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

[RomanR27]

From November-March on MCO, Rouge has 10,608 seats of capacity, WS has 12,528 seats (over-estimate as I'm assuming all 738/MAX). Lumping in SFB here, F8 has 24,948 seats of capacity so far this winter. So on the aggregate, there is at most 48,084 seats to Orlando available. Last year there was a total of 41,396 passengers so demand should be satisfied. Flair is keeping the same capacity as last year and WS is picking up some of what Rouge has dropped.

WS has 12,180 seats on RSW this year, and there were 9,046 pax last year.

On TPA, Rouge only has 5,984 seats but last year there were 12,071 pax.

On FLL, Rouge has 23,664 seats on FLL and Flair has 32,886 seats, for 56,550 seats combined. Last year there were 44,686 pax combined between the two carriers (though Flair didn't fly to FLL in November last year)

So it actually looks like Tampa is the only one where capacity has been slashed dramatically below last year's pax count. Of course, on FLL and MCO, whether people will actually trust F8 rather than AC/WS remains to be seen, as they had much weaker LFs last year compared to Rouge/WestJet.

Purely anecdotal here, but my cousin is sworn off Flair after they cancelled his return SFB-YOW flight and booked them a week later, leaving them scrambling for an alternative.

[fanofYOW]

Looks like YOW-YEG with Porter will be announced soon.

https://www.flyporter.com/en-ca/about-porter/who-we-are/porter-and-embraer

[VaskoYOW]

Originally Posted by fanofYOW

Looks like YOW-YEG with Porter will be announced soon.

https://www.flyporter.com/en-ca/about-porter/who-we-are/porter-and-embraer

Yeah, October 4th! With one daily flight!

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

From November-March on MCO, Rouge has 10,608 seats of capacity, WS has 12,528 seats (over-estimate as I'm assuming all 738/MAX). Lumping in SFB here, F8 has 24,948 seats of capacity so far this winter. So on the aggregate, there is at most 48,084 seats to Orlando available. Last year there was a total of 41,396 passengers so demand should be satisfied. Flair is keeping the same capacity as last year and WS is picking up some of what Rouge has dropped.

WS has 12,180 seats on RSW this year, and there were 9,046 pax last year.

On TPA, Rouge only has 5,984 seats but last year there were 12,071 pax.

On FLL, Rouge has 23,664 seats on FLL and Flair has 32,886 seats, for 56,550 seats combined. Last year there were 44,686 pax combined between the two carriers (though Flair didn't fly to FLL in November last year)

So it actually looks like Tampa is the only one where capacity has been slashed dramatically below last year's pax count. Of course, on FLL and MCO, whether people will actually trust F8 rather than AC/WS remains to be seen, as they had much weaker LFs last year compared to Rouge/WestJet.

Purely anecdotal here, but my cousin is sworn off Flair after they cancelled his return SFB-YOW flight and booked them a week later, leaving them scrambling for an alternative.

Are those the US DoT numbers and aren't those the O&D numbers only? It's safe to assume YOW-Florida demand will be higher this winter than last as traffic continues to rebound.

Originally Posted by VaskoYOW

Yeah, October 4th! With one daily flight!

Interesting. That was the day YYZ-YLW was going to start. Looks like with WS disappearing from YOW-YEG this winter means PD are going there first before opening YLW.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/porter-adds-edmonton-to-ottawa-e195-e2-network-899809081.html

YOW-YEG 1915-2140
YEG-YOW 0910-1500

Interesting quote in the PR by YOW's CEO:

"We are delighted that Porter Airlines is adding non-stop service between Ottawa and Edmonton to their growing list of destinations from YOW. This addition is another reason why Ottawa-Gatineau travellers should embrace Porter as their hometown carrier and enjoy the enhanced travel experience that awaits,"

[RomanR27]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

Are those the US DoT numbers and aren't those the O&D numbers only? It's safe to assume YOW-Florida demand will be higher this winter than last as traffic continues to rebound.

Those are the numbers that JakeLRS had posted from the Bureau of Transporation Services. I took the total passengers / seats available calculation to be all pax and not just O&D but maybe I'm wrong. I agree that it's reasonable to expect more demand this year. We'll see if AC makes any more changes with Rouge, I think the schedule hasn't changed since it was originally posted. And of course, the wild card is if Porter introduces service.

[Dominion301]

I also see PD are bringing back the 4th YYZ departure this fall with a much more sensible 1850 departure time vs 2200.

Currently the new YEG flight is offering the following connections over YOW:

YEG-YOW connects to:
YYZ
YYG
YHZ
YQM

YOW-YEG connects from:
YYZ
YYT (same-plane via YHZ)
YHZ
YYG

I wonder if they'll start selling YEG-EWR via YOW? While the YEG inbound is a perfect 70 minute connection, the outbound to YEG is an ~7.5 hr connection.

[fanofYOW]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

Interesting quote in the PR by YOW's CEO:

Why do I have a gut feeling YOW keeps jabbing at AC. Doesn’t seem like they are on the best of terms these days.

Also unrelated but Porter now has an App!

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

Those are the numbers that JakeLRS had posted from the Bureau of Transporation Services. I took the total passengers / seats available calculation to be all pax and not just O&D but maybe I'm wrong. I agree that it's reasonable to expect more demand this year. We'll see if AC makes any more changes with Rouge, I think the schedule hasn't changed since it was originally posted. And of course, the wild card is if Porter introduces service.

