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

[rocketphish]

Ottawa airport takes silver in customer service awards

Paula McCooey, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: February 29, 2016 | Last Updated: February 29, 2016 6:21 PM EST

If your nerves have ever been frayed trying to catch a flight at the Ottawa International Airport, you should know we have it better than most.

The capital’s airport has received top marks in the 2015 Airport Service Quality customer service survey involving 300 airports in 80 countries. Ottawa tied for second place, along with Dallas Love Field, and the Grand Rapids, Jacksonville and Tampa airports, among all airports in North America.

“Providing a pleasant travel experience is one of the authority’s key priorities, and I am delighted not only that every employee is living and breathing the concept each day, but also that our clients are recognizing and acknowledging it each time a survey is completed,” said Susan St. Amand, chair of the airport authority’s board of directors.

Through surveys, customers commented on a range of service categories, including food quality, staff friendliness, efficiency of security and customs processing, terminal cleanliness and overall ambience. Also, Ottawa business travellers showed higher satisfaction compared to 2014 when it comes to wait times at security points and Wi-Fi access.

The airport has earned its place, in part, through extensive renovations in recent years that cost about $700 million.

The Indianapolis airport took first place and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport finished third in North America. Saskatoon earned the distinction of most improved airport in North America.

[email protected]

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-airport-takes-silver-in-customer-service-awards

[Dominion301]

I just did a bit of summer schedule digging for AC and there are a few interesting changes for YOW vs summer 2015 (not vs winter 2016), in terms of equipment, but not capacity as follows:

YOW-YHZ goes from all CRA to all DH4 resulting in the loss of all J class on the route, but only the loss of 1 seat per flight.

YOW-BOS is 2x CRJ this summer. I don't think BOS has been anything but DH1s for at least the last 2-3 summers.

YOW-FLL though is cut from 2x to 1x/week (Sat only). I guess with fewer E90s to go around + the loonie's collapse this past year, I can see how it's only weekly this summer.

YOW-MCO is now year-round! There's E90 Saturday service all summer (last summer had July & Aug added as a test, like YOW-FLL was tested in summer 2014).

YOW-YQR-YXE-YOW goes from a CRA to an E75 = loss of 2 seats per flight.

YOW-YYZ - the current 1830 Rapidair departure moves to an early morning 0545 departure, while the 0600 departure goes to 0630. The 1900 departure is moved to 1910 on a 763 (evidently the LHR aircraft rotation flight), while the latest departure of the day moves to 2055 (2030's way too early, especially since PD & now WS have 2100 departures). Rapidair capacity is definitely up with 3x/E90, 1 x 321, 1 x 763 & 11 x 320. You can see the full effects now of the loss of 20 E90s.

YOW-YUL capacity is also up a bit with only 2 x DH1s, 1 x CRJ, 1 x CRA, 2 x DH4, 1 x E90 & 2 x E75. I don't think I've ever seen an E75 on YOW-YUL before. What's absolutely hilarious is AC are pricing YOW-YUL with a YYZ connection $52 cheaper than YOW-YUL nonstop.

YOW-YVR is 3 x 320 (last summer had 1 of the 3 on a 321).

YOW-YYT: AC's YEG-YOW AC104 will continue this summer to YYT on an E90. I believe YOW-YYT has been a CRA for the past couple of years. The capacity difference will be negligible though as no doubt there will be thru YEG-YYT pax staying onboard each flight. YYT-YOW though is an E90 YOW terminator, so route capacity is up slightly as a result. Also YYT-YOW will be an evening flight. This has traditionally been an early am YOW arrival.

YOW-YQB operates only 1x this summer. With the way AC prices this route, it's business-heavy and returns in the fall back to 2x.

and of course YOW-FRA is on a 333 most of this summer!

For UA
YOW-IAD goes back up to a much more sensible 3x/day with an much more evenly distributed schedule, but all flights are ERJs.

For YOW-EWR I see 3x ERJ and YOW-ORD is 4x but all ERJ/CRJ, no E70/75/CR7s...although YOW-ORD equipment changes a lot, so a few flights a week might still see an RJ with F class.

[MountainView]

I noticed that the FRA-YOW flight arrives YOW at around 12:10pm this summer but does not depart until after 7pm. Any idea if the 333 will be parked at YOW all day or do a Rapidair flight? Couldn't determine it with the AC timetable.

Thanks!

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by MountainView

I noticed that the FRA-YOW flight arrives YOW at around 12:10pm this summer but does not depart until after 7pm. Any idea if the 333 will be parked at YOW all day or do a Rapidair flight? Couldn't determine it with the AC timetable.

Thanks!

Based upon what I found above, it looks like the LHR 763 will do the Rapidair turn. I actually saw a 763 taking off yesterday at 16:30.

Holy cow, YOW-FRA's start is now delayed until May 19th with a 333 scheduled from Day 1. All spring 763 flying has been cancelled. This means this YOW-FRA summer season will be almost 2 months shorter than last year. Since YOW-FRA departs from a non-hub, it's likely the lowest priority transatlantic route and dealing with their 763 shortages, I'm sure that's the reason why. You don't suddenly go from nothing on May 18th to a daily 333 in terms of demand.

