Calgary International Airport II

[Canadian74]

Full year 2.1% or higher growth will take YYC over 16 million.

So far it is 2.87%. Fingers crossed

[Johnny Aussie]

Originally Posted by Acey

WestJet's new Nashville flights have strong loads, can't speak to yields. Not PHX or PSP type of loads, but on a given day it's the strongest of those eastern transborders (ORD, DFW, IAH) and I bet it gets a frequency increase next summer (might as well take one of IAH's frames cause those flights are doing... not good)

80% load factor to BNA today, on a 168-seat aircraft.

That's really impressive as it's only May.

Fantastic April results too... good work!

Speaking of IAH though.... UA has finally reduced capacity by replacing the 739s with a mix of 738s, 320s and 319s. The notoriously empty late afternoon flight will be a 319 for most of the summer.

[MalcolmTucker]

If united's flights from the south were ever on balance on time they could fill it! Remember my flight being half full as most of the plane had missed connections.

[Johnny Aussie]

AC's latest update has YYC-OGG being transferred to rouge in the upcoming winter scheds. 3 x weekly rouge vs 4 x weekly AC lat winter.

[thenoflyzone]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

AC's latest update has YYC-OGG being transferred to rouge in the upcoming winter scheds. 3 x weekly rouge vs 4 x weekly AC lat winter.

W pattern? YVR-OGG-YYC-OGG-YVR. Or Are they going to have a 763 do YVR-YYC-YVR?

[The Chemist]

Why did AC go with 737 MAX over A319/20/21 NEO for their narrow body fleet replacement?

[Canadian74]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

Why did AC go with 737 MAX over A319/20/21 NEO for their narrow body fleet replacement?

Multiple reasons but one big reason might be that Boeing agreed to buy AC's E190s

[Tobuz]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

AC's latest update has YYC-OGG being transferred to rouge in the upcoming winter scheds. 3 x weekly rouge vs 4 x weekly AC lat winter.

Grrrrrrr.

I freaking despise Rouge. This is absolutely awful news. Sadly inevitable, I suppose, but awful news.

Note to any lurkers from CAA's marketing or PR teams who might be here: don't you dare have one of those little "new service" celebrations when Rouge starts this route. (I recall you did that a few years ago when AC started Rouging out of Calgary ... little celebrations as though it was a new service for YYC. Don't. Nothing to celebrate here. This is nothing more than a major downgrade of an airline's existing service -- while fares remain the same, naturally.)

Instead of the usual cupcake celebration for a first flight ... on Rouge's first departure to OGG, perhaps hand out little black armbands and samples of Robaxacet to passengers. And, for the first arriving flight, have a team of chiropractors meet the passengers to help them regain feeling in their limbs.

[cyeg66]

Originally Posted by Tobuz

Instead of the usual cupcake celebration for a first flight ... on Rouge's first departure to OGG, perhaps hand out little black armbands and samples of Robaxacet to passengers. And, for the first arriving flight, have a team of chiropractors meet the passengers to help them regain feeling in their limbs.

Yeah, I'm not a big guy (<6' tall) but I can imagine this sucks for anyone on the north side of 6'. Westjet's Hawaii flights might stand to gain a few defectors, I suppose. Overall, except for less overall comfort, not much change from the current service level. Very slight drop in # seats, if I'm not mistaken.

[outoftheice]

Originally Posted by cyeg66

Yeah, I'm not a big guy (<6' tall) but I can imagine this sucks for anyone on the north side of 6'. Westjet's Hawaii flights might stand to gain a few defectors, I suppose. Overall, except for less overall comfort, not much change from the current service level. Very slight drop in # seats, if I'm not mistaken.

The one thing that I will say that Rouge has going for it is its premium product. I went to Hawaii last year and Rouge premium was significantly cheaper than the WestJet Plus fares so we decided to go with Rouge. Having flown WestJet Plus multiple times I have to say that the Rouge product blows it out of the water...

[Tobuz]

Originally Posted by outoftheice

The one thing that I will say that Rouge has going for it is its premium product. I went to Hawaii last year and Rouge premium was significantly cheaper than the WestJet Plus fares so we decided to go with Rouge. Having flown WestJet Plus multiple times I have to say that the Rouge product blows it out of the water...

YMMV.

From my experience, the 767 premium product on both WestJet and Rouge is almost identical. In that category, WestJet = Rouge.

(And personally I've never seen ACr J seats priced cheaper than WestJet Plus. More often, AC seems the price Rouge J on par with mainline J -- even though they're regular J seats with bad pitch rather than the pods.)

Premium product on narrowbody aircraft: Rouge > WestJet (On 319s and 321s, Rouge offers a true domestic J product, while WS Plus on the 737 is only a premium Y)

But ...

Economy product: WestJet > the yellow schoolbus my son rides on > a rickety horse drawn wagon heading west in the 1800s with boards for seating > a bed of nails > Rouge

[Cage]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

AC's latest update has YYC-OGG being transferred to rouge in the upcoming winter scheds. 3 x weekly rouge vs 4 x weekly AC lat winter.

