Canadian Airport Thread

[JakeLRS]

Flair adding Dominican Republic.

YYZ-PUJ - 7x weekly (1x daily)
YOW-PUJ - 2x weekly (Wed,Sun)
YKF-PUK - 2x weekly (Mon,Fri)

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by JakeLRS

Flair adding Dominican Republic.

YYZ-PUJ - 7x weekly (1x daily)
YOW-PUJ - 2x weekly (Wed,Sun)
YKF-PUK - 2x weekly (Mon,Fri)

Not surprising these happened. F8 finally seem to be figuring out sensible seasonality.

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

WS adding YWG-ATL 5x weekly from September 6.

That’s surprising. Will YOW ever get ATL back I wonder? Must be the biggest city in North America without ATL service.

[kattiff]

With WestJet flying YWG to ATL just announced today

an airport friend told me that YWG ORD and YWG DEN will be returning in the fall this year with an official announcement soon
Don’t know if it is United or Air Canada planes flying the two returning routes

[thenoflyzone]

Originally Posted by kattiff

With WestJet flying YWG to ATL just announced today

an airport friend told me that YWG ORD and YWG DEN will be returning in the fall this year with an official announcement soon
Don’t know if it is United or Air Canada planes flying the two returning routes

Most likely UA express.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

Most likely UA express.

Fine by me. I'd rather small planes and several departures a day.

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

Most likely UA express.

And likely small 50 seater CRJ planes. Not the best flying experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah2Nh3E6_5A

[whatnext]

AC reports Q1 results:

Air Canada Beats Revenue Forecasts, Plans 23% Capacity Boost
-CEO Rousseau says bookings indicate strong demand will persist
-United, American have said overseas travel is bouncing back
By Mathieu Dion
May 12, 2023 at 5:18 AM PDT

Air Canada broke even in the first quarter, taking advantage of pent-up demand for travel and lower fuel costs as it edges closer to a full recovery from the pandemic.

The stock price rose as much as 4.7% to C$22 on the Toronto Stock Exchange Friday morning before falling with the broader market.

Canada’s largest airline said operating revenue was C$4.9 billion ($3.6 billion), nearly double last year’s first quarter, when Canada still had some Covid restrictions in place. That easily beat analysts’ estimates for C$4.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

It was the airline’s second-highest quarterly revenue since Covid hit three years ago, surpassed only by last year’s peak summer travel season. Air Canada said it expects to increase capacity 23% this year, bringing its flight schedule to about 90% of 2019 levels....

.... Its planes are also very full: the airline reported a load factor — a measure of available seats filled by passengers — of almost 85% in the quarter. That compares with 66% a year earlier and is higher than pre-pandemic levels......

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...s-high?srnd=premium-canada&sref=x4rjnz06

[hollywoodcory]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

That’s surprising. Will YOW ever get ATL back I wonder? Must be the biggest city in North America without ATL service.

https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2023-05-11...nnouncement-of-direct-service-to-Atlanta

Its being subsided by the province, similar to how they launched LAX last October.

WS really beefed up its ATL presence this year, going from a single daily from YYC to upwards of 4x daily.

[Zmonkey]

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2023-05-11...nnouncement-of-direct-service-to-Atlanta

Its being subsided by the province, similar to how they launched LAX last October.

WS really beefed up its ATL presence this year, going from a single daily from YYC to upwards of 4x daily.

It looks to be the same government fund, not new money from the LAX subsidy. LAX no longer needs the subsidy, and hasn't in a while, looks like its been transferred to ATL route. They only get it if route doesn't hit certain numbers, so might just be to get route off the round (like LAX subsidy was used)

[zahav]

It's a weird move to introduce YWG-ATL in the shoulder season, and have it year round at 5x week? It's very ambitious to think this is best use of an aircraft... MSP is a huge DL hub and has always been a high demand route to connect into DL's network. Adding ATL seems kind of overkill, but we'll see. WS's YVR-ATL isn't even year round, and those are much bigger markets with zero competition into the entire region. I wish it all the best, but there is no way they would have done this if they weren't getting government handouts, it's just too ambitious without merit. ORD and DEN are way more viable, but not on WS obviously, at least not without more handout money

[nname]

Originally Posted by zahav

It's a weird move to introduce YWG-ATL in the shoulder season, and have it year round at 5x week? It's very ambitious to think this is best use of an aircraft... MSP is a huge DL hub and has always been a high demand route to connect into DL's network. Adding ATL seems kind of overkill, but we'll see. WS's YVR-ATL isn't even year round, and those are much bigger markets with zero competition into the entire region. I wish it all the best, but there is no way they would have done this if they weren't getting government handouts, it's just too ambitious without merit. ORD and DEN are way more viable, but not on WS obviously, at least not without more handout money

Well, probably too early to tell if YVR-ATL is going to be year-round or not. Looks like WS is still adding frequency to the route (now it's scheduled 8x weekly for July an Aug), so should be a sign that the route is doing well.

