Canadian Airport Thread - Page 373

casper · #**7441** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 5:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rotten42

Yes they have had their issues but dealing with their staff has always been a better experience than dealing with Air Canada's staff. Their counter staff are the most miserable people to deal with. Always lying when they cancel flights until you proof otherwise. I go out of my way to avoid Air Canada.

I think that is the key difference. WS was a bit of a gong show in the early days, however the staff were empowered to fix problems passengers had.

The flare flight attended can't make her tablet work to charge the drink. She should just have given it away, especially given she had already open the bottle as an example.

Boarding a flight to Edmonton and finding someone sitting in my seat planning to go to Calgary is a major problem. (The passenger did not speak English and was not quite certain what was going on.) If the passenger did end up in the wrong city, would Flair had walked the passenger over to the AC or WS desk and purchased a ticket to get them to Calgary where they belong? I don't know. Pretty certain AC or WS would have.

PEI highway guy · #**7442** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 12:54 PM**

I am looking for some information. I am flying from Charlottetown to Houston Texas through Pearson on March 7th. I land at 7:37 am and depart for Houston at 9:30 am. As I have never gone through US Customs in a Canadian airport before, how long, in general, does it take to clear customs? Has anyone had any issues I need to be aware of?

wave46 · #**7443** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 2:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PEI highway guy

I am looking for some information. I am flying from Charlottetown to Houston Texas through Pearson on March 7th. I land at 7:37 am and depart for Houston at 9:30 am. As I have never gone through US Customs in a Canadian airport before, how long, in general, does it take to clear customs? Has anyone had any issues I need to be aware of?

Budget at least 60-90 minutes to get through pre-clearance at Pearson during the morning rush.

It may not be that bad (I've been through in less than 10 minutes sometimes), but the lines can be substantial.

PEI highway guy · #**7444** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 2:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wave46

Budget at least 60-90 minutes to get through pre-clearance at Pearson during the morning rush.

It may not be that bad (I've been through in less than 10 minutes sometimes), but the lines can be substantial.

thank you. I will not fool around and go directly to the kiosks and get cleared ASAP.

cyeg66 · #**7445** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 2:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper and one o nin

I've flown with flair and was very pleased. Extremely efficient with boarding and on a few occasions left early. No complaints at all.

Agreed. Apprehensively, I’ll admit, we chose to fly with them to the States recently and the flight went off without a hitch. Easily saved ourselves a couple hundred each over the other monopolistic player on the route.

rotten42 · #**7446** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 3:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by casper

I think that is the key difference. WS was a bit of a gong show in the early days, however the staff were empowered to fix problems passengers had.

The flare flight attended can't make her tablet work to charge the drink. She should just have given it away, especially given she had already open the bottle as an example.

Boarding a flight to Edmonton and finding someone sitting in my seat planning to go to Calgary is a major problem. (The passenger did not speak English and was not quite certain what was going on.) If the passenger did end up in the wrong city, would Flair had walked the passenger over to the AC or WS desk and purchased a ticket to get them to Calgary where they belong? I don't know. Pretty certain AC or WS would have.

I had a similar problem with having two people assigned to one seat. Except it was my boarding pass that was wrong. I had my boarding pass done at the front desk and never really looked at it. I then went through security and had my pass checked 3 times yet nobody noticed it had the wrong name on it. When on the plane the flight attendants asked my to de-plane as I was questioned by airport security managers who were really pissed that I got as far as on the airplane before anybody noticed my boarding pass was wrong. I can't remember which airline it was because this was before the new terminal.

whatnext · #**7447** Posted **Feb 9, 2019, 1:11 AM**

Article on AC moving Express flights from Air Georgia to Jazz:

Regional airline loses 1.5-million passenger contract with Air Canada, but firms deny safety concerns a factor

Air Georgian has strenuously denied allegations of safety shortcomings by current and former employees, first reported by the National Post

Air Canada has ended its contract with regional carrier Air Georgian and is shifting thousands of flights to another company, but denies that concerns about Georgian’s maintenance and safety practices had anything to do with the change.

