Quote:
Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker
Yeah, I heard exactly that today - that the route was infamous for delays/cancellations. Still usually sold out, though, apparently. And we have the new runway system in the works (should be fully operational next year) that'll allow all flights to land even in near-zero visibility.
 |
An interesting feature of flying United to Newark is United's codeshare program with Amtrak (e.g.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-ai...hare-faq-including-zfv-philadelphia.html ). Connections to Philadelphia, Wilmington, Stamford, or New Haven are via the train. The codeshare is especially popular for Philadelphians. The Amtrak ride is only about 60 minutes and brings you right into Center City's 30th Street Station. From there, most destinations in southeastern Pennsylvania are conveniently accessible via the regional rail. If New York City is your final destination, NY Penn Station is just 30 minutes from EWR on NJ Transit. Interestingly, booking round trip YYT-EWR-ZFV (ZFV is the airline code for 30th Street Station) always costs about $50-$100 less than booking just YYT-EWR due to differences between the Philadelphia and New York markets. Some New Yorkers attempt to abuse the route by booking from ZFV but never boarding the train.
Generally, I find the YYT-EWR route a really convenient way to quickly get into the northeast US. From Newark, half the country is within a two hour flight, train, or drive. I fly it around three times a year (taking it back to St. John's today, writing from EWR) and have had good weather luck. Granted, I grew up outside of Philly, so getting stuck overnight around Newark is not a big deal and a great excuse to drop in on friends in the area. With the CAT III landing system at YYT, I would expect the flight to be significantly more reliable. An added bonus is the plane itself usually loops from the Houston/KC/Raleigh region of the US to Newark to St. John's, which is a relatively reliable route in the winter weather-wise. I've had many short connections to Halifax cancelled not because of bad weather at YYT or YHZ, but because the plane was previously hopping between Toronto and Montreal and got iced-in at YUL.
I'm hopeful that the seasonal summer service continues. The summer service is operated by United, flies larger planes with 3x3 seat configurations, and is dominated by tourists. The winter service is operated by United Express, flies the smaller Embraer 175 with 2x2 configurations, and carries many oilmen. One poster at flyertalk.com speculated that the cause for the cancellation might have been a loss of specific corporate contracts (presumably guaranteed business from the oil companies) as opposed to a general lack of interest in the route or a weak Canadian dollar (
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25941649-post15.html ). If so, maybe United is cancelling to leverage a future contract, or maybe they need to cancel to re-organize the segment. I'd be happy with every-other day service. Or maybe I need to move past my denial and accept pseudo-direct flights to downtown Philly are gone for good. In any case, if St. John's can support daily service to Heathrow, it's hard to fathom daily service to New York being unprofitable.
I understand it's fun or cathartic to complain about the hassles of cancelled flights out of foggy St. John's, but I hoped at least one journalist or a critical mass of commenters would discuss the economic impact of losing the province's only direct route to New York, and the apparent lack of any provincial government effort to protect that route. But for some, none of that seems to matter. Afterall, we're getting expanded service to Orlando (
http://www.thetelegram.com/section/2016-...tional-Airlines-enters-as-United-exits/1 ). Joy.
Prev
Linear Mode