Plus, I don't think YVR late night transborder operation is extending into the winter season. So if WS going to extend the route to year round, maybe it'll need to move to daytime hours?

===========================

On a different note, looks like for S24, AC is going back to YYZ-YVR-SYD operation...

[casper]

Originally Posted by nname

Well, probably too early to tell if YVR-ATL is going to be year-round or not. Looks like WS is still adding frequency to the route (now it's scheduled 8x weekly for July an Aug), so should be a sign that the route is doing well.

Plus, I don't think YVR late night transborder operation is extending into the winter season. So if WS going to extend the route to year round, maybe it'll need to move to daytime hours?

Well when it was operated by Delta it was a late night flight.

[zahav]

It just seems odd that WS would have 5x weekly year round from YWG, and YVR stops in October. Absolutely transborder is seasonal, and YVR-ATL being seasonal seemed logical up until this YWG announcement, and now it's just confusing. The airport must be subsidizing it to the max, because I don't see how that route is 5x weekly year round, just doesn't make sense. Yes ATL is a connecting airport, but that still wouldn't;t justify this level of service. Hubs like MSP, ORD, and DEN are much better since the onward connections are more geographically logical (ie. you wouldn't fly all the way down to Atlanta to connect to Boston, you'd connect in MSP). I wonder why all that subsidy money is going to a route like this, which doesn't make as much sense for somewhere like YWG. But we shall see!

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by zahav

It just seems odd that WS would have 5x weekly year round from YWG, and YVR stops in October. Absolutely transborder is seasonal, and YVR-ATL being seasonal seemed logical up until this YWG announcement, and now it's just confusing. The airport must be subsidizing it to the max, because I don't see how that route is 5x weekly year round, just doesn't make sense. Yes ATL is a connecting airport, but that still wouldn't;t justify this level of service. Hubs like MSP, ORD, and DEN are much better since the onward connections are more geographically logical (ie. you wouldn't fly all the way down to Atlanta to connect to Boston, you'd connect in MSP). I wonder why all that subsidy money is going to a route like this, which doesn't make as much sense for somewhere like YWG. But we shall see!

YWG-ATL actually makes more sense in winter than summer with all the Florida connections available.

[hehehe]

Originally Posted by zahav

It just seems odd that WS would have 5x weekly year round from YWG, and YVR stops in October. Absolutely transborder is seasonal, and YVR-ATL being seasonal seemed logical up until this YWG announcement, and now it's just confusing. The airport must be subsidizing it to the max, because I don't see how that route is 5x weekly year round, just doesn't make sense. Yes ATL is a connecting airport, but that still wouldn't;t justify this level of service. Hubs like MSP, ORD, and DEN are much better since the onward connections are more geographically logical (ie. you wouldn't fly all the way down to Atlanta to connect to Boston, you'd connect in MSP). I wonder why all that subsidy money is going to a route like this, which doesn't make as much sense for somewhere like YWG. But we shall see!

I'm expecting at least one, if not all of YEG-MSP, YVR-ATL and YYC-DTW to go year round.

[MonctonRad]

The annual report for Moncton YQM is now out:

https://cyqm.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FINAL-2022-Annual-Report-1.pdf

Highlights:

- the airport enters 2023 with confidence and optimism and aims to achieve 90% of the 2019 level of passenger traffic.
- confidence that YQM will return to its pre-pandemic passenger levels in late 2023 or early 2024, a full year ahead of what was anticipated.
- significant infrastructure work will be carried out in 2023, notably the passenger boarding and deplaning apron (Apron VIII) and de-icing pad, to increase capacity and facilitate growth.

- passenger volume in 2022 rebounded to 468,841, which was 70% of pre-pandemic level.
- cargo movements at the airport were 20,500 tonnes, a 1% drop from the previous year. This was due to lingering pandemic restrictions in China which have since been lifted. Kalitta 747s are again frequent visitors at YQM.

