Calgary International Airport II

[Johnny Aussie]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

Not really. BA still has 3 undelivered B788s on order. DUR was announced well before YYC was made seasonal. Could very well be the plan was to use one of the new deliveries on that route, and that they really do need some down time on the older B788s.

I doubt these types of decisions or “announcements” are made on the same day... BA may very well have decided to pull this flight ages ago but didn’t actually remove it from the system until this weeks
Who knows. My point was... BA publicly stated it’s due to demand. If it actually had anything to do with required downtime they could have delayed the launch of DUR and the additional flights to JNB.

Anyway... reality is it’s gone for 5 months.

[Johnny Aussie]

Originally Posted by Acey

On the AA front, bookings looking strong on AA's new ORD run. It'll definitely be back next summer.

This is good.

Hearing rumours that AA for S19 is contemplating swapping DFW to a single 738, vs the 2x E175 we have now. This represents 56 additional weekly seats but a loss in connectivity. Presumably it'd be the morning departure out of YYC that would remain. Maybe they're happy with their ability to connect people out of ORD on the new afternoon Envoy run.

Shouldn’t be hard to fill an E75 at this time of year... especially given WestJet is pulling the route and codeshare is gone.

[hollywoodcory]

Has WS been adding flights to BNA? Noticed there were two departs today, the regular 1426 and an extra one under 1024.

AC cancelled 850 last night and looks like they've also cancelled the makeup flight today? Looks like London isn't calling for some unlucky pax.

[Johnny Aussie]

Looks like they are down to one route only:

Calgary - Bonnyville

Supposedly starting Vancouver - Tofino “soon” though.

Chopped YDQ, YQL and YXH.

[cyeg66]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

Looks like they are down to one route only:

Calgary - Bonnyville

Supposedly starting Vancouver - Tofino “soon” though.

Chopped YDQ, YQL and YXH.

Yup, they’re the next Swanberg, Peace Air, Quick Air, Discovery Air, etc.... you get the idea. But by all means, fly ex-YVR with your turboprops. That’s never been attempted before.

[Tobuz]

From YYC this morning...

“We’re enhancing our domestic terminal, and this will include a change in approach to retail, food and beverage.” - President and CEO Bob Sartor

It was first posted on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/flyyyc/status/1006908446124339201?s=21

And more detail in the full press release sent out this morning:

Calgary Airport Authority unveils strategic direction and evolved brand: North Star aims to elevate guest experiences

Calgary, Alberta (June 13, 2018) – Today, The Calgary Airport Authority unveiled its new strategic direction and guiding vision statement, aptly referred to as the North Star. The Authority’s new direction will focus on elevating guest experiences with the goal of driving economic growth and prosperity for Calgary and Alberta. To embody this new direction, a refreshed visual identity for YYC Calgary International Airport was also unveiled.

North Star vision statement: We create effortless and memorable airport experiences that reflect Calgary's legendary hospitality and our region's natural beauty.

“We are thrilled about the promise of our North Star and the positive impact this will have on our guests for many years to come,” said Bob Sartor, President and CEO of The Calgary Airport Authority. “By placing our guests at the heart of everything we do, creating an experience that is reflective of the city and region we serve, and by providing the best value to our airline partners, we will be a key economic engine well into the future.”

Inspired by the things that make Calgary and southern Alberta unique, The Calgary Airport Authority is creating a plan for the airport that truly reflects the city and region, and encouraging visitors to return. A new approach to retail and service offerings at YYC; improvements to processes within the airport; enhancements to the domestic terminal; and leveraging the entire campus development plan with the appropriate mix of businesses will all be factored into fueling Calgary’s economic prosperity.

With an increased focus on enhancing the experience, The Calgary Airport Authority’s new Vice-President of Marketing and Guest Experience, Michael Hayward added, “We’re focusing on authentic western hospitality as we improve the experience for YYC guests; at the same time our upcoming domestic terminal improvements and enhanced visual identity will reflect the beauty of the city and province.”

Improvements in the domestic terminal have already begun, and the new identity system is on display in the domestic check-in areas, soon to expand to the improvements underway in domestic arrivals.

[boeing767300]

RE NORTHSTAR, What a complete and utter load of garbage from a dysfunctional airport authority controlled by a former brew master. The following would enhance my passenger experience and all could be implemented by a summer student not some high salaried moran. 1: Reduce price of bottled water post security. 2: Remove duty free from top of the escalator in US departures area. 3: Lower AIF by $10.00 immediately. 4: Become more aggressive with CATSA and their appalling service and attitude. 5: Bring back 30 minute free parking. 6: Make economy parking true ECONOMY at $9.95 a day. 7: Do something about the international arrival experience into that s----- hole area. And please don't call me a guest, I am a fare paying passenger, forced to use this awful excuse for an airport.

[MalcolmTucker]

Who is going to pay for all that?

[People.talking]

@flyyyc on Instagram also stated on their Instagram story this morning that they are expecting 17,000,000+ passengers this year.

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by boeing767300

RE NORTHSTAR, 2: Remove duty free from top of the escalator in US departures area.

This complaint always kills me.This set up is in so many airports around the world. How exactly does this harm you? Are you forced to buy something in the 15 seconds it takes to get through the Duty free? Some people just like to complain for the sake of complaining.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by boeing767300

RE NORTHSTAR, What a complete and utter load of garbage from a dysfunctional airport authority controlled by a former brew master. The following would enhance my passenger experience and all could be implemented by a summer student not some high salaried moran. 1: Reduce price of bottled water post security. 2: Remove duty free from top of the escalator in US departures area. 3: Lower AIF by $10.00 immediately. 4: Become more aggressive with CATSA and their appalling service and attitude. 5: Bring back 30 minute free parking. 6: Make economy parking true ECONOMY at $9.95 a day. 7: Do something about the international arrival experience into that s----- hole area. And please don't call me a guest, I am a fare paying passenger, forced to use this awful excuse for an airport.