EDIT: Looking at the AC timetable, there's a one-off YYZ-YOW on the A333 on May 19th.

[Dominion301]

YOW have published their February 2016 pax stats:

Sector / Feb-15 / Feb-16 / % Change
Dom: 246,218 / 266,532 / +8.3% - no doubt some of this is more pax connecting in YYZ to the US.
TB: 76,339 / 68,634 / -10.1% - March will be another atrocious month, then we'll see what happens (i.e. will the # get closer to zero again)
Int'l: 61,323 / 60,148 / -1.9%
TTL: 383,880 / 395,314 / +3.0% - while improving a bit, this is still well below 2012's record February of 411,495

Sector / YTD 2015 / YTD 2016 / % Change
Dom: 489,217 / 517,266 / +5.7%
TB: 149,218 / 133,091 / -10.8%
Int'l: 125,777 / 122,089 / -2.9%
TTL: 764,212 / 772,446 / +1.1% - still well below 2012, but May 2012 is when the minuses started showing up and it's been stagnant ever since.

12 month rolling total:

12 Months Rolling / % Change vs Year End 2015
Dom: 3,516,678 / +2.4%
TB: 719,628 / -2.9%
Int'l: 428,288 / -2.9% - with the delays to YOW-FRA's return, YOW will lucky to stay above the 400k mark in 2016.
TTL: 4,664,594 / +0.2%

[JCL]

There was a discussion on this thread about the Airbus A330-300 that will be assigned onto Air Canada 838/839 this spring/summer.

If anybody is interested flying on that aircraft (but not to Frankfurt), you can do so on May 19 on Air Canada 474 from Toronto - it will be a passenger flight that brings the aircraft to Ottawa in order to do the flight to Frankfurt on flight 838.

[Dominion301]

I drove by the Arnprior airport along the 417 on Sunday. I noticed a couple of things. 1) A different looking single engine aircraft was buzzing over the highway at approx. 1600. It was smaller than a PC-12, but larger than a Cessna, Katana, etc. Also, I was very surprised to see a Dash 8-100 parked on the ramp. I'd never seen an aircraft that large there before. I couldn't make out the markings as to who it belonged to.

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

I drove by the Arnprior airport along the 417 on Sunday. I noticed a couple of things. 1) A different looking single engine aircraft was buzzing over the highway at approx. 1600. It was smaller than a PC-12, but larger than a Cessna, Katana, etc. Also, I was very surprised to see a Dash 8-100 parked on the ramp. I'd never seen an aircraft that large there before. I couldn't make out the markings as to who it belonged to.

Likely related to Arnprior Aerospace. They do defence jobs and such. And the recently acquired a company out of Montreal, so perhaps that is where the Dash 8 came from.

http://www.arnprioraerospace.com/

[Dominion301]

Select flights originating in Thunder Bay and Windsor will continue through to Ottawa or Montreal on the same aircraft after a short stop in Toronto. Passengers will no longer have to deplane in Toronto and change aircraft with this new direct service, significantly reducing travel time by up to two hours.

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release...-thunder-bay-ottawa-montreal-2112769.htm

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release...-thunder-bay-ottawa-montreal-2112769.htm

Hey Porter! Since when is a flight that stops in an intermediate city considered to be a "direct flight"? You might not have to get off the plane in Toronto... but "direct" it is not.

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Hey Porter! Since when is a flight that stops in an intermediate city considered to be a "direct flight"? You might not have to get off the plane in Toronto... but "direct" it is not.

Well... technically it is. Standard industry nomenclature... same flight number with an intermediate stop is "direct". Without the stop it is "nonstop"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_flight

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by HighwayStar

Well... technically it is. Standard industry nomenclature... same flight number with an intermediate stop is "direct". Without the stop it is "nonstop"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_flight

I understand. I was thinking more about average traveler language than industry nomenclature.

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Hey Porter! Since when is a flight that stops in an intermediate city considered to be a "direct flight"? You might not have to get off the plane in Toronto... but "direct" it is not.

While direct isn't as good as a nonstop, it's definitely better than a connection. WS' upcoming summer-seasonal YOW-YYT-LGW is a 'direct' flight to LGW, even though there's a 90 min stop in YYT (i.e. no change of plane, even on the return, even though LGW-YOW pax will clear customs at YYT).

Separately, Porter are planning a couple of one-off YOW-YWG flights in late May to 'test' the waters.

Porter Airlines Inc. will run flights between Winnipeg and Ontario this spring to gauge possible future service to the Manitoba capital. The flights will bookend the Liberal Party of Canada convention in Winnipeg late next month.

There will be one round trip between Winnipeg and Toronto and Winnipeg and Ottawa on May 26 and two inbound flights from Toronto, with one outbound flight each to Toronto and Ottawa, on May 29.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...winnipeg-to-test-demand/article29550042/

[RomanR27]

Looks like this Saturday is the last day that Transat is flying out of Ottawa, with flights scheduled from YOW-CUN-YOW, with that same plane turning around and doing YOW-PUJ-YOW and arriving back into YOW early Sunday morning.