Infrastructure and safety improvements in 2022 included:

- installation of Runway End Safety Areas (RESA) to reduce the severity of damage to aircraft overshooting or undershooting the runway.
- acquisition of a new Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle to allow our Emergency Response Team to respond to emergencies efficiently and to keep our passengers, our airport team, and our flight crews safe.
- a new Snow Blower was also purchased to help keep the runways and airside surfaces clear during the winter.
- with the collaboration of Transport Canada and its National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF), we added a new cargo road connecting Xtreme Cold Storage to the Airfield for smoother, more efficient transportation and better service to our business clients.
- the upper portion of the parking lot was resurfaced, and our parking payment system was upgraded to make your arrival and departure as smooth as possible.

YQM actually ran a profit last year ($800k)

Photo of the new fire truck purchased by the airport last year (CEO Courtney Burns standing in front).

T&T photo




China Southern is a new addition to cargo services at YQM. It joins Kalitta Air on the lobster run to China.

[kattiff]

Originally Posted by zahav

It just seems odd that WS would have 5x weekly year round from YWG, and YVR stops in October. Absolutely transborder is seasonal, and YVR-ATL being seasonal seemed logical up until this YWG announcement, and now it's just confusing. The airport must be subsidizing it to the max, because I don't see how that route is 5x weekly year round, just doesn't make sense. Yes ATL is a connecting airport, but that still wouldn't;t justify this level of service. Hubs like MSP, ORD, and DEN are much better since the onward connections are more geographically logical (ie. you wouldn't fly all the way down to Atlanta to connect to Boston, you'd connect in MSP). I wonder why all that subsidy money is going to a route like this, which doesn't make as much sense for somewhere like YWG. But we shall see!

Well def banking on the film industry between the two with Winnipeg and area getting two small movie studios built. Coca Cola has business between the two cities. I assume the CDC and the National Micro Lab will prob use the flight.

[thenoflyzone]

^ I sure hope WS sees something, because this one will be interesting to watch.

YWG-LAX made sense. Pretty big O&D between the two (~39,000 in 2018). The fact that it is no longer subsidized proves it.

YWG-ATL, on the other hand, has a fraction of the O&D LAX has (~8,400). Meaning this route will need to survive on the connections beyond ATL. They are clearly after the sun seeking crowd, more so than the business crowd I think. Problem is, WS/Sunwing already serve that crowd well during the winter. And DL also serves that crowd through MSP already.

So WS might just be carving some food off of their plate and handing it to Delta. Either way, I think if the subsidy wasn't there, this route would definitely not have been on WS's radar. Maybe they were caught off guard with the success of LAX, and felt the need to use the subsidy on another route, since the money was just sitting there, unused.

Don't get me wrong, this is a definite win for YWG. Not even Edmonton or Ottawa have Atlanta service, and YVR-ATL is only seasonal, as others have said. This new route also gives Winnipeggers access to a massive US hub that is not prone to snowstorms, which is a big plus for travel from November to March.

But this route will face challenges that YWG-LAX doesn't have, that's for sure. Don't forget WS/DL aren't in a joint venture, meaning no profit sharing, etc. It will be a simple codeshare through ATL.

[plrh]

I really think this YWG-ATL route is aiming at Florida. YWG only has direct to Orlando. So this route will provide a ton of options to Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and other cruise ports. Winnipeggers willingly pay a premium to avoid YYZ in the winter because of snow delays and overnight layovers.

I flew YWG to Jacksonville once on Westjet. It was awful. YWG-YYZ-LGA-JAX, with overnight in LaGuardia. I wouldn't recommend it.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by zahav

It just seems odd that WS would have 5x weekly year round from YWG, and YVR stops in October. Absolutely transborder is seasonal, and YVR-ATL being seasonal seemed logical up until this YWG announcement, and now it's just confusing. The airport must be subsidizing it to the max, because I don't see how that route is 5x weekly year round, just doesn't make sense. Yes ATL is a connecting airport, but that still wouldn't;t justify this level of service. Hubs like MSP, ORD, and DEN are much better since the onward connections are more geographically logical (ie. you wouldn't fly all the way down to Atlanta to connect to Boston, you'd connect in MSP). I wonder why all that subsidy money is going to a route like this, which doesn't make as much sense for somewhere like YWG. But we shall see!

ATL is an interesting airport because while it is transborder, it is also a big sun destination plan to the Caribbean, and transit point to South America and even Africa.

Given this I'd be surprised if ATL stayed seasonal from YVR or any location really because it is not really a seasonal airport.