MCO on WS will be about 2,000 fewer seats over the winter as it's 1x 738 on Mondays & 1x 73G on Thursdays. Mind you, WS seem to shuffle 737 gauge regularly, but that's what's currently loaded. The Monday flight doesn't start until 18DEC23.

YOW-RSW is 1x 738 on Mondays and 1x 73G on Thursdays. The Thursday flight doesn't appear to start until 21DEC23.

[JakeLRS]

Originally Posted by fanofYOW

Why do I have a gut feeling YOW keeps jabbing at AC. Doesn’t seem like they are on the best of terms these days.

Also unrelated but Porter now has an App!

Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely be using the app for my travels!

[Djeffery]

I posted the news article on the Canada Foreign Affairs thread, but thought I would toss in the nugget here that YOW will be the (at least temporary) home of the first 2 RCAF CC-330 Husky aircraft. The DoD announced today the contract for 9 of them, 4 new, 5 used and that they intend to split them east and west Canada. The first one is a VIP transport painted in the similar white red and blue livery that the current A-310 that the PM uses internationally is.

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

I posted the news article on the Canada Foreign Affairs thread, but thought I would toss in the nugget here that YOW will be the (at least temporary) home of the first 2 RCAF CC-330 Husky aircraft. The DoD announced today the contract for 9 of them, 4 new, 5 used and that they intend to split them east and west Canada. The first one is a VIP transport painted in the similar white red and blue livery that the current A-310 that the PM uses internationally is.

Get those A310/Polaris shots while you still can. Interesting that they plan on increasing the fleet too. That’ll mean less contracted troop flying.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

Get those A310/Polaris shots while you still can. Interesting that they plan on increasing the fleet too. That’ll mean less contracted troop flying.

9 CC330 Huskies are replacing 5 CC150 Polaris based in Trenton, and 4 CC130T Hercules (H-model tankers) based in Winnipeg. So it's not a net increase in the number of airplanes. But given that only two of the CC150s could tank, the jump to 8 CC330s capable of AAR, means a 33% increase in the number of refuellers. I expect Ottawa will end up with 4-5 frames and the rest will go to Winnipeg to support Arctic sovereignty and NORAD missions.

I'm wondering if YOW has ramp space to park 4-5 332s regularly. Part of the reason they weren't out in Trenton is a shortage of space. Would be nice to see the CC330s use the regular terminal with a jet bridge when CAF personnel travel. Would be a lot more comfortable.

[YOWflier]

The ramp out by the reception center would be cozy but it might work. That’s where they stack diversions when they come. There could be challenges in winter when the deicing bays are in use. It’s also a RON space.

NRC has quite a decent sized ramp that seems under-utilized on the other side of the field connected by the bridge over airport parkway. Heck there’s tons of space over there to pave a new ramp for this purpose if necessary. But can that bridge accommodate heavy aircraft?

[Truenorth00]

It would be nice to see a proper military annex setup with 437 Sqn (Airbus), 412 Sqn (Challengers) and AETE (best co-located with NRC). Maybe even adding 7 Space Wing (currently at Star Top) to the site.

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by YOWflier

The ramp out by the reception center would be cozy but it might work. That’s where they stack diversions when they come. There could be challenges in winter when the deicing bays are in use. It’s also a RON space.

NRC has quite a decent sized ramp that seems under-utilized on the other side of the field connected by the bridge over airport parkway. Heck there’s tons of space over there to pave a new ramp for this purpose if necessary. But can that bridge accommodate heavy aircraft?

The largest aircraft I ever remember crossing Delta bridge was a 737. I don’t think it can handle anything heavier/wider.

Keep in mind that the new Canada Reception Centre will eventually be built at the end of Romeo. I imagine the very long-term plan is to demolish hangar 11 to expand the terminal to add missing gates 7, 8, 9 & 10. That would likely also mean gates 1-5 would spread out more. But that’s years away at the earliest. I bet the airport authority would want the remote stands (gates 30-34 from the old terminal) getting regular use before any new terminal construction.

[YOWflier]

Yeah it was a bit of wishful thinking. Too bad because there's lots of space on that side of the field to do something, ideally like what TN mentioned.

Anyway I was curious so here's what 4 A332s would look like over at reception center as it stands now. It's a squeeze but would be a cool sight to behold.



And for kicks this is what an A332 crossing delta bridge looks like:

[Truenorth00]

To be fair, they don't need to park the 330s in front of the CRC. They can set up the military annex anywhere else and taxi/tow the aircraft to the CRC for boarding.

Also, the CRC is — for non-dignitaries. The CAF needs to work with YOW to relocate the passenger terminal in Trenton to YOW. Zero reason CAF members can't use a normal check in counter and board through a jet bridge like anybody else, for scheduled service air flights. Maybe even get a dedicated CAF 330 gate at YOW.

They should save the CRC and the ramp in front for VVIP movements.

[Flemay]

Today marks the inaugural flight to Vancouver from Ottawa nonstop with Porter Airlines
Great to have more choices to the west coast

[Dominion301]

Today’s departure count: 72

Today’s cancellation count (so far): 2

[Tesladom]

So pardon my ignorance on this, but can the passenger versions of the Military A332's also be used as a refueler, or it this a dedicated application for the plane?