Saskatoon and Regina Air Service

[The Bess]

Anyone make it to the August 23 findings of information gathered for YXE master Plan to 2040. I completely forgot about it and missed it.

[one_brick_at_a_time]

Regina Airport sees influx in demand, changes are en route
Regina / 980 CJME
Jessika Guse
October 04, 2017 07:11 pm

“I think things are starting to unfold in our favour for a change,” said acting CEO of the Regina Airport Authority (RAA) Ken Waschuck.

The RAA gave their quarterly update on Wednesday.

“The economy seems to be picking up somewhat in Saskatchewan, the dollar is at least stabilizing … there’s just a better feeling!”

Waschuck said the growth pattern in the province continues which means more demand for services which gets noticed by the airlines.

More demand also means more lineups and Waschuck said it’s frustrating to see because it’s not in their hands to fix the problem. The airport security is ran by GardaWorld Aviation Services, an outside company controlled by Canadian Air Transportation Security Agency(CATSA).

He said passengers pay anywhere from $7-$27 per flight labeled “air traveler security charge” and that money goes to CATSA.

“Were not convinced that a large enough portion of it gets back to where it’s supposed to go (like) screening passengers,” he said.

Waschuck said the bottom line is that it comes down to funding.

International flights sooner than you think

“Were not going to rest until we get trans-border service restored,” he said. “Which I assume, and I’m confident will be in 2018.”

He added talks haven’t stopped with international airlines, it’s just that the fall flight schedule has already been released.

Greyhound has a new home

The airport also welcomed a new guest into its space last weekend. Greyhound Canada has started its bus stop at the airport and Waschuck hopes passengers take advantage of the restaurants inside to help support business.

“There may be some synergies between ground and air traffic in that respect, hopefully somebody from Swift Current or wherever can take a bus in and get on a plane or get home on a bus from (a returning flight),” he said.

Logistical things, like where Greyhound staff will park etc., will be smoothed out soon Waschuk hopes.

Seasonal flights are here early

Seasonal flights for the winter months began this week at the airport.

Tonight’s flight to Las Vegas is notably sooner than the service has started in past years. Waschuck said even with the tragedy that occurred there, he hasn’t seen a change in demand.

“The fourth of October is a couple weeks earlier than last year I believe…they recognize the demand is there. That’s been a very successful route for WestJet,” he said.

The growing demand for this route is a change from news over the past several years at the airport concerning US routes, as flights to Minneapolis, Chicago and Denver had all been cancelled.

Not only will planes take off to Las Vegas earlier in 2017, but the frequency will also pick up.

“They’ll go twice a week and, for a while I believe, they’re even going to go three times a week and then Phoenix starts shortly after that and Orlando not long after that,” he explained.


http://www.cjme.com/2017/10/04/regina-airport-sees-influx-in-demand-changes-are-en-route/

[brithgob]

Whether the new US service pans out or not I’m glad they seem to be treating it as a priority

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by brithgob

Whether the new US service pans out or not I’m glad they seem to be treating it as a priority

They sound pretty confident. I assume they are close. Maybe WestJet's Swoop:

The goal, he said, is it launch progressive partnerships with airports that will also “repatriate some of the Canadians going across the border” to access cheaper flights.

http://business.financialpost.com/transp...es-with-new-ultra-low-cost-carrier-swoop

[brithgob]

Originally Posted by Stormer

They sound pretty confident. I assume they are close. Maybe WestJet's Swoop:



http://business.financialpost.com/transp...es-with-new-ultra-low-cost-carrier-swoop

Ugh. Not what I had in mind.

[one_brick_at_a_time]

I'm hoping for either Delta, American Airlines, United Airlines or Alaska Airlines to serve Regina. Or ALL of them!

Interestingly from Alaska's route map they do:

Seattle - Victoria
Seattle - Vancouver
Seattle - Kelowna
Seattle - Calgary
Seattle - Edmonton....

Could Seattle - Regina be a possibility?

