Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW/CYOW) 1.0

[rocketphish]

Looking for the tourism thread? It's now over here:
https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251820

[Dominion301]

Today's departure count: 56

Today's cancellation count: 2

AC have quietly instead of cutting back on YOW-YTZ have now suspended the route yet again.

[OTSkyline]

Just found out WestJet has cancelled Ottawa-Halifax flights on Saturdays.

Our original Ottawa-Halifax-Paris trip is now Ottawa-Toronto-Halifax-Paris - what a shit show. We were trying to avoid Toronto AND limit ourselves to 1 stopover, now we're stuck with both. And WestJet can't even offer Ottawa-Toronto-Paris... Not sure what to do at this point. Especially since prices have gone up considerably and if we get a refund on our original tickets, it would cost us 2x or 3x to rebook.

[Truenorth00]

Should have flown out of Montreal direct. Especially if you're going to Paris.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Just found out WestJet has cancelled Ottawa-Halifax flights on Saturdays.

Our original Ottawa-Halifax-Paris trip is now Ottawa-Toronto-Halifax-Paris - what a shit show. We were trying to avoid Toronto AND limit ourselves to 1 stopover, now we're stuck with both. And WestJet can't even offer Ottawa-Toronto-Paris... Not sure what to do at this point. Especially since prices have gone up considerably and if we get a refund on our original tickets, it would cost us 2x or 3x to rebook.

Talk about inefficient. Funnel everyone through shit-show Pearson, even if it's a detour. The Feds need to get off their rear ends and do something.

A lot of countries are cracking down on the greenhouse gas emitted by airline industry/ Meanwhile, Canada's emissions continue to go up with no plans to improve the situation. Even our tame HFR plan that could contribute somewhat is being delayed constantly.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/aviation-emissions-airlines-transport-1.6532635

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Talk about inefficient. Funnel everyone through shit-show Pearson, even if it's a detour. The Feds need to get off their rear ends and do something.

What exactly can the Feds do? There's a shortage of airline workers everywhere. So the airlines are trying to consolidate schedules as best they can. The alternative is simply cancelling flights. Which is something they are also starting to do.

Originally Posted by J.OT13

A lot of countries are cracking down on the greenhouse gas emitted by airline industry/ Meanwhile, Canada's emissions continue to go up with no plans to improve the situation. Even our tame HFR plan that could contribute somewhat is being delayed constantly.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/aviation-emissions-airlines-transport-1.6532635

Be careful, talk of air-rail integration is heresy in this thread. Easy connections at Dorval is competition for YOW. Especially on international flights.

I've said before that HSR to Dorval and Montreal would be great for Ottawa. And turning Ottawa-Montreal into one giant market would be great for all of us and business.

[OTSkyline]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Should have flown out of Montreal direct. Especially if you're going to Paris.

The cost for my flight was cheaper than any flight from Montreal or Toronto if you can believe it. As such, I much preferred leaving directly from Ottawa, saving myself a 2-4hrs drive, saving money on the ticket itself AND supporting YOW.

But looks like I'm being penalized or paying for it now...

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Just found out WestJet has cancelled Ottawa-Halifax flights on Saturdays.

Our original Ottawa-Halifax-Paris trip is now Ottawa-Toronto-Halifax-Paris - what a shit show. We were trying to avoid Toronto AND limit ourselves to 1 stopover, now we're stuck with both. And WestJet can't even offer Ottawa-Toronto-Paris... Not sure what to do at this point. Especially since prices have gone up considerably and if we get a refund on our original tickets, it would cost us 2x or 3x to rebook.

That sucks. Why not take the Friday flight and spend the night in Halifax. Airport is a ways out of town but could stay in airport hotel.

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Just found out WestJet has cancelled Ottawa-Halifax flights on Saturdays.

Our original Ottawa-Halifax-Paris trip is now Ottawa-Toronto-Halifax-Paris - what a shit show. We were trying to avoid Toronto AND limit ourselves to 1 stopover, now we're stuck with both. And WestJet can't even offer Ottawa-Toronto-Paris... Not sure what to do at this point. Especially since prices have gone up considerably and if we get a refund on our original tickets, it would cost us 2x or 3x to rebook.

Can you leave on Sunday instead? If an airline institutes a major schedule change that affects you, you have the right to be re-accommodated at no additional cost...and not just to what they've imposed on you. With the call centres constantly jammed, you could probably drive to the airport and make the changes at the ticket counter in a matter of minutes.

[OTSkyline]

Thanks. The issue is Ottawa-Halifax runs Fridays + Sundays, but Halifax-Paris only runs on Saturdays. Talk about bad planning. And they don't offer Toronto-Paris, so seems impossible to avoid Toronto or 2 transfers.

They have a feature where you can schedule a callback, instead of waiting on hold, so they should contact me tomorrow morning.