The move will not be readily visible to passengers, as all the planes fly under the Air Canada Express banner, but appears to be a significant blow to privately owned Air Georgian.

It has strenuously denied allegations of safety shortcomings by current and former employees — first reported by the National Post — and criticized a Transportation Safety Board report that highlighted systemic problems at the airline.

The firm currently provides 62,000 flights a year for Air Canada, carrying 1.5 million passengers on short-haul trips within this country and the U.S., part of a little-known trend where large, “mainline” airlines contract out regional service.

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said the transition from Georgian to Jazz Aviation was unrelated to the allegations...

https://nationalpost.com/news/regional-a...nada-but-denies-safety-concerns-a-factor

casper · #**7448** Posted **Feb 9, 2019, 1:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PEI highway guy

thank you. I will not fool around and go directly to the kiosks and get cleared ASAP.

Keep in mind it also depends on the terminal. In Toronto, if you are connecting between Air Canada and Air Canada or another star alliance airline you do pre-clearance in a separate area from the passengers originating in Toronto and you bags are automatically transferred through US clearance. Much fast process.

If you are over in Terminal 3 with WestJet (and the non-star alliance US airlines) then you have to go land side and you get put into the same lines as passengers originating in Toronto.

This is one of these cases where Terminal 1 in Toronto is better setup than Terminal 3.

PEI highway guy · #**7449** Posted **Feb 9, 2019, 12:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by casper

Keep in mind it also depends on the terminal. In Toronto, if you are connecting between Air Canada and Air Canada or another star alliance airline you do pre-clearance in a separate area from the passengers originating in Toronto and you bags are automatically transferred through US clearance. Much fast process.

If you are over in Terminal 3 with WestJet (and the non-star alliance US airlines) then you have to go land side and you get put into the same lines as passengers originating in Toronto.

This is one of these cases where Terminal 1 in Toronto is better setup than Terminal 3.

I am flying Air Canada all the way. Thank you both for the information, it is much appreciated.

Dirt_Devil · #**7450** Posted **Feb 11, 2019, 4:58 PM**

YQB total passengers in 2018 is 1,774,871

+6,2% vs 2017

https://www.aeroportdequebec.com/fr/a-pr...stre-un-nouveau-record-dachalandage-2018

Still a small airport but the new terminal is very veryyyy beautiful.

Marshal · #**7451** Posted **Feb 11, 2019, 11:22 PM**

I understand all the reasons and explanations behind the small numbers generated by both Canada and Quebec within Canada. But, it is nonetheless hard to wrap one's mind around Quebec City, at roughly 850,000 people, generating a mere 1,774,871 at YQB. The numbers don't lie, but man that's weird.

Coldrsx · #**7452** Posted **Feb 11, 2019, 11:41 PM**

Drive to YUL or simply travel regionally by car.

Marshal · #**7453** Posted **Feb 12, 2019, 2:44 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Drive to YUL or simply travel regionally by car.

really.
and here I was thinking it was because of the consumption of cornflakes.

nname · #**7454** Posted **Feb 12, 2019, 9:05 AM**

Big AC change this schedule update (all changes are in comparison to S19 schedule as of *last week*):

Mainline mid/long-hual equipment changes:
YYZ-FRA 789 replaces 77L
YYC-FRA 789 replaces 77L
YYC-YYZ 2x daily 763 replaces narrowbody
YVR-YYZ 77L replaces 77W
YYZ-SFO 77W replaces 789
YYZ-LAX 77L replaces 789

Additional frequencies:
YYZ-YYC 1x daily
YYZ-YOW 1x daily

Conversion to Mainline:
YYC-YHZ 1x daily 320 AC674
YYC-YWG 2x daily 320 AC286/8

Conversion to Rouge:
YYZ-YQM 3x daily 319 AC1502/4/6
YYZ-YQT 3x daily 319 AC1510/2/4
YUL-YQB 2x daily 319 AC1516/8
YUL-YYT 2x daily 319 AC1520/2
YYZ-YFC 2x daily 319 AC1524/6