[Robag]

Originally Posted by Stormer

They sound pretty confident. I assume they are close. Maybe WestJet's Swoop:

I feel Swoop will be to seasonal sun destinations and probably won't even be flying out of Saskatchewan in it's first year as they are planning to start with only 6 aircraft. I get the impression they are talking an American carrier will add Regina as a destination. It may not be everyday like Delta and United were, but it could be 3 or 4 times a week. One carrier that pops into my head is Frontier Airlines. They service Denver and just added their first Canadian destination in Calgary. Frontier is considered an ultra low cost carrier, but services a huge part of the US from Denver. To me this would be the ideal airport to connect to as it is centrally located, and the flight is less than two hours from Regina. My wife and I flew through Denver many times on United. Regaining that service would be ideal in my mind.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Robag

I feel Swoop will be to seasonal sun destinations and probably won't even be flying out of Saskatchewan in it's first year as they are planning to start with only 6 aircraft. I get the impression they are talking an American carrier will add Regina as a destination. It may not be everyday like Delta and United were, but it could be 3 or 4 times a week. One carrier that pops into my head is Frontier Airlines. They service Denver and just added their first Canadian destination in Calgary. Frontier is considered an ultra low cost carrier, but services a huge part of the US from Denver. To me this would be the ideal airport to connect to as it is centrally located, and the flight is less than two hours from Regina. My wife and I flew through Denver many times on United. Regaining that service would be ideal in my mind.

Frontier flew YQR-DEN in the 80's before it went into bankruptcy. Regina is even mentioned in this NYT article:

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/25/busine...-pressed-for-cash-halts-all-service.html

[Robag]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Frontier flew YQR-DEN in the 80's before it went into bankruptcy. Regina is even mentioned in this NYT article:

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/25/busine...-pressed-for-cash-halts-all-service.html

This is a different Frontier Airlines that started operations in 1994.

http://www.flyfrontier.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Airlines

[scotty c]

Adding a flight to Denver would be great. It’s a nice distance to fly and you can connect anywhere from there. Not to mention that Denver has all the pro sports and most of the big concerts so in itself is a great vacation destination.

[one_brick_at_a_time]

Denver would be nice with Frontier and Seattle would be nice with Alaska.

[skyhigh953]

Noticed that Delta is flying the A319 on Saturday/Sunday afternoons from YXE through to late November. I feel like the demand from US hunters is a key reasons YXE didn’t get its service cut.

Speaking of equipment upgrades, has anyone heard why the Purolator flight is still a 727? Thought it was supposed to be sized up to a 757 at some point.

[Robag]

Originally Posted by skyhigh953

Noticed that Delta is flying the A319 on Saturday/Sunday afternoons from YXE through to late November. I feel like the demand from US hunters is a key reasons YXE didn’t get its service cut.

Speaking of equipment upgrades, has anyone heard why the Purolator flight is still a 727? Thought it was supposed to be sized up to a 757 at some point.

When Cargojet first took over from Kelowna Flightcraft, they mentioned that the cargo flights between Regina/Saskatoon/Winnipeg would be with the B757, but when you look at their fleet numbers, they only have 5 or 6 B757's and they use them on the longer haul flights. I think the B727's will be flying for a number of years yet before they retire them out of their fleet.

[one_brick_at_a_time]

Hopefully an Express bus from downtown along Regina Avenue to the terminal could be created for the interim before and after Grey Hound bus arrival and departure and then if more Greyhound stops are added to the airport schedule, then the City could evaluate extending the hours of the service? Seems like that would be the best start, especially with Winter approaching. Also they could just approve UBER to compliment the taxi service too.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by one_brick_at_a_time

Hopefully an Express bus from downtown along Regina Avenue to the terminal could be created for the interim before and after Grey Hound bus arrival and departure and then if more Greyhound stops are added to the airport schedule, then the City could evaluate extending the hours of the service? Seems like that would be the best start, especially with Winter approaching. Also they could just approve UBER to compliment the taxi service too.

I don't think the city's approval of Uber will ever make Uber say nice things to the taxi service

(I think you meant *complement* )

In all seriousness, Uber is approved in Regina and Saskatoon. It just needs to honour the taxi requirements (class 4 licenses, class PT license plates, and an operating authority), which it won't do.

[casper]

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

I don't think the city's approval of Uber will ever make Uber say nice things to the taxi service

(I think you meant *complement* )

In all seriousness, Uber is approved in Regina and Saskatoon. It just needs to honour the taxi requirements (class 4 licenses, class PT license plates, and an operating authority), which it won't do.

In BC there is still silly system where there are a certain number of taxi licenses (in other places called medallions or plates) available. In the old days they were sold for a nominal amount from the city. Once you own one its is yours and you can resell it for $100k to $300k. The people that own these don't actually drive taxi's, they rent them out to the poor driver or operator who has all the expenses and risk of operating the taxi and has to pay these license holders for the privilege of operating the taxi.

