I agree with all of you actually, the Jazz frequencies were kind of ridiculous for routes like YYJ before. I'm sure the choice was appeciated by people on the island and business, but it was overkill and probably a $ loser. As people have said, the target market on those flights is connecting pax, and the frequency was way higher than it needed to be to accomodate these flights.
As for smaller routes, the difference between 1 and 2 daily flights, or 2 and 3 daily flights, is fairly significant. It really can change plans and connections drastically. 18 down to 9 or 10 is still providing a lot of connectivity. But 1 or 2 really limits it. So capacity is higher due to the DH4s, but losing a frequency would be annoying on those routes. But if the routes are strong enough, AC will add frequency for sure. They aren't out of the loop, they constantly adjust their regional schedules. I think a lot of the reduction was COVID related, so once we are back to normal traffic, they could add back some frequencies. The 2 down to 1 daily is really brutal though, 2 should be the minimum frequency for any regional route, IMO. A morning and evening is the minimum, otherwise the flights are useless (or very inconvenient) to a ton of travellers. I'm thinking of YZF, YYD, and YZP. These should all be at least 2 daily, I hope they bump them up again.
AC is really hammering YYC, the YYC-YEG flights were frequent up until COVID, despite the competition from WS. They have really done a thorough analysis of their routes and made it clear which ones were going to get trimmed. I don't feel like they are even fighting for it anymore. Basically just either keeping the status quo or reducing, to keep WS honest I guess.
I feel like YVR is really an anomoly amonest the largest Canadian airports (YYZ, YVR, YUL, and YYC) in terms of it's split amongst WS and WS and general traveller preference. YYZ is dominated by AC, YYC is dominated by WS, and YUL has a strong (but not dominant) AC, but almost no WS. YVR has very strong AC and WS (AC obv more just due to their network reach), but WS is very popular from YVR and an important market. Just judging from people's preferences, I feel like Vancouver peeps are split between preferring WS or AC. But YYC is overwhelmingly WS, and YYZ is certainly more in the AC campe than WS, and at YUL, WS isn't a factor. Kind of reminds me of LAX. Their airline split is fascinating to me. They are then only airline to be a true hub for every major US airline. And the split between airlines is breathtakingly close:
1 Delta Air Lines 5,113,928 20.85%
2 American Airlines 4,430,550 18.06%
3 United Airlines 4,040,619 16.47%
4 Southwest Airlines 2,506,337 10.22%
5 Alaska Airlines 1,870,460 7.63%
(wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airport#cite_note-165 )
Those carriers are very close to each other, with none being overly dominant. For large airports, this is rare. Having all the major carriers compete on many routes is not common, it's a testament to it's traffic draw and diversity.
While YVR isn't in the same league as LAX by any means, I feel like it is very diverse and both AC and WS have strong pressence, plus lots of international carriers. YYZ is similar to a degree, but I'd argue their AC service really dominates, despite WS having a decent showing. AC is still very clearly dominant to a higher degree than YVR.
YUL is diverse in that it has strong AC and strong international carriers, but has nothing from WS. YYC is the only one of the 4 that are really in fortress hub territory. WS's dominance is supreme, it's taken AC on at every turn, with their European expansion taking away any sector dominance AC might have had. AC is likely not going to fight anymore on these, they will operate them as long as they make money (and more than what could be made elsewhere) but probably aren't putting any more in. But who knows, AC could surprise everyone and start basing more planes at YYC and launch routes again, if oil stays high and the $$$ flows like it's 2007, then they might. But all indications are they are dialing back YYC service.
YVR is definitely hustling right now, and attracting more routes and new airlines than would be expected during "recessionary" times. Let's hope the traffic pans out and they stick, but it is a boost of confidnce to see foreign carriers and AC launch new and exciting routes, they obviously chose them for an educated reason and not just rock paper scissors. The math behind the scenes must be positive
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