Canadian Airport Thread

[DDP]

Originally Posted by Cage

It will take a minimum 2 years to integrate the two companies. Pilots and FA union contracts will need to be coordinated. Seniority will be an issue, especially with the pilots. Lots of time to rehash old merger discussions about "bottom of the list"; "no bump, no flush"; "new AC pilots careers destroyed by senior TS pilots".

There is also the problem of sorting out YYZ. TS can't be integrated into T1 and AC can't run a hub spread across T1-T3-Infield. For now, keeping TS separate allows for GTAA and AC and other airlines at YYZ to sort themselves out.

In flight product is a third issue to sort out and integrate hard product. TS 333s are 9 across whereas AC 333s are industry standard 8 across. Big seat will have to be improved to Rouge Premium.

5 years is probably too long of a time to integrate.

One thing that won't happen this time, people will still book TS flights and vacation packages with confidence. Back in early 2000; the CP bookings dried up because the public was concerned their CP flights would get cancelled and their money lost to bankruptcy court. My old man was at AC and point person for schedule integration between AC and CP. Overnight implementation of the schedule integration and placing AC code onto CP flights was caused by AC flights being oversold 2 months out while CP flights to same destination at same time had less than 20 pax booked. Migrating from Sabre to Res3 was necessitated by 75% of the pax being sourced from RES3 for CP operated flights.

Wonder if you will see rouge really become a stand alone player (or AC shifting rouge to Transat). Keeping the Transat brand alive and rouge falling away.

It would solve a lot of the issues you bring up (but create new ones)

[Cage]

Originally Posted by DDP

Wonder if you will see rouge really become a stand alone player (or AC shifting rouge to Transat). Keeping the Transat brand alive and rouge falling away.

It would solve a lot of the issues you bring up (but create new ones)

A large part of Rouge's transAt success is the integration with AC North America network. A large part of TS recent challenges are related to lack of NA network feed. Doubtful the we would see Rouge operations move to TS.

The one exception I could see is a temporary transfer of Rouge 763 metal to TS in order to get the 310s out of the fleet sooner. But this could entail a lot of tricky negotiations with the pilot unions.

[nname]

AC Schedule changes for this week for W19

New Route:
YYC - YXT (daily DH4)

Seasonal extension
YYC - YHZ (starts Mar 1)

Conversion to Rouge:
YYZ - YSJ (2x daily 319)

Frequency increase (~1x daily)
YHZ - YQX

[hollywoodcory]

Originally Posted by nname

AC Schedule changes for this week for W19

New Route:
YYC - YXT (daily DH4)

Interesting. WS attempted this route a few times and it didn’t work. Curious to see if AC will have success on it.

[DDP]

Swoop announcing San Diego from Edmonton and Abbotsford.

Wondering why they wouldn't choose the Bay area or LA, wouldn't those have much stronger demand than San Diego?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by DDP

Swoop announcing San Diego from Edmonton and Abbotsford.

Wondering why they wouldn't choose the Bay area or LA, wouldn't those have much stronger demand than San Diego?

Just guessing here, but is it possible that San Diego is an easier/cheaper airport to operate from given that it isn't an international hub like LAX/SFO?

Also, San Diego is a pretty popular vacation spot, it's pretty well the surest bet weatherwise along the California coast.

[GoTrans]

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

Interesting. WS attempted this route a few times and it didn’t work. Curious to see if AC will have success on it.

Westjet has been operating this route almost for a year. I flew it last October. With all the projects going on in the Kitimat/Terrace/Prince Rupert area neither AC nor WS wants to be left behind.

[nname]

Update on EVA Airway strike affecting service in Canada.

BR9/10 (TPE-YVR) had been reinstated since July 1st.
BR35/36 (TPE-YYZ) is now scheduled to resume on July 12th.

Both routes had been suspended since Jun 20/21. Meanwhile, the strike continues and route suspensions had been announced till at least July 21st.

[hollywoodcory]

Originally Posted by GoTrans

Westjet has been operating this route almost for a year. I flew it last October. With all the projects going on in the Kitimat/Terrace/Prince Rupert area neither AC nor WS wants to be left behind.

WS cancelled the route back in March.
https://www.terracestandard.com/news/westjet-bails-on-terrace-calgary-connection/

[zahav]

Swoop from YXX to SAN is a weird choice, not sure how this will do but my guess is it will be cut. I feel like PSP would be a better choice even, but still not great. Seems like they aren't sure what to do with the aircraft.