You can't just expect costs to decrease across the board without a workable plan for alternative revenue or cost reduction, and at the same time demand better and enhanced experience. This type of rhetoric doesn't help.

[hollywoodcory]

Originally Posted by Acey

I figured people were fed up of me raving about the BNA loads so I stopped talking about it.

Took a look at WS schedule and it looks like they've boosted it to 5x weekly for a good portion of the summer. Even looks like the run has been extended into December too, maybe hinting at possible expansion to year-round?

[zahav]

Now with Frontier entering the LAS market, I wonder if AC would ever just give it up. It is their only Rouge destination left (other than the summer YHZ route), and I'm sure it does reasonably well still with the vacation packages. But really Westjet is way more known and popular for Vegas (same in YVR) than AC, and with this additional competion I wonder if it will have any affect?

AC Rouge won't be bringing back the 2x weekly Orlando service it operated from YVR last year, no surprises since the Rouge base is closing here. But I can see Westjet filling that void in YVR with Orlando. It leaves LAS as the only Rouge service from YVR, just like YYC. Westjet is going to do their best to make these routes as unattractive for AC to keep up as possible

[zahav]

I agree, it wouldn't have to do with loads, rather just the Rouge exit from Western Canada in general, and the fact that now with increased competition if they want to strategically deploy the aircraft elsewhere. It would be the same for YVR. I think they rotate the aircraft all over Canada for LAS since there's several flights from various cities, so probably not going anywhere

[PPAR]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

Looks like the last BA flight is scheduled to depart YYC on 27th October.

Sorry to see BA go, they are a high class operator. I flew J class with them last February. For the record, the J cabin was 3/4 full out-bound and completely full in- bound for us. The clientele was majority European in both directions, which may be a significant factor in the discussed poor winter loads (in my experience even business trips to YYC are put off to summer by non-Canadians).

[outoftheice]

Some renderings of the YYC Renovation project. Of note is the fact that all domestic security screening will be centralized at the B wing where the Air Canada check in desks have currently been located and it sounds like the same style of screening used in the International terminal will be used to speed up screening. The CAA appears to think that this will solve all the current wait time issues at security. I have to say that in terms of style the renderings of the renos don't give me too much hope.

Images sourced from this CBC Article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ai...c-terminal-renovations-1.4704482?cmp=rss

[YYCguys]

Originally Posted by rotten42

This complaint always kills me.This set up is in so many airports around the world. How exactly does this harm you? Are you forced to buy something in the 15 seconds it takes to get through the Duty free? Some people just like to complain for the sake of complaining.

Today I was in London Gatwick North Terminal. I was really hungry after I passed security so I raced to the Lounge to ensure I had time to eat before my flight, and ended up having time to kill afterwards as it was, so I attempted to have a wander through the Duty Free, which is set up exactly as described above. It was like a fish swimming upstream! Very congested and people growling at me because I was in their way (and they were correct that I was, since I was going the wrong way on a one way course), etc. So I gave up.

It was a nightmare! I will never attempt that again! At least the YYC duty free is one straight hallway, unlike the LGW North one which is a zig zagging confusing mess!

[CrossedTheTracks]

Originally Posted by rotten42

This complaint always kills me.This set up is in so many airports around the world. How exactly does this harm you? Are you forced to buy something in the 15 seconds it takes to get through the Duty free? Some people just like to complain for the sake of complaining.

Because it's obnoxious, in every airport set up this way? It's the airport equivalent of the door-to-door salesperson or telemarketer interrupting my evening.

It's pretty low on my list of complaints to be fair, but it's there.

[Bokimon]

^ I am not a big fan of that mandatory duty free walk as well. But mind you some european airports such as HAM or CPH the duty free walk is much larger and open so you don't feel so constrained or pushed inwards with all the sales people and merchandise that seem to be placed too close to the walking aisle only for somebody to knock something down. Even the cashier area is well defined so it is clear out of the circulation path. Over here, I think the cashier is just along the edges of the main aisle way towards the exit. Thankfully I don't see too much for lineups.

Interestingly YYC during their AGM had used example airports of Portland, Hamburg and Singapore for what they want to do with the YYC facilities regarding improving passenger experience and marketable product as a destination. I think they are biting off more than they can chew by using far fetched examples like SIN.

Lastly, SSP forum on YYC airport is still going strong with a great balance of knowledge and respectable debates on what is happening. So it is good to check in on this thread every few days.
I would also love to do BNA one of these days, even regular price airfare is actually quite reasonable and fair considering WS is the only player doing this route. I do wonder is additional US expansion is in their minds at all, especially the Pacific NW.. Seattle and PDX having a combined catchment of 8 million people, there has to be some sort of O+D market out there where additional seats and jet service could be viable, I am surprised this has not been part of their US expansion plans yet.

[EdmontonTraveller]

I LOVE!!! airport duty free, even though I think I stop less than 1% of the time I pass one. Every time that cash register rings there's money for a new departure lounge seat that isn't from the 80's and has a working power port, or money for a reduced landing fee that brings a new route. It's like they've set up a Sally Ann bucket and hundreds of thousands of people pass it annually, donating money to my favourite charity - ME!

Just don't expect me to make a donation. It's the equivalent of "I gave at the office"...

"Sorry, U.S. connecting flight, thanks."
"Sorry, luggage is full, 1+1 carry-on already. Good luck!"
"Sorry, weight limit - 7kg max to Australia. Have a great day."