Calgary International Airport II

[Blader]

^^^
In the mid 70s me and a friend arrived in Madrid. We collected our luggage and exited through an open door and boarded a bus. No immigration, no customs. We knew everything was wrong but were afraid to re-enter because of those guys holding automatic weapons.

[FormerWingTipper]

Originally Posted by Acey

I think the door is glitching when they're trying to release the hallway from the international inbound config and it fails, and then try it a second time. Everything then releases, except for the final door which gets stuck in some hybrid state. The adjacent gate can therefore be configured and the system okays it. Bizarre.

On the other hand, with the maze of hallways in the 70-73 area and the variety of configurations, it'd be a tall order to have each door manually controlled by people. Wouldn't be long before a Vegas inbound is dumping pax into the domestic holdroom.

Actually, what is more likely (and already has happened at least twice that I know of), is that domestic arriving passengers end up in Canada Customs. This is because the doors auto configure for an international arrival when in default mode. So if the plane arrives before an agent configures the doors, the passengers get off and head to Canada Customs.

'Passport Please?' ummm, I don't have one.
'Where are you coming from?' Vancouver.
'Why are you here?' Because I booked a flight to Calgary...
lol

[North_Regina_Boy]

Why not the tested and true... gate agent change the doors. Works like a charm in Minneapolis

[YYCguys]

Originally Posted by North_Regina_Boy

Why not the tested and true... gate agent change the doors. Works like a charm in Minneapolis

Well the configuration is so confusing, half the time the CSAs are calling YYCAA for assistance in configuring the doors for their specific flight! It looks much more complicated than it probably needs to be!

[hoboman27]

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news...-to-bring-eponymous-klm-jetliner-to-city

"Aviation enthusiasts on mission to bring 'City of Calgary' home"

Alright, which one of you is it?

[Cage]

Meet Swoop

WestJet's ultra-low-cost carrier has a name, a home and a purpose

CALGARY, Sept. 27, 2017 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced the name and logo for its ultra-low-cost airline (ULCC) in Canada. Named Swoop, the ULCC will begin selling flights in early 2018.

Swoop enters the Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier market. (CNW Group/WestJet)

"The name Swoop denotes exactly what we plan to do," said Bob Cummings WestJet Executive Vice-President, Strategy and the executive member responsible for the launch of Swoop. "It's a powerful verb that demonstrates we plan to swoop in to the Canadian market with a new business model that will provide lower fares and greater opportunity for more Canadians to travel."

Swoop will provide Canadians with a no-frills, lower-fare travel option backed by an airline with a proven track record of bringing lower fares to Canadians and an investment-grade credit rating.

In addition, Swoop has chosen Calgary as the location of its headquarters. An exact location will be announced at a later date.

"As we looked around for the home for Swoop's operations, Calgary quickly rose to the top of the list," said Cummings. "The city offers Swoop the opportunity to save costs through shared services with WestJet's corporate head office, the availability of existing infrastructure, and talented, experienced WestJetters to draw from. We are confident that these qualities will support our ultra-low-cost operations and our guests well into the future."

"Alberta is the best place to invest and do business -- that's why Swoop is making our province home," said Deron Bilous, Alberta Minister of Economic Development. "We created Invest Alberta to make it easier for companies like Swoop to set up and expand here. Together we are creating new jobs and diversifying our economy."

Sign up at FlySwoop.com to receive details on Swoop's job opportunities, launch plans and to learn more about Canada's newest airline.

"We are confident our unique combination of expertise in the Canadian aviation industry and deep knowledge of the ULCC market will ensure the success of Swoop and help more Canadians take to the skies." concluded Bob Cummings.

About Swoop
Swoop has flown in to the Canadian travel market to provide the country with a no-frills, lower-fare air travel option that will get more Canadians travelling. Swoop has the unique position of being the only ultra-low-fare carrier in Canada with a strong balance sheet, a modern fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft and a management team with deep knowledge of the aviation market. For more details on Swoop, its 2018 launch plans and employment opportunities, sign up at FlySwoop.com.

http://westjet2.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1273

[Cage]

Image of Swoop 737. Reminds me of AC Tango back about 15-17 years ago.

[yyc_engineer]

I love WestJet and wish them all the best in this endeavor...but 'Swoop' is a terrible name.

[DoubleK]

I love the livery.

They can call it fuzzy pink slippers for all I care, so long as I can get where I want to go at a price I want to pay at the times I want to fly.

I do hope that their cabins are more comfortable than Transat.

[lubicon]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I love the livery.

They can call it fuzzy pink slippers for all I care, so long as I can get where I want to go at a price I want to pay at the times I want to fly.

I do hope that their cabins are more comfortable than Transat.