I don't think the AC route to YXT will do well in the short term, but in the longer term yes it is a good idea

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

If a void is created, other airlines will step in and fill it.

The competition bureau will most likely approve the merger, but not before enforcing several concessions on AC. These might come in terms of route (slot/frequency) concessions.

This is where WS and Sunwing have the most to gain from this merger.

I can see WS opening several TATL/sun routes out of YYZ/YUL, ones where AC will need to concede slots.

Look at all the TATL routes out of YYZ/YUL where only AC and TS operate. Let's see if WS plays its cards right with this. It might be the nudge they needed to finally enter the Quebec market with some decent service to places other than YYZ and YYC.

If I was WS, I would already be lobbying with the competition bureau to make sure these concessions happen.



Correct.

Sun flying out of secondary stations wont be affected too much, as Sunwing is king in that department. If anything, the AC will need to add more sun flying from secondary destinations to better compete, not remove flights.

Look at what AC is doing at YQB. For the first time in decades (or ever, not sure), they will be starting sun routes from YQB next winter. That strategy will continue, and as more Rouge A319/A320/A321s are deployed on domestic runs, this will enable AC to use those very same frames on US/Carribean runs from secondary stations, if the demand is there.

The last sun flights AC had out of YQB were to FLL on Tango. Lasted either one or two winters. I agree that this merger won't affect non-hub sun routes much. I'd imagine Transport Canada will impose similar conditions to this merger as they did to:
1) The just approved 7F/5T merger, where no routes are to be dropped and no day-of-week reductions (i.e. can reduce to 1x if both carriers fly the same day, but the day itself cannot be dropped)
2) AC's takeover of CP, whereby AC were forbidden from dropping any markets for 3 years post-merger. Right after the merger, many non-hub cities actually benefittted greatly from the merger.

In addition, today AC just announced increased service from Atlantic Canada (some of which is noted above by nname), including filling the void on YHZ-YQX of WS' last week dropping of YQX down to a seasonal station. The fact that Rouge will now be present year-round at YYG, YQM, YFC and YSJ bodes well for future sun flying...at least on weekends.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ai...rvices-to-atlantic-canada-810037185.html

-Toronto-Saint John, NB, Flights to be operated by Air Canada Rouge starting this winter
-Halifax-Calgary year-round service on Air Canada starting March 1, 2020
-Toronto-Charlottetown Air Canada Rouge service now year-round
-Halifax-Gander additional daily flight - pouncing on WestJet's Eastern Canada weakness
-Moncton, Fredericton-Toronto flights now operated year-round by Air Canada Rouge

Originally Posted by zahav

Swoop from YXX to SAN is a weird choice, not sure how this will do but my guess is it will be cut. I feel like PSP would be a better choice even, but still not great. Seems like they aren't sure what to do with the aircraft.

I don't think the AC route to YXT will do well in the short term, but in the longer term yes it is a good idea

It is weird indeed. In terms of 'not sure what to do with the aircraft', clearly launching YOW or YUL is way to 'weird' for them. It would mean needing to translate their website into French...and then actually having 1 or 2 F/As that can speak French (eeks!). Much safer to try and stimulate Greater Vancouver-SAN starting with zero O&D at YXX than to bring in the complications of a 'foreign' language into your operations.

[Dominion301]

Here's AC's Western Canada winter 2019-20 expansion announcement:

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ai...ty-on-key-regional-routes-803241414.html

Route Frequencies & Aircraft* Capacity Increase

Calgary-Terrace Daily with Q-400s new
Vancouver-Terrace 5 x daily with Q-400s +30%
Vancouver-Prince Rupert 2 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Smithers 2 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Fort St. John 4 x daily with Q-400s +20%
Vancouver-Kamloops 5 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Penticton 3 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Comox 3 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Sandspit Daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Saskatoon 3 daily with CRJ900s offering Business and Economy Class +44%
Vancouver-Regina 3 daily with CRJ900s offering Business and Economy Class +44%
Vancouver-Whitehorse 2 x daily with A319s/A320s offering Business and Economy Class +24%
Calgary-Kamloops 2 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Calgary-Winnipeg 3 x daily with A319s/CRJ900s offering Business and Economy Class +40%
Edmonton-Fort McMurray 3 x daily with Q-400s +70%
Edmonton-Grande Prairie 2 x daily with Q-400s +56%

[rbt]

Waterloo looking for feedback on expansion plans (as outlined in their masterplan in 2017). I missed it at that time.

