Atlantic Canada airport thread - Page 99

BlackYear · #**1961** Posted **Sep 17, 2021, 8:14 PM**

Porter Airlines is back in Moncton. This one arrived just after 3pm this afternoon. From the amount of people coming out, I would say it was pretty close to full. Welcome back Porter!

magee_b · #**1962** Posted **Oct 13, 2021, 7:37 PM**

Looks like the PAL service from YHZ to YSJ has been cancelled.

https://twitter.com/YourSJAirport/status/1448354576193703945?s=20

Based on the available schedules on the PAL website, I believe the YHZ to YYG & YFC service is also cancelled

Taeolas · #**1963** Posted **Oct 14, 2021, 12:19 AM**

From the sounds of it, PAL pulled back because Porter returned.

I half wonder if there are some really quiet talks going on between PAL and Porter to make sure both airlines can survive without crippling each other too much.

Bishop2047 · #**1964** Posted **Oct 14, 2021, 1:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by magee_b

Looks like the PAL service from YHZ to YSJ has been cancelled.

https://twitter.com/YourSJAirport/status/1448354576193703945?s=20

Based on the available schedules on the PAL website, I believe the YHZ to YYG & YFC service is also cancelled

I have always wondered who actually utilized these flights and how they were ever economical. I fly a lot out of Freddy and it has not once been more convenient to connect through Halifax. My in-laws are in the HRM and I would love to fly but the airport is so far out of town, that I would spend nearly the same amount of total travel time simply driving (and then I don't have to inconvenience my family).

All this to say, I never understood the viability of these roots pre-pandemic and certainly can't fathom the economics now.

magee_b · #**1965** Posted **Oct 14, 2021, 11:23 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bishop2047

I have always wondered who actually utilized these flights and how they were ever economical. I fly a lot out of Freddy and it has not once been more convenient to connect through Halifax. My in-laws are in the HRM and I would love to fly but the airport is so far out of town, that I would spend nearly the same amount of total travel time simply driving (and then I don't have to inconvenience my family).

All this to say, I never understood the viability of these roots pre-pandemic and certainly can't fathom the economics now.

Pre-CoVID (and with AC) I've flown the puddle jumpers fairly often out of YSJ for connections to St. John's or to connect with ACs London flights from Halifax. Saves a longer trip west for destinations to the east! A handful of times it was a convenient connection to points west, but not often.

While PAL had made ticketing agreements with AC/WestJet, the lack of convenient connection opportunities in Halifax (with PAL or others) really meant this short regional service didn't stand much of a chance in the CoVID era. I had some hope that their agreements with the larger carriers would help, but in practice when booking/doing flight searches, the options to use the PAL service out of YSJ just weren't practical (or often time weren't even listed).

BlackYear · #**1966** Posted **Nov 13, 2021, 10:29 PM**

An Air Saint-Pierre ATR 42-600 made an unexpected landing at YQM this afternoon. The emergency fire truck was on standby. Wasn't long before all system checked ok and resumed its flight back to Montreal. Nice looking aircraft!

BlackYear · #**1967** Posted **Nov 13, 2021, 10:46 PM**

Meanwhile at YQM sitting next to the above, Chrono Aviation and their Boeing 737-200 was basking in the sun.

MonctonRad · #**1968** Posted **Nov 13, 2021, 11:26 PM**

Probably chartered by Bishop’s Gaitors. They were playing the Mounties today I believe.

stephan.richard · #**1969** Posted **Nov 16, 2021, 1:47 AM**

Today Swoop by WestJet has announced Non-stop service from Moncton, Charlottetown, and Halifax to Edmonton Alberta onboard a 737-800NG aircraft with introductory airfares from Moncton from 159.00. Hope these new routes will be successful.

MonctonRad · #**1970** Posted **Nov 16, 2021, 3:04 PM**

Good news!