The potential good news is that AC might want to put a 787 on the winter YYC-NRT. Nothing confirmed yet, but basing a 787 out of yvr to do YVR-YYC-NRT-YYC-YVR would be preferable to the current schedule on YYC-NRT.

The Rouge Plus on the 763 has more than twice the number of seats as mainline preferred seats. This is a product enhancement.

Finally, the result have indicated that Rouge is a better competitor to WestJet widebody than mainline 763 service.

Originally Posted by Canadian74

Multiple reasons but one big reason might be that Boeing agreed to buy AC's E190s

Great work Canadian74. I will have to step up my game on avgeek and air travel nearly useless trivia.

Originally Posted by Tobuz

Grrrrrrr.
Note to any lurkers from CAA's marketing or PR teams who might be here: don't you dare have one of those little "new service" celebrations when Rouge starts this route.

We have to celebrate every new route adjustment that we get. Helps to maintain our traffic figures.

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by Canadian74

Multiple reasons but one big reason might be that Boeing agreed to buy AC's E190s

Did AC not like those? I've flown on the E190 multiple times and I always thought it was a pretty decent plane.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

Did AC not like those? I've flown on the E190 multiple times and I always thought it was a pretty decent plane.

Reasons for AC not liking the E90:
(1) Maintenance issues, especially with the mechanical parts in the wings.
..... for reasons 2-9 see number 1.
(10) Economy seats so good there was no incentive to fly business class.
(11) Lack of hold room for cargo or even a full load of pax bags.
(12) Range issues.
(13) lack of galley space to conduct premium longhaul service offering, goes to why anyone would buy-up to the J product on the transcon.
(14) Mainline economics have shifted away from a 100 seat aircraft being economical. Too large to be a regional aircraft, too small for mainline cost factors to be overcome by seats densification.

[CrossedTheTracks]

Originally Posted by Cage

The Rouge Plus on the 763 has more than twice the number of seats as mainline preferred seats. This is a product enhancement.

Sure... and if you're in regular Y, going mainline->rouge is an, ahem, "enhancement".

[Canadian74]

Originally Posted by Cage

(10) Economy seats so good there was no incentive to fly business class.

This could still be an issue with the CSeries, didn't BBD say 18-19" wide Y seats?

Also I wonder if Rouge will be getting more new A321s/A321neos, especially since they are reaching the limit of 50 aircrafts. Upsize some A319 routes?

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Cage

(10) Economy seats so good there was no incentive to fly business class.

Indeed...YYC-YUL in an E90 was one of the better flights I've had. I think it was Bigtime who gave me the heads up on that one.

(The best? My family of 5 having the back 3 rows on a WS 737 to ourselves from YXU-YYC.)

[jmt18325]

Regarding OGG, there are probably not enough 767s at mainline to cover the route anymore. It seems to be coming from the YYZ-DUB route, as it is being transferred to a mainline A330 on October 29th.

[thenoflyzone]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

Why did AC go with 737 MAX over A319/20/21 NEO for their narrow body fleet replacement?

Price was most likely the most important factor. With or without the E190 deal.

Boeing couldn't miss on an opportunity to snatch a (thus far) Airbus client - as far as narrowbodies are concerned - in North America.

And so they most likely low balled...(as they usually do)

And now they have the audacity to rat out Bombardier for doing the same thing.

Originally Posted by The Chemist

Did AC not like those? I've flown on the E190 multiple times and I always thought it was a pretty decent plane.

What Cage said is mostly correct, but also, and most importantly, the maintenance issues with the engines.

Originally Posted by Cage

Reasons for AC not liking the E90:
(12) Range issues.

AC operated the longest route of any E190. YYZ-SEA. They also used them regularly from YUL/YOW to the Caribbean. I don't think range was an issue. The E190 is a very capable aircraft.

Originally Posted by Tobuz

Economy product: WestJet > the yellow schoolbus my son rides on > a rickety horse drawn wagon heading west in the 1800s with boards for seating > a bed of nails > Rouge

Originally Posted by Tobuz

Instead of the usual cupcake celebration for a first flight ... on Rouge's first departure to OGG, perhaps hand out little black armbands and samples of Robaxacet to passengers. And, for the first arriving flight, have a team of chiropractors meet the passengers to help them regain feeling in their limbs.

Funny, but hardly true. Rouge is a huge success for AC. There is no denying it. And there is only one reason why that is. The planes are full, day in, day out ! Passengers keep coming back for more. No one seems to care about any of the issues you mention, as long as the price is competitive. All Canada-Hawaii flights were going to get rouged. It was inevitable.

Originally Posted by Canadian74

Also I wonder if Rouge will be getting more new A321s/A321neos, especially since they are reaching the limit of 50 aircrafts. Upsize some A319 routes?

I fully expect AC to expand the Rouge fleet, past 50 frames, in the near future. That only means more Rouge metal for the west coast, including YYC and maybe even YEG. (YEG-LGW anyone?)

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by Tobuz

Economy product: WestJet > the yellow schoolbus my son rides on > a rickety horse drawn wagon heading west in the 1800s with boards for seating > a bed of nails > Rouge

I flew economy on United to Hong Kong. I flew economy on Rouge to Athens. There was no discernible difference, other than having more legroom on rouge due to the thinner seats.