Rouge A320 now placed on YYZ-YYG/YDF

Additional Express Frequency:
YYZ-DTW 1x daily E75
YYZ-STL 1x daily E75
YYZ-PHL 1x daily E75
YYZ-YAM 2x daily DH4
YYZ-YXU 2x daily DH3 (general downgauge from DH4)
YYZ-YYB 1x daily DH1
YYZ-YQG 4x daily DH1 (downgauge from DH4)

YOW-YYG 1x daily CRJ
YUL-YQM 1x daily DH4

Express Frequency Removed:
YYC-YQL 3x daily (upgauge BEH to DH3)
YYC-YXH 2x daily (upgauge BEH to DH3)
YYC-YXC 4x daily (route removed)
YYC-YKA 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)

YVR-YKA 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YVR-YXC 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YVR-YCD 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YVR-YYF 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YVR-YYD 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)

YUL-YQB 5x daily (partial conversion to Rouge)
YUL-YYT 2x daily (conversion to Rouge)

YYZ-YQM 5x daily (partial conversion to Rouge)
YYZ-YQT 6x daily (conversion to Rouge)
YYZ-YFC 4x daily (conversion to Rouge)
YYZ-BOS 2x daily (move to mainline in earlier updates)

YEG-YMM 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YWG-YQR 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to CR9)
YHZ-YQY 2x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YOW-YQB 1x daily (upgauge DH1 to DH3)
YQB-YZV 1x daily (upgauge DH1 to DH3)

Equipment change without change in frequency not listed

esquire · #**7455** Posted **Feb 12, 2019, 2:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nname

Conversion to Mainline:
YYC-YHZ 1x daily 320 AC674
YYC-YWG 2x daily 320 AC286/8

Wow, I'm surprised by the YYC-YWG upgauge. I flew from YYC-YWG not quite 2 weeks ago and it was on a Q400 instead of the scheduled CR9. I thought it was a sign of things to come. Nice to see a switch to a more comfortable 320 on at least some of the flights... super elites should be especially happy about that.

I always found the small RJs to YYC a bit surprising given that YYC is a fairly important hub for YWG travellers heading to the west coast, US southwest or increasingly, overseas.

Denscity · #**7456** Posted **Feb 12, 2019, 5:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nname

Big AC change this schedule update (all changes are in comparison to S19 schedule as of *last week*):

Mainline mid/long-hual equipment changes:
YYZ-FRA 789 replaces 77L
YYC-FRA 789 replaces 77L
YYC-YYZ 2x daily 763 replaces narrowbody
YVR-YYZ 77L replaces 77W
YYZ-SFO 77W replaces 789
YYZ-LAX 77L replaces 789

Additional frequencies:
YYZ-YYC 1x daily
YYZ-YOW 1x daily

Conversion to Mainline:
YYC-YHZ 1x daily 320 AC674
YYC-YWG 2x daily 320 AC286/8

Conversion to Rouge:
YYZ-YQM 3x daily 319 AC1502/4/6
YYZ-YQT 3x daily 319 AC1510/2/4
YUL-YQB 2x daily 319 AC1516/8
YUL-YYT 2x daily 319 AC1520/2
YYZ-YFC 2x daily 319 AC1524/6

Rouge A320 now placed on YYZ-YYG/YDF

Additional Express Frequency:
YYZ-DTW 1x daily E75
YYZ-STL 1x daily E75
YYZ-PHL 1x daily E75
YYZ-YAM 2x daily DH4
YYZ-YXU 2x daily DH3 (general downgauge from DH4)
YYZ-YYB 1x daily DH1
YYZ-YQG 4x daily DH1 (downgauge from DH4)

YOW-YYG 1x daily CRJ
YUL-YQM 1x daily DH4

Express Frequency Removed:
YYC-YQL 3x daily (upgauge BEH to DH3)
YYC-YXH 2x daily (upgauge BEH to DH3)
YYC-YXC 4x daily (route removed)
YYC-YKA 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)