I doubt you'll get even one of your wishes. Markets for this service would be fairly limited in Canada I would think so you won't be able to get everywhere you want to go, only to the few cities that are going to get service. And on the chance you can get where you want the times may not be ideal as they will be either competing against themselves and will cherry pick the prime times for premium service or they will operate at off peak times for efficiency reasons. And it may be cheaper until you want to reserve a seat, or check a bag, or carry on a bag etc.

I honestly don't know how this is going to work in a small market like Canada but I stand to be proven wrong. A friend of mine flies for WestJet and even he has his doubts as to whether this will work.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by lubicon

I doubt you'll get even one of your wishes. Markets for this service would be fairly limited in Canada I would think so you won't be able to get everywhere you want to go, only to the few cities that are going to get service. And on the chance you can get where you want the times may not be ideal as they will be either competing against themselves and will cherry pick the prime times for premium service or they will operate at off peak times for efficiency reasons. And it may be cheaper until you want to reserve a seat, or check a bag, or carry on a bag etc.

I honestly don't know how this is going to work in a small market like Canada but I stand to be proven wrong. A friend of mine flies for WestJet and even he has his doubts as to whether this will work.

I think Swoop will be targeting high volume sun destinations in the Caribbean. That's where there is the fewest business class passengers, the market is most sensitive to price and the most competition - Sunwing, Air Transat and Rouge.

[lubicon]

Possibly, and logical. However that is a highly seasonal market and they would need somewhere to put those aircraft in the summer. I suppose there are some summer seasonal routes that could be flipped.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by lubicon

Possibly, and logical. However that is a highly seasonal market and they would need somewhere to put those aircraft in the summer. I suppose there are some summer seasonal routes that could be flipped.

I don't honestly know, but I'll throw out a guess:

They may go for high volume domestic routes during the summer (Toronto-Calgary/Vancouver). Let Westjet have the 'premium' market and charge a higher price while Swoop handles the price-conscious market. The volume of domestic passengers increases pretty notably during the summer in Canada, most of those are the 'visiting family and friends' type.

I'm not sure if that's a good idea to compete against yourself, however.

[hoboman27]

Originally Posted by wave46

I don't honestly know, but I'll throw out a guess:

They may go for high volume domestic routes during the summer (Toronto-Calgary/Vancouver). Let Westjet have the 'premium' market and charge a higher price while Swoop handles the price-conscious market. The volume of domestic passengers increases pretty notably during the summer in Canada, most of those are the 'visiting family and friends' type.

I'm not sure if that's a good idea to compete against yourself, however.

Nah I think they'll go after routes NewLeaf's doing. Abbotsford, Hamilton. There's no point in going into markets that they already have and are lucrative.

[hoboman27]

Originally Posted by yyc_engineer

I love WestJet and wish them all the best in this endeavor...but 'Swoop' is a terrible name.

Swimming + pooping

[casper]

Originally Posted by Acey

This whole thing is a joke. I can't wait to watch this unfold.

It sounds a lot like across between Tango and Zip. Tango evolved into a level of service on all AC flights
Zip just zipped away.

The marketing group that came up with poop needs help.

[Canadian74]

Swoop
synonyms: dive, plunge, nosedive

Surely you don't want to name an airline that is synonym with those words

[msmariner]

I have flown on Allegiant and Spirt Airlines in the US. I paid $19 for LAS/DFW and DFW/LAX on Spirit. I traveled with a personal item as luggage and was more than satisfied with the product. Both legs had a brand new A321. I'm looking forward to traveling in Canada on the cheap

[wave46]

Originally Posted by Acey

My issue is that the WS product is already so 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵, how do you sell under it?

I don't think WS has hit bottom with mainline yet. This allows them to do that without damaging the Westjet brand.

They can go to 28" / 29" pitch. They can double the charges for luggage and add charges for carry-ons.

Pay for booking through a call center, unusual sized luggage, specific seats. Pay for water, drinks, snacks. No connecting ability. All the usual tricks and tips of ULCC airlines. Cancel flights if they're not over a certain percentage full.

I'm still wondering if they'll try to stomp NewLeaf at Hamilton or take the increased volume at Pearson. Maybe split Hamilton for domestic runs in the summer and Pearson for sun destinations in the winter. Hard to say.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Acey

My issue is that the WS product is already so 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵, how do you sell under it? Does this force them to make mainline better?

Surely there's still time to change the name. I'm not giving up hope. It's just horrifying to think that somewhere in an office at HQ a bunch of overpaid idiots sitting around a table said, "yup. Swoop. That's perfect".

What is worse about the name is most companies these days get marketing firms to do this. Specialists in picking product names. Not certain if WestJet had someone at HQ do it, of outside hired 🞵🞵🞵🞵. Either way, its not very good.

I think AC has the correct balance with Rogue. Integrated network, crappy seat but at least you don't get charged for a glass of water or to print a boarding pass at the airport.

I would be worried this is a race to the bottom.