What Uber has done is destroyed the feudal licensing system in most of these cities. The owners of these artificial assets (the licenses) are the ones that have tried to limit the number of taxi licensed in a community and are now hurting because of Uber. A positive step all around.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by casper

What Uber has done is destroyed the feudal licensing system in most of these cities. The owners of these artificial assets (the licenses) are the ones that have tried to limit the number of taxi licensed in a community and are now hurting because of Uber. A positive step all around.

I wouldn't call it an entirely positive step. Taxi drivers in most provinces (if not all) need a professional driver's license (class 4 in Saskatchewan) which is harder to get (tougher road test, medical requirements) than a class 5. Vehicles are subject to regulra inspection as well, for safety. None of these are the case with Uber or Lyft.

I agree that there is an artificial scarcity of cabs in most cities (including Regina and Saskatoon) and this drives up the prices of them. On the other hand, as a Regina resident, I doubt I take a cab more than once every two years so the prices really don't affect me much. They are more of an issue when I travel.

In most markets, Uber and Lyft are intentionally breaking the rules to try to shake up the status quo... it's similar to some of the things services like AirBnB are doing. (Commercial lodging is much more regulated for reasons of public safety.) We're paying less, but we're getting less. I'm not entirely convinced it's good. In the meantime, I shop with my wallet and I use hotels and cabs, not AirBnB and Uber.

[dsim249]

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

I wouldn't call it an entirely positive step. Taxi drivers in most provinces (if not all) need a professional driver's license (class 4 in Saskatchewan) which is harder to get (tougher road test, medical requirements) than a class 5. Vehicles are subject to regulra inspection as well, for safety. None of these are the case with Uber or Lyft.

I agree that there is an artificial scarcity of cabs in most cities (including Regina and Saskatoon) and this drives up the prices of them. On the other hand, as a Regina resident, I doubt I take a cab more than once every two years so the prices really don't affect me much. They are more of an issue when I travel.

In most markets, Uber and Lyft are intentionally breaking the rules to try to shake up the status quo... it's similar to some of the things services like AirBnB are doing. (Commercial lodging is much more regulated for reasons of public safety.) We're paying less, but we're getting less. I'm not entirely convinced it's good. In the meantime, I shop with my wallet and I use hotels and cabs, not AirBnB and Uber.

IMO, this is entirely a generational thing. As a millennial, I'm much more keen to spend less on lodging and transportation, and spend more on shopping, food and experiences. I frequently use AirBnB and Uber-- spending less and "getting less" is more than okay with me. Although I don't even agree you're getting less, particularly in the case of Uber. It's faster, trackable, nicer cars, can pay on your phone, read/write reviews etc.

Traveling with my parents, or hearing of their travels, they couldn't be bothered to figure out how Uber works, or have the patience to meet up with an Air BnB host to get the keys for their accommodations, let alone share a space with the homeowners if you're not booking an entire house/apartment.

Obviously I can't speak for all millennials (and I don't know how old you are hah), but I would say with confidence, that the majority of my generation agrees.

[casper]

Originally Posted by dsim249

IMO, this is entirely a generational thing. As a millennial, I'm much more keen to spend less on lodging and transportation, and spend more on shopping, food and experiences. I frequently use AirBnB and Uber-- spending less and "getting less" is more than okay with me. Although I don't even agree you're getting less, particularly in the case of Uber. It's faster, trackable, nicer cars, can pay on your phone, read/write reviews etc.

Traveling with my parents, or hearing of their travels, they couldn't be bothered to figure out how Uber works, or have the patience to meet up with an Air BnB host to get the keys for their accommodations, let alone share a space with the homeowners if you're not booking an entire house/apartment.

Obviously I can't speak for all millennials (and I don't know how old you are hah), but I would say with confidence, that the majority of my generation agrees.

I agree completely (and I am not a millennial). The taxi industry could have created uber, but it did not. Imagine, an app on your phone that picks up your current location, you enter where you want to go, it tells you exactly how much it is going to cost, when the car will arrive and how long it will take to get you to your destination. Gives you the name of the driver, allows you to text/phone the driver if needed. Uber is popular because it is a better customer experience.

[The Bess]

Here is a little write up about Saskatoon airport. Nothing really new except mentioning that they are still working on the master plan.

https://industrywestmagazine.com/future/skyxe-saskatoon-airport-embracing-change/