According to the T&T, this will be a twice weekly service and will operate from June 16th - September 12th to Romeo-LeBlanc International from Edmonton.

DyAm00394 · #**1971** Posted **Nov 16, 2021, 4:00 PM**

Don't think it was mentioned here, but The Saint John Airport will have a new CEO.

Quote:

"The Saint John Airport Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Alexander (Sandy) Ross as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Ross, a Halifax native, was selected following an extensive executive search and will assume YSJ leadership on January 3, 2022.

The Saint John Airport’s Chair of the Board of Directors, Mark Bettle said, “We are extremely pleased to have Sandy join our team as CEO and look forward to his leadership as we navigate our post-pandemic recovery. Sandy brings a track record of proven success in business development, sales, and operations management. His experience in guiding companies through times of transition and growth are exactly the skills we need at this time. We are excited about Sandy becoming engaged in our community, especially during a time when building strong relationships with our stakeholders is more important than ever. Sandy will provide the vision and strategic direction for YSJ in the months and years ahead.”

Mr. Ross has held executive and management positions in the United States and Canada in a diverse array of operation services including online products and subscriptions, financial services, wireless communications, and IT hardware. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, International/Canada of Web.com based in Jacksonville, Florida, where he managed and led operational development outside of their US market. Sandy earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Dalhousie University.

“I’m looking forward to building upon the very good work that has already been done by the airport team,” said Sandy Ross. “I’m confident my experience managing large organizations that were focused on the needs of the customer, combined with my background in developing solid working relationships with corporate partners will help the Saint John Airport to exceed passenger expectations. We need to focus on increasing domestic flight service, and position Saint John for regular direct international travel."

Mr. Ross currently resides in both Halifax, Nova Scotia and Orlando, Florida and will be relocating to Saint John.

Greg Hierlihy will continue to act as Interim CEO until January 3, when he’ll return to his role as the airport’s Director of Finance and Administration, a key member of the leadership team.

“I want to thank Greg Hierlihy who effectively led YSJ through the most challenging and uncertain times in the airport’s history, keeping a steady hand on operations and well-positioning the airport for the re-emergence of air travel,” said Board Chair, Mark Bettle."

Source: http://www.saintjohnairport.com/news/news-releases/the-saint-john-airport-appoints-new-ceo/

What I found interesting was that it appears he wants to position Saint John to have regular direct international travel.

MonctonRad · #**1972** Posted **Nov 16, 2021, 4:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

What I found interesting was that it appears he wants to position Saint John to have regular direct international travel.

Join the club.

Not likely to happen, especially during these COVID times. Even Halifax doesn't have much to offer internationally at present.

I find it interesting to see ads on TV recently for the airport at Presque Isle, Maine heralding their United Airlines service to Newark Liberty.

https://www.flypresqueisle.com/flights/airlines/

MonctonRad · #**1973** Posted **Jan 29, 2022, 2:57 PM**

Apparently all sun destination flights out of Romeo LeBlanc operated by Sunwing and Air Transit have been cancelled this winter.

No surprise really.

This is due to federal travel restrictions BTW. They continue to limit the number of airports in the country with international flights. None of the NB airports is on the approved list.

homebody · #**1974** Posted **Feb 9, 2022, 10:13 PM**

I Noticed that Swoop has made a rather aggressive move east. 4x YSJ to YYZ , 4x weekly YQM to YHM and 2x weekly to Edmonton here in New Brunswick. Many other routes announced. This will be the second ULCC for YSJ! Had a quick look at the schedule for Saint John and interestingly it looks as thought their flights line up with Flair’s. It looks like they are gonna try to give Flair a run for their money.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/sw...omestic-network-expansion-897878110.html

MonctonRad · #**1975** Posted **Feb 10, 2022, 4:11 AM**

Interesting.

Apparently Swoop is acquiring six new 737 Max aircraft (they are being diverted from the parent company WestJet).

