choose. Will they Transat/Rouge the aircraft? If WS is looking at flights to Dublin, Honolulu and Maui then it makes sense. But i'm sure most of us want flights to CDG or AMS or LHR. If WS joins an alliance, they will need a business product and a Rouged aircraft won't work.

[Full Mountain]

Originally Posted by LO 044

How long did WS hold on to the 737-200's? I could see the same scenario with the 767's where they use them till they "die" no pun intended and then they will also have a little more experience in the international game. At that point, maybe the 787's become available or dare i say the A350.

The big question is seating configuration on whichever aircraft they choose. Will they Transat/Rouge the aircraft? If WS is looking at flights to Dublin, Honolulu and Maui then it makes sense. But i'm sure most of us want flights to CDG or AMS or LHR. If WS joins an alliance, they will need a business product and a Rouged aircraft won't work.

Mid 2000's IIRC, they donated one with an electrical gremlin to SAIT around 03-04.

I would highly doubt that WS will stray away from a Boeing product, particularly if they can find a widebody with a decent amount of parts/maintenance commonality to the 737. I would also posit that if Boeing had a product similar to the Q400 you would see WS flying them. Based on this I would guess that they will either go 767 or 777 depending on what available and what the long range plans are for them.

[Full Mountain]

A few shots from my flight in yesterday, my shots of the runway didn't turn out though.


Approach by Incremental Photo, on Flickr


Farmland by Incremental Photo, on Flickr


Terminal North by Incremental Photo, on Flickr


Terminal South by Incremental Photo, on Flickr


Terminal South by Incremental Photo, on Flickr

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Nick or cyeg66, perhaps you can answer this question in a little more detail for the person asking. This comes from the YYC Airport Spotters facebook page:

"Sorry about the (maybe) stupid question but i dont know how does it work..

We have 2 freq for tower

Do they independent each other?
How they handle this?"

In the cab do east and west tower sit on opposite sides (I assume they do for visibility to their respective runway)? Is it easy enough for them to communicate with each other should the need arise?

How about the east/west ground controllers?

We run East and West Towers from about 6AM to 11PM. If we are landing 29 or in a 29/26 setup we would just use one tower position and they would have both frequencies selected and cross-coupled. And they do sit on opposite sides of the tower for visibility of the runways. To operate IFR arrivals and departures independently a lot of procedures have to be in place to meet the required standards. Those are in our MANOPS. For something that is not routine (such as an eastbound departure going off the west runway), quite a bit of coordination is required between the tower positions and between the tower and the terminal.

We also have been running East and West Grounds from around 6AM to 11PM. West Ground covers the area south of Runway 29 and the area that is west of Runway 35L and north of Runway 29. East Ground covers the rest. West Ground sits facing west/southwest and East Ground sits facing northwest towards the Juliet/Golf/Hotel Intersection as that's where most of the conflicts come up in that position. Visibility has been a challenge for this position because their area of control is on all sides of the tower and I find myself walking around a lot in the cab to monitor my traffic.

There is lots of coordination that goes on between all the positions and between units and what you hear on the radio is only a portion of the controlling required to do the job.

[Bigtime]

Thank you very much for the response, I'll cross post it to the FB group.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by Nick

We run East and West Towers from about 6AM to 11PM. If we are landing 29 or in a 29/26 setup we would just use one tower position and they would have both frequencies selected and cross-coupled.

So is this the reason why AC141 landed on the crosswind lastnight?

Once I realized we were going to the cross wind and not new concrete, my heart sunk and tower was cursed. However when I passed over the new runway, all was forgiven. I have a new arrival favourite, land at night on the rwy 29. Those LED centre line lights are cats pyjamas, even a blind man could figure out the runway location.

I also got a special treat from YYZ, They switched over to the 33s for late night departures westbound. This one move easily saved 10 minutes of taxi and cut departure by another 5 minutes.

My big problem with YYZ is constant use of 23/5 runway for all arrivals and departures to the West. I have even been on flights from Europe that land on 23 because the 24s are too busy. I have flown through YYZ so many times that 23/5 is a bore and waist of time. Yesterday's YYZ connection was the first time I have flown through YYZ and not used the 23/5. My arrival from DCA used 24L.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by LO 044

How long did WS hold on to the 737-200's? I could see the same scenario with the 767's where they use them till they "die" no pun intended and then they will also have a little more experience in the international game. At that point, maybe the 787's become available or dare i say the A350.

The big question is seating configuration on whichever aircraft they choose. Will they Transat/Rouge the aircraft? If WS is looking at flights to Dublin, Honolulu and Maui then it makes sense. But i'm sure most of us want flights to CDG or AMS or LHR. If WS joins an alliance, they will need a business product and a Rouged aircraft won't work.

To answer your questions:
1) WS had the 732 until late 2005 or early 2006 (like cold January when Don Bell flew the last WS 732 out of YYC). The 732 was originally supposed to last until 2008-2010 timeframe, but a fuel cost spike and Jetsgo competition caused their accelerated withdrawal. The associated asset writedown was WS only period of unprofitability.
2) There are serious discussions about whether the 358 will ever be built or whether the overwhelming preference will be 359. The 358 is all ready too big of airplane for WS, the 359 is a nonstarter. For the record I am of the opinion the 358 will turn out like the 736 and 318, smaller aircraft are not popular and resale value is a big reason not to buy them.
3) The only reason for WS not to refurbish the widebody interior is because they could not secure seats. Many airlines are going through interior modifications right now and the lead time is quite lengthy. Business Class seats are the major bottleneck, but new economy seats are in short supply.
4) From Johny Aussie's assessment above and my perusal of Flyertalk QF forum, the 763s interiors have been retread but no major change to the seats.
5) WS will most definitely want to to Rouge/Transat their widebody product with new seats. The metrics on widebody are significant cost savings with transition to slim line seats (less fuel burn) plus there is the addition of 1-2 rows and no loss of pax comfort. New slim line seats drive down costs (through less weight on airplane), reduce CASM by increasing the pax count, increase revenue by increasing pax count.
6) Let me reiterate, WS has no plans to join and alliance(this goes against their business model and would require huge dollar investment), operate domestic or international business class. Consider that current business class product is 180 lie flat bed that is very expensive to purchase and operate. The last generation of recliner style Business Class products is what is now Premium Rouge and Air Transat big seat.
7) In place of joining an alliance, WS will form codeshare agreements with specific airlines, much like what they do today however outbound codeshare will be greatly expanded. I can see code share with BA and AF but less so potential with KLM. KLM has done a good job carving out a niche in the Canadian TransAt market and does not want WS to eat their lunch.

[bakersdozen]

Originally Posted by Cage

Hey Johnny Aussie,

Word from a few westjetters is that they are seriously looking at picking up the QF 763ERs. What are the interiors like for these airplanes? Also what is the cycle count like on these frames.

From my two trips down under it remember that QF uses the 763 to fly SYD-MEL shuttle. What other routes does the 763 fly?

Also my AC contacts have indicated that lead time for new seats is greater than 18months. There is also indications that WS will accept whatever interior is located on the wide body airplane. The existing QF 763ER interior is if major interest.

Flew one out of SYD domestically last month in business. They are brown with leather seats in business. Not the nicest colours and not the best space. Westjet would probably get rid of business though? Nothing to special. Looked a little tired and almost 70s like with the colour scheme.

Make my way all the way down here to see the Romeo bridge in action. Absolutely nothing going over it. Nick!!!