At this point, to avoid 2 transfers, the horrors of Pearson AND the chances of missing a connection I think my best bet will be;
Ottawa-Halifax Friday night
1 night in Halifax
Halifax-Paris on Saturday night
It will cost us a hotel room for the night but seems to be the best option to ensure we don't miss a connection and issues don't snowball to the rest of our trip.

[Zmonkey]

How Long has Air Canada put a 787-9 on the YOW-YVR route? I need to do the flight in August and 1 of the 3 dailies are on that plane. Never seen that before.

[Tesladom]

Next time just drive to YUL!

[MountainView]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Thanks. The issue is Ottawa-Halifax runs Fridays + Sundays, but Halifax-Paris only runs on Saturdays. Talk about bad planning. And they don't offer Toronto-Paris, so seems impossible to avoid Toronto or 2 transfers.

They have a feature where you can schedule a callback, instead of waiting on hold, so they should contact me tomorrow morning.

At this point, to avoid 2 transfers, the horrors of Pearson AND the chances of missing a connection I think my best bet will be;
Ottawa-Halifax Friday night
1 night in Halifax
Halifax-Paris on Saturday night
It will cost us a hotel room for the night but seems to be the best option to ensure we don't miss a connection and issues don't snowball to the rest of our trip.

Ask WestJet to pay for your night in the hotel room on Friday. Worst case they say no. But no harm in asking!

[MountainView]

Originally Posted by Zmonkey

How Long has Air Canada put a 787-9 on the YOW-YVR route? I need to do the flight in August and 1 of the 3 dailies are on that plane. Never seen that before.

It's summer seasonal. It was here last year as well. It will end some time in September I believe.

Pre-covid, they had scheduled 4x daily but on B737/A321 aircraft.

[casper]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Thanks. The issue is Ottawa-Halifax runs Fridays + Sundays, but Halifax-Paris only runs on Saturdays. Talk about bad planning. And they don't offer Toronto-Paris, so seems impossible to avoid Toronto or 2 transfers.

They have a feature where you can schedule a callback, instead of waiting on hold, so they should contact me tomorrow morning.

At this point, to avoid 2 transfers, the horrors of Pearson AND the chances of missing a connection I think my best bet will be;
Ottawa-Halifax Friday night
1 night in Halifax
Halifax-Paris on Saturday night
It will cost us a hotel room for the night but seems to be the best option to ensure we don't miss a connection and issues don't snowball to the rest of our trip.

WestJet and Air France are codeshare partners. So WestJet in a pinch should be able to book something that connects with an Air France flight from Toronto or Montreal. I would push for that over an overnight in Toronto.

[Dominion301]

Today’s departure count: 64

Today’s cancellation count (so far): 2

[fanofYOW]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

Next time just drive to YUL!

This is exactly the reason why YOW's direct options are limited. Sorry to say. YOW have said it themselves multiple times. I don't work in the aviation industry so I trust their words. Let's hope Porter puts an end to this for at least North American destination flyers. But for some reason I have a feeling Ottawa will even screw that up and force Porter to draw back service.

On a side note, I just came back from a trip and landed in YOW yesterday in the early evening. It was insanely busy and there was so much traffic coming into arrivals to pick people up. That may sound like a negative but I was so happy to see it.

[GeoNerd]

Originally Posted by fanofYOW

This is exactly the reason why YOW's direct options are limited. Sorry to say. YOW have said it themselves multiple times. I don't work in the aviation industry so I trust their words. Let's hope Porter puts an end to this for at least North American destination flyers. But for some reason I have a feeling Ottawa will even screw that up and force Porter to draw back service.

On a side note, I just came back from a trip and landed in YOW yesterday in the early evening. It was insanely busy and there was so much traffic coming into arrivals to pick people up. That may sound like a negative but I was so happy to see it.

Exactly. Penny pinchers drive to YUL while inadvertently hurting YOW.

[fanofYOW]

Originally Posted by GeoNerd

Exactly. Penny pinchers drive to YUL while inadvertently hurting YOW.

Right? Let's do a hypothetical scenario. Someone from Ottawa is looking for a ticket to SFO. It's $400 round trip from YUL but $600 from YOW (probably won't be that big of a difference, but I'm being pessimistic to make a point). If you are using your own car to drive to YUL, there's the difference right there just for parking. Actually, even more to park there. If you are using a bus, sure it might be $50 let's say round trip in the bus, which closes the gap to $150. Now factor in waiting for the bus, the 4 hour extra travel time to get to YUL and back to YOW (in total), and going through a busy airport with long lines. For me, and I can't speak for everyone, I would pay that extra $150 for that smoother and more relaxed experience.

[OTSkyline]

I don't think most people are driving to YUL for lower prices (I've found prices to be very competitive flying out of YOW), they're driving to YUL for more flight options and/or to avoid transfers.