It seems as if Swoop will be occupying the same space that WestJet did for Moncton back in the 1990s. WestJet also used Hamilton as an eastern hub early on, and established an early route from Moncton to Hamilton. For several years there was a direct (but not non stop) WestJet route from Moncton to Edmonton via Hamilton. I took this flight once.

homebody · #**1976** Posted **Feb 10, 2022, 3:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Interesting.

Apparently Swoop is acquiring six new 737 Max aircraft (they are being diverted from the parent company WestJet).

It seems as if Swoop will be occupying the same space that WestJet did for Moncton back in the 1990s. WestJet also used Hamilton as an eastern hub early on, and established an early route from Moncton to Hamilton. For several years there was a direct (but not non stop) WestJet route from Moncton to Edmonton via Hamilton. I took this flight once.

Yes I remember that particular route. I wonder now that Swoop is swooping in to directly compete at YSJ against Flair, if you will see them perhaps add a flight to say Calgary or Edmonton from YSJ to compete with the YQM/YEG flight

? I really do doubt that it will happen, but I thought I would throw it out there lol. I hate to be pessimistic, but I cannot see both these airlines being able to live "happily ever after" at YSJ. One will be uprooted. Along with the Air Canada and Porter flights, I just don't think that the airport will be able to support that many flights a week to Southern Ontario IMO.

MonctonRad · #**1977** Posted **Feb 16, 2022, 2:59 PM**

According to the T&T, all three main NB airports are now cleared for international flights as of February 28th. This is due to ongoing relaxation of pandemic protocols.

This is probably too late to salvage the current snowbird season, but at least SunWing and Air Transat can begin planning for next year.

homebody · #**1978** Posted **Feb 16, 2022, 6:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

According to the T&T, all three main NB airports are now cleared for international flights as of February 28th. This is due to ongoing relaxation of pandemic protocols.

This is probably too late to salvage the current snowbird season, but at least SunWing and Air Transat can begin planning for next year.

That"s great news for sure! Maybe we will see Flair or Swoop offer flights south next year as Flair did with Halifax this winter to SFB (Orlando).

MonctonRad · #**1979** Posted **Feb 17, 2022, 1:53 PM**

The long darkness is beginning to abate:

New direct flights announced for three Maritime airports to Billy Bishop in Toronto

Quote:

Halifax, Fredericton, Moncton receiving new service

TORONTO / February 17, 2022 - Porter Airlines is boosting its presence in the Maritimes in a big way with three new non-stop routes connecting Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Halifax, Fredericton and Moncton.

Non-stop Halifax service begins April 7, featuring up to three daily roundtrips in summer, while Fredericton and Moncton both start May 5, with one daily year-round non-stop flight each. This new service is in addition to existing flights for each market that stop in Montreal or Ottawa, and don’t require passengers to change aircraft.

The combination of increased flight frequency and non-stop service links Atlantic Canada more conveniently with Porter’s network in Ontario and the U.S., including for Newfoundland travellers who benefit from the creation of a single connection trip to Toronto via Halifax.

Porter offers these markets their only direct access to downtown Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport. This includes the ability to make easier connections to onward destinations given the airport’s modest size.

So, from YQM, there will now be two flights daily via Porter to Billy Bishop - one direct and the other with an intermediate stop in Ottawa. Good news!

MonctonRad · #**1980** Posted **Feb 17, 2022, 2:15 PM**

Further to the above:

Quote:

“Porter has been a valued airline partner at YQM since 2010. We are very excited to see a new route to YTZ in addition to Ottawa. This direct connection to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport will allow our travellers a one-stop connection to Porter’s extended Canadian and USA network. So whether one wishes to see the Blue Jays in Toronto, the White Sox in Chicago, or the Sleeping Giant in Thunder Bay, it is very easy to get there for both business and leisure travellers. We look forward to our region’s strong support of this new Porter offering from Greater Moncton!”

- Bernard LeBlanc, president and CEO, Greater Moncton International Airport Authority