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

Looks like this Saturday is the last day that Transat is flying out of Ottawa, with flights scheduled from YOW-CUN-YOW, with that same plane turning around and doing YOW-PUJ-YOW and arriving back into YOW early Sunday morning.

Yup another winter season is just about in the books...but Sunwing will continue flying YOW-VRA all summer long like last year and have extended YOW-CUN to mid-June and AC are now year-round to MCO on Saturdays, in addition to FLL.

It's really sad that TS have zero YOW-Europe service. We really need a new Zoom in this country that'll think outside just the big 4 airports.

[RomanR27]

Looks like we won't have the A333 on YOW-FRA for as long as we had hoped. Still scheduled to start on May 19th as planned, but ACA838 on June 15th is the last day there is an A333, with ACA839 having an A333 returning the next day. That day, ACA465 will be on an A333 (as opposed to the normal B763) to get it back to YYZ.

So the B763's will go back to their normal rotation of LHR-YOW-FRA, and as usual AC466 will be a B763, going YYZ-YOW-LHR.

[MountainView]

Allegiant Air will now be only a 45-60 minutes drive down the 416 for those looking for cheap(er) flights within the USA. More not so good news for our beloved YOW. We know Allegiant will market Ogdensburg as 'Ottawa' similar to what they do with Bellingham, WA (Vancouver) and Burlington, VT (Montreal).

Ogdensburg airport lands $11 million from FAA for airport expansion completion
By Tom Graser

OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority received word Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration will award $11,045,537 to the Ogdensburg International Airport for the completion of its airport expansion project.
The word came in a press release from the offices of U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand explained in the release that the Ogdensburg airport applied for the funding through the Airport Improvement Program. The federal funding will allow the airport to complete its airport expansion and begin low-fare airline service with Allegiant Air.
Wade Davis, executive director of the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority, said in an interview with the Times that the grant was critical and came at a very opportune time.
On April 8, at a Bridge and Port Authority meeting, a decision was made to accelerate the pace of the project and finish by Sept. 30.
“We are on track, on budget and ahead of schedule,” Mr. Davis said.
In order to complete the project, the terminal, apron and taxiway will be closed from June 27 through Aug. 27. The runway will be closed Aug. 15 through 27.
Despite the closures, “we will be up and running the entire time,” Mr. Davis said.
During the terminal closure, however, the airport will only be open to general aviation. Commercial aviation will be suspended because Transportation Security Administration agents can’t operate without the terminal.
“We are very appreciative to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Representative (Elise) Stefanik for their efforts in this regard,” Mr. Davis said of the grant money. “Without it we would not be able to start air operations in October.”
In 2015, Sen. Schumer and Sen. Gillibrand helped secure the initial $7.5 million in federal funding that allowed the airport to begin its runway extension.
“Just last year we were able to announce that the Ogdensburg Airport received the much-needed first installment of $7.5 million in federal FAA funds to break ground on this critical runway extension. Today, we are starting to see the light at the end of the runway. With this second, $11 million installment, we can finally enable Allegiant Air, which has bigger planes, to land its flights in Ogdensburg and provide a major economic boost to the entire area,” Sen.Schumer said in the press release.
In November 2014, the FAA had approved the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority’s request to extend its runway by 1,200 feet, to accommodate larger planes and begin low-fare airline service with Allegiant Air. In addition to the extension of Runway 27, the expansion includes taxiway widening and extension, runway approach lighting improvements, relocation of a section of Route 68 to accommodate the runway extension, and obstruction removal. The airport also plans to expand the terminal and add a 478-space parking area, which will be funded through non-FAA sources.
The total cost of the project is $25.6 million, according to Mr. Davis. About $18 million comes from FAA grants. The remaining costs will be borne by the port authority, he said.

Link to article

[Norman Bates]

Besides NYC, Florida, Scottsdale and Las Vegas, I wonder what their destinations will be?

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Norman Bates

Besides NYC, Florida, Scottsdale and Las Vegas, I wonder what their destinations will be?

Probably just Florida at this point. I think that is about all they fly to from their other upstate locations.

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Probably just Florida at this point. I think that is about all they fly to from their other upstate locations.

My first instinct when I read this was, "mehh... probably not worth the hassle for most people"... then...

... just for fun I did a dummy booking with AC from YOW - MCO for some random dates in May.... absolute *cheapest* I could find was C$442, both involved transfers, and the longest segment was on Rouge (to/from YUL and YYZ).

Then I tried Allegiant non-stop from PBG (Plattsburgh - Montreal's "other" airport) to Sanford (SFB - Orlando's "other" airport) and got C$271 without even trying... probably could have saved C$60 more if I was willing to extend my trip by 3 days. I assumed one carry on (US$20/each way).

The kicker is Allegiant has a 30" seat pitch... Rouge is 29"... so this "low cost carrier" is actually a step above Air Canada Rouge.