YVR-YKA 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YVR-YXC 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YVR-YCD 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YVR-YYF 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YVR-YYD 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)

YUL-YQB 5x daily (partial conversion to Rouge)
YUL-YYT 2x daily (conversion to Rouge)

YYZ-YQM 5x daily (partial conversion to Rouge)
YYZ-YQT 6x daily (conversion to Rouge)
YYZ-YFC 4x daily (conversion to Rouge)
YYZ-BOS 2x daily (move to mainline in earlier updates)

YEG-YMM 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YWG-YQR 1x daily (upgauge DH3 to CR9)
YHZ-YQY 2x daily (upgauge DH3 to DH4)
YOW-YQB 1x daily (upgauge DH1 to DH3)
YQB-YZV 1x daily (upgauge DH1 to DH3)

Equipment change without change in frequency not listed

A question about YXC Cranbrook. So they're losing 5 flights? (4 to Calgary and 1 to Vancouver?? They only have 10 a day wow total flights cut in half!?
And they gotta take "international" out of their name they lost that one flight to SLC over a year ago.

FFX-ME · #**7457** Posted **Feb 12, 2019, 7:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denscity

A question about YXC Cranbrook. So they're losing 5 flights? (4 to Calgary and 1 to Vancouver?? They only have 10 a day wow total flights cut in half!?
And they gotta take "international" out of their name they lost that one flight to SLC over a year ago.

The "international" in the name of an airport usually refers to whether they can take international flights (i.e. customs and immigration services), not whether they have an international flight at that time.

Denscity · #**7458** Posted **Feb 12, 2019, 7:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by FFX-ME

The "international" in the name of an airport usually refers to whether they can take international flights (i.e. customs and immigration services), not whether they have an international flight at that time.

Oh ok. They only added the name when that subsidized flight was added so figured they should remove it when the flight left.

NotToScale · #**7459** Posted **Feb 12, 2019, 7:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by casper

Hopefully it is better than the old flare. I tried Flare for the first time today. I will not be back.

Online picked the option that included a boarding pass and checked bag. At the airport, going to check in the first words out of the Flare agent checking was not "Hi", "How can I help you", no it was "Did you check in online, there will be a $10 charge if you did not". When I showed them the printout it was then "Oh, there is no charge, you can go in the line".

At the gate, they made announcements around 5-6 time about a $80 charged for carry on baggage. It was over and over again. This is after the in bound aircraft being nearly an hour late. They still had time to slow down the boarding process with the same announcements.

We were delayed even more.

Arrived on the flight to find someone sitting in my seat. The passenger was on the wrong aircraft heading to the wrong city.

In flight the person sitting next to me wanted a Gin and tonic. (Why I have no idea, that stuff does not taste that good.). Well they don't have the professional looking handhelds that AC or WS have. It was a tabled with the credit card swipper that plugs into the audio jack. Multiple attempts with different credit cards. Two different tablets. They could not make it work. Good customer service would have been to give the customer the drink and say sorry. Note on flare. The flight attendant put the cap back on the bottle and back into the cart saying, sorry sometimes the system does not work.

The flight attendant did not even ask if I wanted something. I had to ask.

They have some work to do.

I had the complete opposite experience from you this past summer. Everything was easy and simple, planes were clean, staff was friendly, no delays (we actually left early on one flight because everyone was there and boarded). I can say I have had both good and bad experiences with WJ and AC as well, so I guess its probably just luck of the draw with what you get. Hopefully more good happen than bad.

Cage · #**7460** Posted **Feb 12, 2019, 8:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acey

WestJet Link operation has thrashed Beech loads to YXC, YQL and YXH. New Jazz operation to YQL and YXH will represent some recovery, but I suspect both will eventually reduce to twice daily.

AC network scheduling wants out of Beech operations. Even with no change due to WS Link, the routes would have still been cut.