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/948...back-on-375-million-airport-master-plan/

[SpongeG]

this is just a concept but will go into beta soon

• Video Link

[Cage]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

this is just a concept but will go into beta soon

• Video Link

Lets have some fun, spot the key error in the story. Maybe WS will get the bugs in the commercial worked out after beta testing.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by Cage

Lets have some fun, spot the key error in the story. Maybe WS will get the bugs in the commercial worked out after beta testing.

Gave it a try didn't notice anything the first time. Did it have something to do with the hours remaining or elapsed?

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by Cage

Lets have some fun, spot the key error in the story. Maybe WS will get the bugs in the commercial worked out after beta testing.

The error's obvious. The woman is flying westbound from LGW, yet is getting tucked in by the F/A for the night...as is the girl in YYC (unless the girl goes to bed at 0400 MDT, lol).

Or maybe it's not an error and WestJet were departing London 10 hours late on the day of filming;

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

Here's AC's Western Canada winter 2019-20 expansion announcement:

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ai...ty-on-key-regional-routes-803241414.html

Route Frequencies & Aircraft* Capacity Increase

Calgary-Terrace Daily with Q-400s new
Vancouver-Terrace 5 x daily with Q-400s +30%
Vancouver-Prince Rupert 2 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Smithers 2 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Fort St. John 4 x daily with Q-400s +20%
Vancouver-Kamloops 5 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Penticton 3 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Comox 3 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Sandspit Daily with Q-400s +56%
Vancouver-Saskatoon 3 daily with CRJ900s offering Business and Economy Class +44%
Vancouver-Regina 3 daily with CRJ900s offering Business and Economy Class +44%
Vancouver-Whitehorse 2 x daily with A319s/A320s offering Business and Economy Class +24%
Calgary-Kamloops 2 x daily with Q-400s +56%
Calgary-Winnipeg 3 x daily with A319s/CRJ900s offering Business and Economy Class +40%
Edmonton-Fort McMurray 3 x daily with Q-400s +70%
Edmonton-Grande Prairie 2 x daily with Q-400s +56%

Those Terrace flight will come in handy now that I have to make regular trips to Kitamat

[Cage]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

The error's obvious. The woman is flying westbound from LGW, yet is getting tucked in by the F/A for the night...as is the girl in YYC (unless the girl goes to bed at 0400 MDT, lol).

Or maybe it's not an error and WestJet were departing London 10 hours late on the day of filming;

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

The whole premise of the commercial is that kids can track their parents coming home through the night light. Kid won't be in bed while Mom is flying over YMM and the Dreamliner from LGW can't land in YYC in darkness (small problem with night time curfews in LGW).

However the whole premise of the commercial works in the opposite direction. That said what you get is the daughter bawling her eyes out as mom goes through D security at YYC. Doesn't make for an uplifting and sentimental commercial.

There was an AC commercial a number of years back. The premise was regarding the feeling of seeing the AC Maple Leaf/Rondelle coming home from an international trip. That got the sentiment of coming home starts on the Canadian airplane much better. Fly the Flag gets it.....
https://youtu.be/oxkAV7bk764

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by esquire

Just guessing here, but is it possible that San Diego is an easier/cheaper airport to operate from given that it isn't an international hub like LAX/SFO?

Also, San Diego is a pretty popular vacation spot, it's pretty well the surest bet weatherwise along the California coast.

San Diego is the busiest one-runway airport in USA, and one of the busiest single runway airports in the World, busier than airports like Montreal or Edmonton. Landing & taking off is quite the experience with tight banking, with comparisons to Hong Kong's former Kai Tak Airport.

I'm not sure if San Diego's airport would be either of the two, easier or cheaper. Must be a high demand for more Alberta & BC airports to another SoCal destination.

Originally Posted by Dominion301

The error's obvious. The woman is flying westbound from LGW, yet is getting tucked in by the F/A for the night...as is the girl in YYC (unless the girl goes to bed at 0400 MDT, lol).

Or maybe it's not an error and WestJet were departing London 10 hours late on the day of filming;

I've flown that very flight multiple times & it basically follows the sun around the earth. LGW to YYC takes off in the afternoon & lands that same afternoon. A flight time closer to dusk in the evening could possibly represent the advert, I can't think of another way for flying that same non-stop route.